REV. RANDY BENSON DOESN'T JUST FIDDLE AROUND, HE PiCKS HIS WAY INTO THE HEARTS OF THOSE WHO HEAR HIM PLAY, SING AND PREACH

Fiddle-playing Rev. Randy Benson at an impromptu open-air concert.

Those who follow my Wrights Lane offerings know that I have a penchant for gifted individuals who make contributions to society, all the while generally falling under the radar of public recognition. In this post I introduce a very unassuming 53-year-old young man who is dedicating his life to preaching The Word of God, his family, old time banjo and fiddle music -- and karate. 

Presently pastoring in the Central Grey-Bruce Presbyterian Cooperative Ministry consisting of the congregations in Dornoch, Chatsworth, Southampton and Chesley, you would expect Randy Benson to be a high-energy clerical ball of fire in the demanding ministerial world of small community preachers.  He is anything but -- in fact he is a laid back, steady as she goes, what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of guy who tends not to openly impose his God-given talents.

Perhaps Rev. Randy's demeanor is directly related to his passions in life, but more about that later. Let's first take a look at where he came from and how he got here. 

A native of *Waynesboro, Virgina, the youngest of two brothers, he earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in the area of Congregational Redevelopment and Trinitarian Theology. He also has a Master of Theology from Union Presbyterian Seminary in New Testament and Pauline Studies and a Master of Divinity from Union Presbyterian Seminary. As if that wasn't enough, he also obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from Eastern Mennonite University in Biblical Studies and Theology, Christian Ministries, and Religion and Philosophy.

A note about Randy's home stromping grounds: *Waynesboro is a very scenic city of about 22,000 people located in the Shenandoah Valley, near many important historical markers of the Civil War and Shenandoah National Park. A portion of Interstate 64 falls within the city limits of Waynesboro, and the Blue Ridge Parkway, Skyline Drive, and the Appalachian Trail are less than 5 miles (8.0 km) away. Norfolk Southern Railway trackage runs through the east side of the city. The South River, a tributary of the Shenandoah River, also flows through the city.

Randy was ordained July of 1997 in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and served the Marlinton Presbyterian Church in Marlinton, West Virginia for five years before answering a call to come north to Canada where he served as minister of Word and Sacrament at Claude Presbyterian Church on Highway 10 in Caledon, ON. from March, 2003 to October 2012.

Rev. Randy proudly wears karate
competition-inflicted black eye.

He, of course, is now firmly entrenched in Grey-Bruce community life and has (almost) lost his deep down south accent. He is married to Dana, a Streetsville, ON. girl and an ordained minister serving in a pulpit-supply capacity in the Owen Sound area.  The Bensons have two school-aged children, William and Alice.

One thing that Randy did not leave behind when coming to Canada was his natural love of Appalachian old time banjo and fiddle music. He plays both banjo and fiddle and is an excellent singer making regular appearances at area nursing homes, in addition to the odd public concert.

Known affectionately as “old time music” to the musicians who play it, traditional Appalachian fiddle, banjo, and string band music hearkens back to an older time, when fiddlers played for community dances and rural life prevailed. Though it has gone through a series of revivals nationally, it never disappeared from the Appalachian mountains.

The melodic roots of old time music are found in Scots-Irish fiddle music, while its rhythms are shaped by shuffle bowing and the banjo, both of African-American ancestry. As it evolved, old time music picked up material from other music styles such as blues, ragtime, and gospel.

In the heyday of commercially recorded old time music (mid 1920s through the early 1930s), many fine musicians from the Appalacia mountains were recorded...And Randy could well have been one of them in the modern era, had he not decided to go in another direction.

*From his Facebook timeline here is a sample of Randy's catchy banjo playing and West Virginian singing style from about 10 years ago as he entertained tiny son William who "enjoyed dancing, and doing somersaults, to banjo music." To view mom Dana's homemade video from the Benson's living room, just click 
https://www.facebook.com/revrbenson/videos/99549018214/

Randy undertook a major do-it-yourself music project in 2014 when he produced and performed a special selection of old time music tunes in a "busker's CD" made to raise money for a PAN trip that St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Owen Sound, took in July 2014 to conduct medical clinics in rural Nicaragua.

As recent as last week he asked his congregation: "Do you ever take a moment and consider the human body and how it works and its relationship to the mind and the self and to others? God really has done something wonderful." He continued to expand on the subject with a surprise reference to playing the banjo.

"Consider what all goes into playing a banjo? One has to understand music. It helps if one can to hear; though it is amazing that Beethoven composed all of his beautiful music when he was all but stone deaf. To play the banjo it is necessary to have hands and fingers and a neural network with the brain to form chords, finger notes, and pound out rhythm. If a right-handed banjoist lost her right hand, she could still banjo but would be limited to strumming like a riverboat banjoist. Yet, if a special prosthetic were made to hold a pick, she could to pick individual notes and play Irish fiddle tunes. 

"On the other hand (pun intended), for a right-handed banjoist the left hand is probably the weakest, uncoordinated part of the body. Yet when it comes to playing music, the skill developed in the left hand could not and cannot be done with any other part of the body. A banjoist could loose the thumb and even a finger or two on the left hand and still manage to play music. But if she lost her left hand, this otherwise clumsy and awkward and weak part of the body, she could not play banjo anymore and that would be devastating to who she is as a person that would in turn have profound effect on her relationships. There would also be those who would miss her playing."

He emphasized his point by quoting the Apostle Paul who said in Corinthians that God has made, established the human body just as he chose to and he made it so that it consists of many parts and those parts need each other. "A hand cannot be a hand without a brain and what good is a brain with no hands? If a part of the body is lost no matter how insignificant it might be, like a toe, the impact on the rest of the body and the human person and the community of that person is…profound," he added.

In other words, we need all parts of a body to be working together (collectively or individually) in order to be effective contributors to our world, and the world at large. Only a banjo playing man of the cloth could express it in those terms.

Randy delivers sermons in an almost casual, down-to-earth manner, often introducing common everyday situations and a hint of humor to help congregations equate to his overall message. It is an approach to ministry from the pulpit that has endeared him to many hearts.

Randy (left) and wife Dana (centre), members of an Owen Sound senior team 

placing second in a recent national karate tournament.

THE KARATE KIDS: As another change of pace from the increasing demands of church life and ministering to multiple congregations, the entire Benson family is involved in various levels of karate as members of the Owen Sound Shito-Ryu Itosa-Karate Association. Randy, who recently lost 70 pounds through a training regimen and is now a slim and trim 180-pound fighting machine, was a member of a senior team, including wife Dana, that claimed second place in a national tournament last fall.

Members of the Owen Sound club train twice weekly for balance and strength, graceful athleticism, respect of others and of self, and for control and precision. They also participate in belt rankings and international tournaments twice a year, which are often challenging and always encouraging. All in all, a perfect activity to balance any young family's life, even when both parents are church ministers.

At a breakfast of church men who gather monthly at a Southampton restaurant I recently asked Randy how it was possible to work all of his interests and church commitments into one busy family schedule. He only smiled and gave no audible answer. I could have expected as much.