Long love of music leads retired minister to launch album

Though Lonnie Atkinson is visually impaired, he has perfect pitch.

The retired ministerhas a lifelong genetic disorder which affects his ability to see.

"The first pair of glasses they gave me, I think was at 18 months, because I always fell down stairs and couldn't walk very well," he said.

It has led Atkinson to discover the world in different ways.

"I don't believe in barriers," he said.

When Atkinson graduated from Queen Elizabeth High School in Halifaxin the 1970s, his yearbook said he wasgoing to the University of Florida to study Broadway performance.

That didn't happen. He stayedin the Maritimes and entered a business program at Dalhousie University.

Love for music

However, his love for music never wavered.

"I paid my way through university being a church soloist, singing at weddings, all those kinds of things."

After universityhe went to Newfoundland and Labrador and was ordained as a minister in 1979.

All the while, he waslooking for a group of musicians to perform with.

When he retired from being a minister at an Ontario church, he moved toGuernsey Cove, P.E.I., with his wife.

"We call it our sanctuary in the cove," Atkinson said.

Now, at 65, Atkinson is launching his first solo album,Hope, Heart and Home.

On the cover of his recordingsis a picture of his home.

Recorded in neighbour's studio

Last summer, whileAtkinson was having a bonfire in his front yard, his neighbourGordon Belshertold him it was time toproducea solo album.

They started to record Atkinson's album atBelsher'srecording studio inGuernsey Cove.

"It just couldn't have been better," Atkinson said. "With someone with Gordon's experience and his creativity and his willingness to work with a guy that just hadn't done it before in terms of solo recording."

Songs on the album include; Bridge over Troubled Water, Just a Closer walk with Thee and Amazing Grace.

"In my mind, they are all spiritual songs,"Atkinson said.

The album launches at 7 p.m. Sundayat WellSpring Presbyterian Church in Montague, P.E.I., a church Atkinson helped build in his retirement.

A lunch will be served and admissionis free, butdonations will be accepted for the Winnipeg Inner City Missions, a group of missions that sponsorshousing and outreach programs in the North End of Winnipeg.

UPDATE: The album launch has been postponed due to weather. It will be rescheduled at a later time.

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