Webster Word

A TRIBUTE TO CAROL AND IRV CHIDSEY

A significant event in the life of WEBSTER UCC will occur this month. Carol and Irv have reached the age where they have decided to move to an assisted living community. In their case it will be Oak Crest in Baltimore County .

When we started attending Webster Congregational Church in 1957, Irv was already singing in the choir. This is one example of his dedication to his church as that means at least 60 years of weekly practices. In addition to this, he served as church Treasurer for years. His work was meticulous and gave guidance to us in our financial decisions. (The only problem that we remember is when he had a ten-cent error in the record keeping for years and could not find the reason.). Irv, one of our few members that were originally Congregationalist before coming to Webster UCC, was regularly a delegate to all Association meetings and represented us proudly. He was always active in church activities and could be counted on to be there.

Carol, a music teacher, joined us in 1960 in order to fill a vacancy as organist. (Sound familiar?) Later she and Irv were married in Selingsgrove , Pa. and started their life together living in an apartment in Bel Air. Carol soon became a member of our church and became more involved in its life than just the organist. She also became choir director and served in these two important capacities for a total of 23 years.

Carol became active on the music committee and has served for many years as its chairman. It is difficult to believe the tremendous job she has done in this role. Her leadership in securing a new organ and later in obtaining the new hymnals was outstanding. Her thoroughness, contacts, patience, and determination led the music committee into making excellent decisions. The hours she spent on various music jobs can only be known by those who worked closely with her.

In addition to their carrying out their church obligations, they have contributed heavily in helping us achieve our goals. Throughout our highs and lows at Webster UCC, they never deviated in their support of our church.

We hope that they have a very exciting and satisfying life in their new venture. They deserve it. Although they will not be far away and we are sure that we will see them frequently, our church has been blessed with the opportunity to have had them in our midst and to benefit from their love for the Webster UCC.

Grace and Levin Heath