When Scott Carpenter, our wonderful organist for many years, left in 2015, I must confess to a bit of anxiety. Organists do not grow on trees. They are rare to begin with and to find an exceptional organist from an already rare breed is not the easiest task. It is in these moments especially, that I am reminded that if we remain faithful to our mission, God’s Providence is greater than our anxiety. Two wonderful surprises came from our 2015 search for an organist: Robert Matthews and Raymond Hawkins. Robert found out about St Timothy’s through the search and now he is an invaluable part of our ministry and family. Raymond, of course, was a fascinating applicant.

We have been very intentional to not make Raymond’s age an issue; Raymond is very much an adult, from his skills to his ability to manage the responsibilities of the position. But let’s be honest, to do what he was able to do while in high school was simply extraordinary. Raymond simply was the best candidate, and we had very good candidates who applied. Because he was just beginning his organ career and where he was in his education, we knew we would not have Raymond for ever. Raymond’s gifts and presence made the possibility of a short tenure worth it. I am not qualified to write about Raymond’s technical gifts. I know what he does with the organ is amazing, even if I don’t know how he does it. I do know that his ability to improvise, a wonderful term that means to make stuff up, is second to none. I will always remember the procession of All Souls where his improvisation included the notes of a beating heart. I remember the Requiem of young Finn Doss where Raymond included the melody from Winnie the Pooh in his offertory improvisation. So many of these moments left us shaking our heads and asking, “Wow, did he really just do that?” He did.