By Claudia Loucks
Geneseo Current
Lynne Haars is the pianist/organist at Grace United Methodist Church in Geneseo, where she has been providing music for 56 years. Photo by Claudia Loucks
Lynne Haars refers to her 56 years of “making music” at Grace United Methodist Church in Geneseo as a “musical chairs’ experience.
It can be traced back to when she sang in the Grace Church choir, which at that time was led by the late Gerry Norton, who was planning to retire as director.
Haars said, “She thought I would make a good replacement, so Gerry taught me the basics of directing, and surprisingly, I really enjoyed it.”
Lynne and her husband, Duane Haars, had a baby boy, Mike, at the time and Lynne said, “I needed to ask Duane if he would be willing to take care of Mike on Wednesdays (choir practice) and on Sundays. He said, ‘yes’.”
“Mike is now 56, so that is how long I have been serving,” she added
When the organist was leaving Grace Church, Haars moved to the organ and taught a choir member how to direct.
“It was kind of a ‘musical chairs’ position experience, as I also was the church pianist and led the singing from the piano,” she said.
“I cannot praise God enough for orchestrating all of this,” she added. “I get to do what I love to do – play all kinds of music and praise God at the same time. I experience His spirit as I play the wonderful music He has inspired through composers and arrangers, and I continually pray and strive to play in a way that helps those who listen experience His Presence also.”
Haars also shared another part of what she believes is God’s plan for her in how she currently is serving….”When I took organ lessons at college, my awesome professor wanted me to take piano also, and so I got to take lessons from an amazing man who often toured in Europe. Originally, my favorite instrument was the organ. But one summer after I was married, I spent a lot of time practicing all the classical music that my former professor had me working on, and I became more proficient in piano and that now is my favorite medium.”
Her musical talents and responsibilities extend to being part of the church’s praise team which includes Becky Daniels, who is church choir director; her husband, Dr. Tom Daniels, who together lead the vocal music, and Steve Scherer on the drums. The four talented musicians help bring the message and wisdom of Christ to the church congregation on a regular basis.
In addition to providing piano and organ accompaniment during church services, Haars also has shared her gift of music by playing at “hundreds of funerals and weddings through the years.”
In addition to being the Jubilee Choir accompanist at Grace Church, she also is involved in staff meetings which include planning services and she also attends worship and Church Council meetings.
She said the most challenging part of her position at Grace Church is trying to choose music each Sunday that supports the Pastor’s message, “and sometimes that is hard to find.”
“Over the years, as I grew in my spiritual walk with Christ, He gave me several original songs that I sang in church as well as songs for our children’s choirs to sing,” Haars shared.
She also has provided music, by singing or playing, for various events in Geneseo City Park and for many years was the accompanist for Geneseo Community Choir, under the direction of Pam Edwards.
When asked about plans for retirement, Haars answered, “At present, I have no plans for retirement. Duane, the love of my life, has been so gracious, supporting me in music ministry for these 56 years. My prayer is that I will know when it’s time to quit so there isn’t a need to be ‘kicked off the bench’. I have heard ‘horror stories’ of those who don’t realize they are ‘losing’ their ability.”
The Haars couple are parents to daughter Kristi (Stan) LaSota, Cary, IL; and son Michael (Nikki), Muncie, IN. They have two grandchildren, and in May will be great-grandparents.
There is some interesting background to the path that Lynne Haars took with music in her “growing up” years.
“I don’t remember having to learn to read music,” she said. “I do remember Mom sitting me down at the piano when I was very young, five or six years old, with one line of music based on nursery rhymes, and just a single line of note, and I began playing. I could play by ear’ early and do some ‘ad-libbing,’ and that God-given gift has served me well. Music in church began early in life for me as I sang my first solo (“There’s a Song in the Air”) at Grace Church on Christmas Eve when I was five years old.”
In her youth, Haars did take piano lessons and later organ lessons. She also learned to play the guitar and later in life was given a dulcimer and learned to play a bit on it.