Ray Grant

Music is my job.


I’ve been involved with the church since my early days in Cape Breton. I was baptized at Knox United in Glace Bay and sang in the Youth Choir there. When I was in high school, I played the organ at the United Baptist Church, which was my mother’s church. After graduating from the Nova Scotia Teacher’s College in 1967, I taught school in Sydney River, Cape Breton for 2 years and I was organist at Warden United Church in New Aberdeen.

In 1969, my wife Judy and I moved to Halifax so that I could attend Dalhousie University. I graduated from the Music Department in 1972. I restarted my teaching career in the Dartmouth City Schools Music Department and was Organist/Choir Director and Sunday School Superintendent at Grace United Church, Dartmouth. Subsequent to my two year stint at Grace, I was hired as bass soloist in three Halifax churches- St Paul’s Anglican, First Baptist, and St John’s United. Ruth Lawley was the organist at St John’s at the time. After Ruth left in 1976, I was hired to fill her position and my family and I have been members of St John’s ever since.

I don’t think of myself as just the Director of Music at St. John's but also a working member of the congregation. My interest in the life of the congregation has led me to do more than to simply help create a Sunday Morning experience. Fellowship and fundraising events have played a large part of my time here. Cabarets, concerts and dinners have been a source of great pleasure as I try to foster the talent so prevalent in this church community.

Music is, of course, my main thrust and I try to be as forward thinking and "up-to-date" as I can in order to keep the interest of the people involved in our music programs. This means choosing music that challenges the choir and the congregation as well. It means leaping forward whenever I feel that the congregation is ‘stuck’ or in crisis of some kind. This attitude has helped me develop a respect within the congregation, and it is a respect that is returned. Over the years, the St John’s congregation has been really supportive of my efforts and I've had the pleasure of working with many talented people. As mentioned previously, we’ve produced concerts, cabarets, fundraising events- and the talent has always been there to do these things!



Besides my family, St John’s has been the major part of my life for the last 30 years. Working with the people of this church who have chosen music as their offering has been one of my greatest pleasures. I see young people who grew up in this church and who participated in our youth choirs and other church groups and are now back. They have come back to this church bringing their own children because they want them to have that St. John's experience. My challenge is to make sure that I provide the same positive experience that they had, should they decide to involve their children in a music experience.

I am blessed to work with so many talented singers and musicians from this congregation. St. John's has always been known for its music. Any music director would feel lucky to have the financial support which is provided for our programs. I want to keep this tradition, this reality, alive. The fact that people will come forward and participate in the choirs, the Taize Instrumental Ensemble, the Sanctuary Band and the String Ensemble tells me how important it is to make different musical options available.

I’m grateful to have been here when Neil MacDonald was minister of St John’s during the 1980’s and 90’s. Neil was an inspirational leader. If our members had ideas for forwarding the work of Christ through education, social action, music or whatever, he enabled them to move forward and put their ideas into action. Neil’s philosophy was to encourage people to fulfill their own concepts of what Church life should be about. Linda Yates continues this tradition and I am continuing to be inspired.

What is special about St John’s? Our worship practice is inclusive, not pulpit centered, and it allows for interested people in the congregation to come forward and be involved in the planning and delivery of things. Our church leadership is not driven from the top. There is the empowerment from the top, but our leaders have always taken risks with the congregation, and this is rewarded because the congregation will step forward and do things. Our members take a proactive role in the delivery of worship. This is one of the many things which make our church a special place.



People had fewer distractions many years ago and the community didn’t address all the needs of the family, so more people came to church to find fulfillment for their social, as well as spiritual needs. Now the church is no longer the centre of activities. Life is more hectic and people are being pushed harder and faster. If we can provide a safe, non-threatening, inclusive and peaceful environment to which people can come to worship, meditate, consider themselves in relation to others and leave determined to celebrate the good and to do what they can to change the bad, then we are on the path Christ intended for us.

I have so many great memories from my time at St John’s. One that really stands out is being ‘roasted’ by the congregation after 25 years of service. That was so affirming for me in terms of being appreciated for what I was doing in this church. People were expressing the hope that I would continue in my role.



Even after 25 years and now 32, I am still fired up by the church. I know this church must move on, move forward and incorporate new ideas, more forms of musical expression in the worship. We must continue to involve the people who are here and to excite those who may come our way.

I am saddened when I see the generation that I was introduced to when I came here gradually become less involved because of age or marginalization. Some of them have this misplaced feeling that they have done their part and it’s time to let someone else do it. We should not allow our wise elders to step aside. There are older people in our congregation who are dynamic and maintain open minds! Celebrate them, value them and involve them.

There is no contract time limit on our jobs as Christians! There is always something we can do.