Feeding the soul with music

Many of the women you’ll find playing the piano or organ in church on Sunday have been tickling the ivories since they were young girls. That hobby eventually bloomed into a passion and became a way to serve their churches in song. 
Music is a central part of most worship services, and Weston County is full of these talented pianists. While many of them say it’s possible to worship without music, the melody of song enhances the worship experience in a way that words often can’t. 
“I know you can worship in your own way without music, but it seems like when you offer it up in song, it makes it special. … It brings you closer to your faith,” said Jan Ellis, former Newcastle High School choir teacher. “It’s there to feed your soul.”
“Music in general is important. Our lives are richer because of music, but I think, especially in church, it’s part of the service and even part of prayer,” added Delores Sylte, one of the organists at Corpus Christi Catholic Church. “It goes hand in hand with the message of the day.  … It reinforces the message.”
Karen Spears, who plays the piano and organ for both the Seventh Day Adventist Church and Christ the King Lutheran Church, said that music was biblically a “tremendous and inaugural part of worship,” referencing the psalms played on the lyre by King David in the Old Testament.
“It’s continued on and been a part of worship for eons. Because it is a more emotional expression of our love for God, it cannot be dispensed with,” Spears said.
While these ladies might attend different churches, they all share a common passion for music and began practicing at an early age.
Betty Brotzman, wife of the Rev. Norm Brotzman of the Assembly of God Church, was practically born playing the piano. She took lessons when she was in fifth grade and fell in love with it. 
“When I was young, my mother couldn’t keep me off the piano,” Brotzman said. “I think I was born with it. … It’s just part of me.” 
When her husband started pastoring the church in 1976, Brotzman served as the church’s main pianist. When Jim and Carolyn Shields moved to Newcastle a few years later, Jim, who passed away a couple years ago, accompanied Brotzman on the organ. 
“We were quite the team,” Brotzman said. “You can ask (Carolyn) and she’ll say, ‘Betty and Jim rocked the music.’”
Although Brotzman enjoys various types of music, she loves playing hymns and praise choruses more than anything. 
“Truly, I think worship music puts us into praising God. Our hymns are our theology set
to music,” she said, adding that it prepares the congregation’s hearts to receive the Word
of God. 
Lynda Russell, organist at First United Methodist Church, began taking lessons shortly after her parents bought a piano when she was in third grade until she was a sophomore in high school and “just kept playing.” 
“My mom and dad were always in a church choir wherever we lived, and on Sunday afternoons, they would get together with other singers and sing all afternoon,” Russell said. “My mom and dad were the inspiration (of) why I like traditional hymn music.” 
She passed that same love down to her children by playing classical music at the breakfast table. All of her children love music and sing in city choruses. 
About 17 years ago, Russell took her piano skills and added the organ to her list of instruments. When the church no longer had an organist, she volunteered her services. 
“I love music for one thing, especially classical music. And there was nobody else in the congregation who played the piano or organ,” Russell said. “It’s a service to the church.”
Similarly, Jan Ellis, who used to play at Corpus Christi Catholic Church until her schedule no longer allowed, came from a musical family where music was “just kind of expected.” Ellis began learning from her older sister and later learned from an elementary teacher. 
Although she loved it, she admitted that her discipline to practice had an ulterior motive.  
“It also afforded me to get out of doing dishes because I would go practice,” Ellis said. “When you can get out of doing the dishes daily at age 5 and 6 and on through high school, you would have.” 
However, music wasn’t just a chore to get out of a lesser chore, and Ellis pursued a career as a music teacher, retiring as the Newcastle High School choir teacher just last year. 
“Music has always been my passion. I love to help people grow in their music, …wanting them to have that ‘aha’ moment where it just all clicks and brings tears to their eyes,” Ellis said. “There’s always a point in a song where it just goes ‘oh, my gosh, this is what it’s all about.’”
Ellis and one of her musically gifted friends were music teachers at the same school at one point in their lives and began playing piano duets together. On a particular Easter Sunday, they worked up a special duet and went from one church to another to perform. 
“It was just really fun, and I don’t know — I just loved it,” Ellis said. “I find it very rewarding to help out at church. I think it’s stewardship for us to do that.”
Spears has been playing piano since she was 7 years old, and her interest in playing at the Lutheran church began when she saw an ad in the paper. She was a little leery at first, but she decided to pray about it, and when the ad ran again, she gave it a go. 
“I am very, very grateful to have had this position, and it really helped to develop me musically,” Spears said. 
All these women enjoy classical music and traditional hymns, but Russell acknowledged that regardless of
what genre one prefers, music has the same uplifting effect on its listener. 
“I enjoy the calming serenity of the spirit that music brings. The enlivening of the spirit — and especially religious music — makes us realize how important the peace of God is to us,” Russell said. “Music lifts the spirit so much. For instance, if a person is down or blue and they play their favorite song or piece of music on a CD or the piano, I think it makes them feel better.”
Although Spears admitted that she has seen a shift in worship music from traditional to more contemporary and modern, the music in the small churches of Newcastle has remained steadfast over the years.
“I don’t believe church music changes. … They add new hymns from time to time, but all the old standards are still there,” Ellis said. Sylte added that some of her favorites include “How Great Thou Art” and “Peace is Flowing Like a River.” 
Unfortunately, piano and organ-style music seem to be usurped by modern trends and technology. 
“It’s sad, but I think it’s a dying art,” Sylte said. 
“Which is a real shame,” Russell added. “(It) is one reason I’m real happy that there is still music in the schools.”
Russell noted that the benefit of modern technology allows churches without a pianist or organist to still enjoy a song-filled service. Whether it’s old music or new, it is always a “lifter of spirits.” 
“I think we all need music, whatever type we like — even those who like rock ‘n’ roll — it does something for them. I think it’s very important in our lives,” Russell said. 
Thanks to these dedicated women, local churchgoers can still enjoy the timeless sound of a live piano or organ to enhance their Sunday morning worship in Weston County. 
“It’s not only an emotional but an intellectual expression of the depths of your soul,” Spears said.