Rockingham Male Chorus rewards Conferencegoers for their hard work all week

By Frank Ramirez

The poet Robert Burns once wrote, “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft a-gley.” Or go astray for the rest of us who don’t play the bagpipes–as Jerry Critcher discovered as he dressed for the Rockingham Male Chorus concert at Annual Conference.

Critcher was in charge of arranging bus transportation, hotel rooms, ties, and pocket squares for the concert, and everything went perfectly–until he realized he’d packed everything for everybody except for his pair of pants. Chorus director David McMillan suggested that perhaps he could stand in the back row, behind everybody, but fortunately someone had two pairs of pants, and all was well.

*The Rockingham Male Chorus in concert at Annual Conference 2025. Photo by Glenn Riegel*

Critcher told this story prior to taking part in a special quartet’s rendition of “I Need Thee Every Hour,” the significance of which was not lost on the audience.

The Saturday evening concert during Annual Conference typically rewards Conferencegoers for their hard work all week, and indeed the several hundred who stayed after worship enjoyed what director McMillan called, “a traditional choir concert with religious, Christ-based, music.”

The chorus was founded in 1966 by Nelson Huffman, who had retired from teaching at Bridgewater (Va.) College. McMillan has directed the chorus since 1986. In an interview prior to the concert, he compared music to a sermon in the pulpit. “The music itself has a lot of depth to the message. It speaks in a way that spoken words can’t.” He added, “We’re really pleased to have this opportunity and I really hope the Lord blesses the evening.” He hoped that the Annual Conference would “like what they hear and invite us to be a part of their congregation.”

The concert included traditional numbers such as “Nothing But the Blood of Jesus,” “Thank You, Jesus, for the Blood” (which contained echoes of “Jesus Paid It All”), and “Let There Be Peace on Earth.” The introductions to each number were direct and to the point, including the information that “Hold on the Rock” composer Pepper Choplin was from Greensboro.

The most complex number was Willy Richter’s “The Creation,” which stitches together the complexity of creation across the skein of the seven days related in the beginning of Genesis. The concert closed with the traditional “The Lord Bless You and Keep You.”

The 22 singers came from around the Rockingham region, from several different congregations. They practice weekly, and have traveled to share concerts as far south as Florida, as far west as Iowa, and as far north as Canada.

The Conference program was number 1,463 for the Rockingham Male Chorus. McMillan encourages congregations who would like to host number 1,464 to reach out. To schedule a program at your church please contact Jerry Critcher at jrcritch@aol.com.

— Frank Ramirez is a retired pastor and a volunteer on the Annual Conference Press Team.

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