Organist celebrates 50 years (so far)
Willowfield Church recently honoured their organist Mr John Lyttle with a special surprise service in celebration of his 50 years in post.
Former choir members were secretly rounded up and joined in with the present choir as friends and family gathered on the afternoon of 2nd October. One of the highlights of the service was when approximately 50 voices united to perform, unaccompanied, an arrangement of The Lord’s Prayer by Joseph Lee, with John conducting.
The service really was a lovely surprise for him. “My wife was in cahoots with the choir,” he said, “I don’t know how she kept it from me!”
John joined Willowfield as organist in 1961 when Revd John Frazer was rector and has served with 5 others up to and including the current incumbent, Canon David McClay. “I was very young when I started,” he quips. When asked how he found the experience of working with such a variety of characters, John responded a little mischievously, “Curates come and go, you can knock them into shape easily, but rectors are very slow learners!”
Quite a number of clergy were members of either the church choir or the Boys Choir though the years. They include one Bishop, The Rt Revd Alan Abernethy, Bishop of Connor and the Dean of Dromore, The Very Revd Stephen Lowry, who preached at the service. Stephen’s father, the late Canon Harold Lowry, was the second rector under whom John served and Stephen was a member of the Boys Choir.
Secretary to the Vestry, Mr Noel Purdy, presented John with a gift and during the service John and his wife Etta cut an anniversary cake. Friends, family and choir members had also gathered together some old photos spanning the 50 years. The congregation were treated to an on–screen presentation of memories, including a clip from The South Bank Show of John playing the organ with Sir James Galway on flute in St Paul’s Church on the Shore Road. ‘Jim’ was one of John’s childhood friends from the flute band and as boys they often took the chance to play together down at St Paul’s.
Of course, as well as the huge amount of time and energy given as organist through the years, John and Etta raised their children, Carol and Paul, and John had a busy job. He started his working life as a fitter in Mackies in East Belfast but rose through the ranks to join the management team. He eventually took his skills into further education and finished his working life as Head of the School of Management in what used to be known affectionately as ‘The Tech’, now Belfast Metropolitan College.
Reflecting on his 50 years in post, John notes that, “Six different rectors have each brought with them a need for ‘change’ some of which has been more demanding than others. It has been interesting and invigorating how Willowfield has been able to embrace and adapt to these changes. Of course, I have had to similarly rise to the challenge of change but that has simply enriched the privilege of working in the parish.”
When asked if he had any plans to retire, John pointed out that the front of the service sheet said “50 years (so far).” We’ll happily take that as a ‘No’ then!
See photos in the Gallery here.