CityView Magazine

16 | March/April 2015 given me a platform. I can still speak into people's lives," she said. "It's not about me and what I feel like I deserve. It's ultimately about how can I serve the church." Joy Cogswell, Snyder Memorial Baptist Church Joy Cogswell has been serving her church, Sny- der Memorial Baptist Church, in a variety of ways for over 40 years. "ere have just been so many opportunities for me to enjoy what I enjoy the most; the families that I meet, and the children I work with—I couldn't ever have a job that I enjoy more." Cogswell is not a typical church pianist, as music is a big part of the church's ministry. In fact, Snyder Music Academy was created to provide quality music instruction to students in a Christian setting. As the director of the Snyder Music Academy, Cogswell brings all aspects of music to the Fayette- ville community, by hosting events such as the Sing- ing Christmas Tree and the Festival of Keyboards in correlation with the Fayetteville Dogwood Festi- val, in addition to providing music lessons to over 500 students a semester. Cogswell said she and her staff teach students of all ages and she literally means her students range in age from infants to senior adults. "You may wonder 'What in the world do you do with a four- or five-month-old in a class?'" she said. "You would be amazed." She teaches the international Kindermusik cur- riculum, an early childhood development program with parent participation that uses music to en- hance brain activity in kids up to five years of age. In a class that looks like parents and children having fun, Cogswell said her students are learning important foundational skills. "If we're doing a steady beat activity—whether it's with our body or a rhythm instrument—that's not only establishing steady beat, but it's also estab- lishing that inward steady beat that children need to walk and bounce balls and do other things they're going to have to learn to do as they grow," she said. And her students have come full-circle. Babies she taught years ago have grown up and are now bringing their own children to Snyder. "A student from one of my first classes asked me to play in her upcoming wedding," Cogswell said with a warm smile. Ordained or not, these women are making a dif- ference in their congregations and taking to heart the Apostle Paul's advice to "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love." Photography by Kia McMillan "There have just been so many opportunities for me to enjoy what I enjoy the most; the families that I meet, and the children I work with—I couldn't ever have a job that I enjoy more." Joy Cogswell of Snyder

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