The Sound of Worship
Worship engages all the senses, but for Chuck Sinon, it’s the sound of worship that stands out most. As a member of the Ebenezer Tech Team, he has spent countless Sundays in the broadcast booth, fine-tuning the mix of voices and instruments and honing the technical gifts that he first discovered nearly forty years ago.
“In the early 1980’s, I was in my early twenties, and I ran sound for a band in Wheeling, West Virginia,” he recalled. For three and a half years, the band toured around the region, performing in cities like Morgantown, WV and Pittsburgh, PA.
After the band broke up, Chuck moved to Virginia. He dabbled in church a little bit and eventually followed some friends to Ebenezer in 2007. His ears immediately perked up when the band began to play that first Sunday, only this time he heard something different.
“I heard the Lord talking to me through my wife,” he recalled, laughing. “I was criticizing the band as I was sitting in the Sanctuary, and she elbowed me and said, ‘Get back there and do it yourself or be quiet.’”
Chuck protested that it had been 20 years since he had worked in sound, but his wife was resolute. “You’re still as good as ever,” she said.
He introduced himself to Director of Technology James Mills, started training with the Tech Team, and began supporting worship services.
“All the knowledge and training just flooded back,” Chuck said. “I was so far away from when I learned it, but the Lord was leading me. Now I help in any way I can, to give back for all the years I was gone.”
While Chuck maintains that working front of house in the Sanctuary is his favorite assignment, he also enjoys running sound for online worship services from the broadcast room and is a steadfast presence at special events both on and off campus.
“It’s a calling that always was there. Now I listen through the Lord. You just have to listen, and it flows through,” Chuck explained. “If you had told me back in the early ’80’s that God was preparing me for service, I would have told you you were crazy. But here we are. God has a plan for everyone. I believe his plan for me is mixing audio in the booth at Ebenezer United Methodist Church!”
The Ebenezer Tech Team is always looking for new volunteers of all experience levels. “Most people come in as beginners,” Chuck said. “Come on out – we’ll teach you.”
For more information, visit the Serve page.