Maranda Pfeiffer: You can count on her

Singing, reading connects teacher to faith

By Dwain Hebda
Little Rock Correspondent

There was a time when even the thought of singing or lectoring in front of a full church was frightening to Maranda Pfeiffer. But there was always someone there to nudge the now-26-year-old middle school teacher out of her comfort zone.

“The teacher in my sixth-grade year was one of my favorite religious education teachers. He gave me a lot of confidence in myself,” she said. “He talked about how well I could read, and it’s because of him that I even tried to become a lector in the first place. I did that for a few years when I was in high school.”

The same thing happened with her music ministry, where someone saw something in her she didn’t know was there.

“It was maybe my senior year of high school or my first year of college, the choir director in church heard me sing, and she approached me and said, ‘OK, I need you to sing. Call me,’” she said. “I was very nervous, but I called and talked to her, and pretty soon I was singing in the choir. I never would have done either if it wasn’t for them.”

As much as she likes uplifting others by her service, Pfeiffer said she herself feels better connected by serving in St. Benedict Church, Subiaco. 

“I get a lot more out of doing the readings versus sitting in the congregation where it’s easier for your mind to wander,” she said. “I try to gain a better understanding of the readings because, being a lector, I have to really understand the readings to say them in a way that the actual message is put forth.”

“Singing always makes me feel good. My choir director used to say, ‘Singing is praying twice.’ I kind of get that now that I’ve done it long enough.”

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