Dispatch from Forbearance Presbyterian Church
Impresario of the Lesser Arts
by Charlotte Johnstone
 Hal Rusk was what one might
call a reluctant co-chair of Forbearance's Fine Arts Committee.
When the session decided several years ago that the church needed
a coordinating authority to handle requests for the occasional
organ concert, piano recital or display of local art, Barbara
Rusk, Hal's wife and amateur violinist with an ad-hoc string
quartet, agreed to chair the position, but only on the condition
that Hal join her as co-chair. Hal protested that the closest
he ever came to the fine arts was as the undisputed master of
the TV remote control, but Barbara was adamant. She told him
she needed him, but her hidden agenda was finally to elevate
Hal's artistic appreciation, which was, in her opinion, dim at
best.
"I'll handle the artistic side of this job, Hal,"
she told him. "All you'll have to do is set up chairs, move
some stuff around and join in the applause. How hard could that
be?" Thus it was that a somewhat begrudging Hal became the
set-up guy through several Music Club concerts, four recitals
by students of local piano teachers, two organ concerts, one
appearance by a touring college choir and a couple of foreign
film nights.
Charlotte Johnstone is a member of Immanuel
Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She (and the cast
of Forbearance Presbyterian Church) welcome comments. Write to
her at Horizons, 100 Witherspoon St., Louisville, KY 40202-1396
or email wjohns4949@aol.com.
Learn more about Hal and Barbara's adventures
as the Fine Arts Cpmmittee in the January/February 2004 issue
of Horizons
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