The Hickory Reading Club meeting of January ninth, in the Hickory Baptist Church fellowship hall, was hosted by Mary Ann Bond and Stacey Cook, who served a buffet of comfort-food soups and resolutions-breaking desserts. Phyllis Cain's devotional, based on Psalm 73 and Hebrews, encouraged continuing to remember God as a source of daily strength.
For the program, Faye Anderson used an extended analogy comparing the church and an orchestra to develop her theme of harmonious performance in "A Symphony for the New Year." She applied musical concepts such as euphony and cacophony, practicing individual spiritual or musical gifts, following leaders or directors, and remembering that varied services and instruments are needed. As a summary, she read as a poem the verses of the hymn "Make Me a Channel of Blessing" (Harper G. Smyth,1873-1945) and closed by playing it as a saxophone solo.
