Getting to know you... Beth Sederstrom

What is your background?

I have always been a bit different. I grew up on a farm in Minnesota, USA, in a town of around 1,000 people. When I was five years old and we had career day at school, I dressed up as a cowgirl. Other girls wanted to be teachers or moms. I just wanted a horse! My family was heavily involved in our church, and I accepted Jesus as my Saviour at an early age. Later, I rededicated my life to Christ in junior high (13-14 yrs old) and have been trying to become more like Jesus ever since.

Music has been a part of my life since I was very young. I started with piano lessons as a young girl and then later switched to the flute around age 10 or 11. A couple of years later, I was bored so my teacher asked me to learn saxophone to play in the jazz band. These two instruments filled my life with hours of practice and rehearsals for the rest of school and helped to pay for university where I played in bands and orchestras. During this time, I was always trying to figure out how to use music to honour God. I knew that musicians normally just played in church but coming from a Presbyterian background, this meant playing the organ. I survived through one semester of organ lessons in university and decided that was not for me!

My parents instilled the love for travel in my life at an early age. We would drive all over the US going to civil war battlefields and other historical places. So when I graduated from high school, it didn’t seem strange to go on musical trips around the world. The one that made the most impact on my life was a trip with the Continentals after my first year of university. It opened my eyes of how music can be used to spread the gospel across cultural boundaries. This helped to convince me to obtain a degree in music and music ministry.

As I explored this thread, I travelled with Pioneers, a missions organisation, to Kyrgyzstan and worked with an ethnomusicologist. An ethnomusicology is an expert in world music and in a missions context, they help to use music to reach to the unbelievers around them. This experience inspired me to obtain a Masters in ethnomusicology. While I was completing this degree, I worked in the worship/special events department at a church in Hawaii, and my Masters thesis examined the rise of hula among Christian communities.

What brought you to Scotland?

I originally came to Scotland to work with Youth with a Mission (YWAM), because I wanted to explore being a full time missionary as I had been on many short term trips throughout my life. After I finished my degree, I moved over here for a 10 month discipleship training programme and have stayed for 9 years. Since then, I have transitioned out of YWAM, but I still work with classical and traditional musicians. This involves being in different ensembles and building relationships through music. I like learning instruments so I vary what I play based on the ensemble and their needs. On a normal basis, I am in a saxophone ensemble, a concert band that also plays marching gigs in summer and in the Edinburgh Police Choir. I also play for musical theatre groups around Edinburgh and Musselburgh. Besides this, I teach flute and clarinet as well as working as one of the organisers for the Scots Fiddle Festival.

What challenges does being a Christian bring to your personal situation?

Musicians can be a rowdy bunch. They like to drink before and after performances. I am not a big party-er so the challenge is being a light in the situations without making them not want me there because I am not participating. I am an introvert and I tend to try to make my difference by being the stable one in situations. This might be literally as I play the baritone saxophone in the saxophone choir and provide the structure for the piece or it could be emotionally as I am the one that people can trust to talk to and lean upon.

I really like the book Twinkle: Sharing Your Faith, One Light at a Time by Elisa Morgan which describes how we all can shine the light of God into situations. There are some people who are like spotlights. There are others who are penlights. Whatever your personality and your situation, you can make a difference. In a dark room, even one candle will allow people to see.

What plans do you have for the future?

I am currently working with Heart Sounds International, a part of Operation Mobilisation (OM). They take short-term trips into areas what are normally unreached and help to create ethnic worship to be used in outreach or spiritual growth. In March, I travelled with them to Myanmar to work with a small people group there. In October, I am traveling with them to East Asia and then God willing, I will be traveling to the Middle East in February. I have a passion for seeing people worship. That is why I have started helping with sound at Carrubbers. These trips help other people around the world to worship in their own ways using their own music.

Connecting with Beth?  

• Look out for her on the sound desk on Sundays and say “Hello!”
• Ask to be on her email list to learn more about her mission trips overseas and how you can encourage her and pray for her.
• Click here to send her a wee email