RAYMOND – Aiming to make connections with the surrounding community, the Raymond Village Community Church recently began a monthly hymn-sing open to all.

The hymn-sings take place the third Sunday of the month from 4:30-5:30 p.m. at the church on Main Street, just off Route 302.

Karen Strange, who is well known to the Windham arts scene since she and her sons, Dan and Chris Strange, spent about 10 years as the three-member pit band for Windham Center Stage Theater, started the hymn-sing shortly after taking the position in late summer as the church’s music director.

Both she and the Rev. Nancy Foran want to reach out to those in the community who enjoy singing hymns and praise songs in an informal atmosphere.

“Both Karen and I feel it’s really important for the church to reach out into the community in a number of different ways,” Foran said. “And since music is the gift and talent that she brings, this was her way of reaching out.”

Getting people unfamiliar with church tradition through the front door on a Sunday morning can be difficult, since they sometimes feel uncomfortable with church songs and traditions. But the Sunday afternoon hymn-sings might be a good fit for those either new to church or those who just enjoy singing, Foran said.

“I think some people are very worried about going into one of these church buildings that they haven’t been into for years, so we wanted people to be sure to know they weren’t being roped into anything other coming and singing,” Foran said. “So that’s why we said no sermons, no collections, just singing. We’re really trying to get that idea across to people.”

Strange, who lives in Gray and has served as music director for several churches in Portland, said the hymn-sing is an old-time tradition that she wanted to revive.

“It’s just been great. The hymn-sing is something I don’t think goes on enough. But it’s just a great time. And it’s just singing. It’s an hour of singing. We sing one right after the other,” she said. “It’s an old-fashioned hymn-sing. My grandmother used to do these things. These are the hymns you grew up with if you were raised in the Protestant church.”

Those who don’t know the tunes should have no fear, Strange added.

“There’s no pressure, you don’t even have to sing,” she said. “We have people who come and just listen.”

The first hymn-sing in October drew about 20 people. More than 30 have showed up regularly since, with about 35 attending last Sunday’s event.

“We’re hoping it becomes a real community thing,” Foran said. “Whether you come here on Sunday mornings to worship or whether you go to another church, or whether you don’t go to church at all, we hope that this will be a place in the community where people can come together.

“Having it the same week every month gives people a sense of consistency, and I also think a set time to start and end – 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. – people know what they’re in for and can plan around it.”

One person who always plans her Sundays around the hymn-sing is church member Adma Willis.

“I love to sing, and I especially love to sing the old favorite hymns, and I enjoy meeting with and talking with the people who come, especially community members that don’t come to church and love to sing, too,” she said.

And perfect pitch is not required, Willis said.

“We have a lot of people with beautiful voices, and we have others that just make a joyful noise, and everybody’s welcome.”

More than a dozen people gathered Saturday night for an old-fashioned, hour-long hymn sing at the Raymond Village Community Church. The event – no service, no sermon, no collection – was organized by Karen Strange, the new music director at the church, and open to people who “love to sing, especially if you love to sing hymns.”    
Using cue cards with the words, Sarah Allen, Polly Dyer and Alice Morrison, from left, lead a rendition of “All God’s Creatures Have a Place in the Choir.”    
Nancy Gates raises her voice in song.
Alice Morrison and her dad, Andy, join in singing a hymn.