Rev. Robert Schilling '53 Featured in Sunday Star
June 16, 2002
June 16, 2002, Greencastle, Ind. - "My father was a minister, so I grew up in the church," says the Reverend Robert A. Schilling, minister of worship and the arts at North United Methodist Church in Indianapolis and a 1953 graduate of DePauw University, in a feature article that dominates the front page of today's Indianapolis Star Arts & Entertainment section. The story, entitled "Ministering through music: Robert A. Schilling leaves a rich legacy at North United Methodist Church," details Rev. Schilling's upcoming retirement from the church he has served since 1961.
The Star's Whitney Smith writes, "Having graduated from DePauw University at 19, he went on to Boston University School of Theology before pursuing graduate music studies at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Even though he pastored churches in Maryland and West Virginia in the 1950s, he got an inkling early that his long-term ministry would be channeled through music. In fact, Schilling said, he was already a 'semi-professional musician' at 11 or 12, and was playing for churches by age 14."
Denise Page Caraher, the church's longtime youth choir director, tells the newspaper, "Bob has been able to make us all unafraid to dive into the work. This is important because we have many who have sung pieces more than once, but others who might never have done it. Bob is someone who is inclusive in every way."
Rev. Schilling, whose DePauw degree is noted twice in the article, says, "I don't preach very often anymore, although I have been asked to preach at my last Sunday at North Church, June 30." The evening before, the church will hold an evening celebration for the retiring minister. Smith notes, "Incidentally, Schilling said he could have retired with full benefits three years ago, but hasn't, mainly because 'I still love what I do and have an affection for the people here.'"
You can read the entire story online at the Star's Web site by clicking here. Back