CAWorship Churchwomen

California Worship!

"Make His Praise Glorious" Psalm 66:2

Singing Churchwomen

The 2008 Leadership Team

Cheryl Ellen Marilyn

President - Cheryl Trevor (Sacramento)
Vice-President - Ellen Beery (Highland)
Secretary/Treasurer - Marilyn Crabtree (Pioneer)

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In the Spotlight ...

Teri Laing sings first soprano with the California Singing Church Women. Having attended Oklahoma City University as a vocal performance major, she is an accomplished soloist. She can also sing just about any line from any stage show that has ever been written! Teri plays the flute. but hasn't done so for many years. She is an avid reader, loves to travel, and is an unsurpassed sightsinger.

She has been singing with the First Baptist Church Fair Oaks choir for about 24 years and has directed the PraiSingers there for nearly three years. She has directed the PraiseRingers for nearly four years.

Teri is married to Jim Laing, whom she met at First Baptist, Fair Oaks. They have a very talented son, John Paul, who keeps them hopping. Teri says she has been living vicariously through John Paul, who will be leaving for college soon. "When he leaves, I will have to get back to my regular life," Teri says.

The CSCW rehearsals are kept alive with Teri's wit. Another one of the ladies said after one rehearsal, "I keep meaning to bring a pad and pencil so I can write down the things she says. She is too funny!

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In the Spotlight ...

Debby Holman came to know the Lord at the age of eight and has attended Immanuel Baptist Church of Highland (formerly San Bernardino) all of her life. She sang and traveled with the Redeemed and Rejoicing Ensemble of Immanuel as a teenager and young adult. She sings alto with CSCW and says that it has afforded her the opportunity to be involved in the music that has been an important part of her life for many years.

Debby has worked for the San Bernardino County for 34 years, the last 30 years as a dispatch supervisor for the Sheriff’s Department. She will be receiving a life saving medal later this month from the department for being instrumental in saving a woman’s life.

She enjoys quilting, home improvement projects, baking, and reading. For several years, Debby has volunteered in Immanuel’s bookstore/coffee shop on Sunday evenings. Every three months, along with co-workers, she cooks/serves dinner at the Ronald McDonald House to parents of children being treated for cancer at Loma Linda University Medical Center.

Debby has a reputation for being a loving, self-giving person with a gift of humor. She knows just when and where to punctuate the moment with her hilarious dry wit. You might want to become a part of CSCW just to get to know Debby!

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In the Spotlight ...

Jan Massingill sings alto with the California Singing Church Women (CSCW), sings with the church choir and a mixed ensemble, and plays hand bells at First Baptist Church, Fair Oaks. She is also an accomplished pianist and soloist and works as a volunteer librarian.

Jan’s first exposure to choral music came during her senior year in high school when her choral director was also the choral director at her church in Grass Valley and got her involved. During high school and college, Jan developed a love for choir, hymns, and missions, and serves faithfully in many capacities in the church and her community. When anyone in the choir is not getting his/her part, someone exclaims that is must be “Jan’s fault”! Everyone knows that couldn’t be further from the truth, because she is the first one to learn her music.

Although Jan has degrees in Mathematics, Physical Sciences, and Public Health Microbiology, she prefers to spend her time faithfully participating, encouraging, and praying for others in various music ministries.

In 2006, Jan went on a mission trip to Taiwan with her church choir, and this was a turning point with her. She saw God at work, first-hand among the Taiwanese people and her own choir. She says she had only read about people God used to do exciting things in life, but she never expected He could really use her. Those who know Jan believe that God has always used her talent, her willingness, and her sweet voice and spirit, and most of all, her infectious smile.

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In the Spotlight ...

Connie Jones sings soprano and sometimes serves as rehearsal accompanist for the California Singing Church Women. Connie, and her husband, Olen, have two grown children, Sean and Brenna. She directs the youth choir at Immanuel Baptist Church (IBC), Highland, and will be leaving on a mission trip to Washington, DC with them in April. At IBC she directed children's choirs for ten years and has been leading the youth choir for the past seven years.

At age 16, Connie came to know the Lord and has been playing the piano and singing in choirs ever since then. She has degrees from California Baptist University and California State University, San Bernardino, and has been teaching elementary or middle school in the San Bernardino City Schools for 32 years, where she is recognized as a model teacher and a mentor for other teachers. In the summer, she travels with high school student delegates in an organization called People to People that Dwight Eisenhower began 50 years ago. Their goal is get to know other cultures one person at a time. She says she loves being with kids because it keeps her young. With that in mind, we will expect her to return from the South Pacific, New Zealand, Fiji and Australia this summer younger than ever. Connie also loves teaching in the Modern Languages Department at CBU.

Two outstanding attributes of Connie are her vibrant blue eyes and her quick wit. She has the ability to see the humor in any disastrous set of circumstances. Where Connie is, there will be fun! Connie's motto, which she borrows from Charles Swindoll is: "We are all faced with a series of great opportunities, brilliantly disguised as impossible situations."

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In the Spotlight ...

Shirley Neal, who sings soprano with the California Singing Church Women, has sung with CSCW previously,. She is a retired nurse who was born and raised in England and lives in Rocklin with her husband, Ralph.

The best way to describe Shirley is that she observes “365 Days of Community” per year. She has such a servant spirit—always helping someone in need. Shirley is a survivor of cancer and works with breast cancer patients in the “Look Good, Feel Better” program. In addition, she is involved with the Women’s Ministry, church choir, mixed ensemble, Sunday School, and handbells at her church. She is also involved with the Red Hat Society and plays the piano at a nursing home. Although she proclaims that she cannot cook, no one believes it, because she will be the first one to volunteer food for the sick or needy.

Shirley is known for her readings, two of which are “Cahn’t Blow the Candle Out” and “Rindaceller” (Cinderalla).   She also does a lot of scrapbooking and is an avid “Hand and Foot” player. Shirley says she owes her energy to the long walks she takes with friends every day at 7 a.m.

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We are restarting and reviving the
      California Singing Churchwomen.
      This premiere ladies chorus is pleased to announce a new director, Barbara Noakes, and they are now beginning to gather and sing again.

The California Singing Churchwomen (CSCW)is an organization of the Worship Office and Healthy Church Group of the California Southern Baptist Convention. CSCW was organized in November, 1981, at the Church Music Conference which was held in Pacific Grove, CA, that year.

Barbara Noakes

Membership dues are $20.00 per year and shall cover the period from Annual Meeting (in November) to Annual Meeting. Dues
The objective and purpose of CSCW is to encourage personal & professional improvement, Christian Fellowship, ministry and spiritual growth among California Southern Baptist musicians and educators, and to promote and coordinate great music to advance the gospel.

Membership is open to women who are:
      • Participants in a church music program and
         recommended by their Church Music Director.
      • On church staff
      • Wife of a church staff member
      • Faculty at California Baptist University (CBU) or
         Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary (GGBTS).
      • Students at CBU or GGBTS
      • Choir directors in any age choir
      • Church or choir accompanists
      * for students at CBU or GGBTS are only $10.00 per year.

Please click here to download and print the application.
Return your application by mail with your membership fee to:
      CSBC
      c/o Worship Office, MRC
      678 E Shaw Avenue
      Fresno CA 93710