www.byzcath.org Forums Evangelization through choirs

Our choir director is evangelical:

Dear Friends, please give this to any family which you believe may be interested. Thank you! Tim Woods


The South Suburban Catholic Boys choir is opening auditions for all boys 7-14 years of age. We had a very good session last Spring, singing at both a Byzantine and a Roman liturgy. The Boys learned good singing technique, learned how to read in "sol-feg", and sang some great music, all for the honor and glory of God, and the sanctification of the faithful.
Boys can play baseball and take other lessons for the rest of their lives, but a true boy's voice only lasts a few years. Now is the time to join and enjoy God's gift to you!
We sing only the best music of which we are capable. This is NOT like any other parish children's choir! We do ONLY great music for the One True God.
FOR AN APPLICATION FOR AUDITION, CALL TIMOTHY WOODS AT: 815-806-0066
OR EMAIL jtcatholic@earthlink.net.

As St. Augustine says, when one sings one prays twice. And as I say, when one sings one prays twice as loud. In my college class every week I taught the kids how to sing something simple from the Liturgy or other services.

Diak,

One of the things we will discuss I'm sure on Aug. 6 is how to create, sustain, and develop house Churches and missions into thriving Churches. As I understand it you attend what is called a mission. What insights could you give to help us in this area on Aug. 6?

Dan L

Our choir does a lot of out-reach such as singing in nursing facilities for holidays, ecumenical events/services including singing twice for the New Britain annual ecumenical Thanksgiving service, and twice for the greater Hartford World AIDS Day ecumenical healing service, as well as singing Liturgies at other churches, mainly Roman parishes. We've also hosted and sang for 4 years running now, the annual blessing of the CT River at Hartford's new river front plaza on Theophany, which did get some newspaper coverage and one year a brief TV clip. All were worthwhile and enjoyable experiences, unfortunately they didn't bring a single new parishioner into the parish.

John K,

I wish everything we did brought immediate and tangible results. But I believe every effort of kindness to bring Christ to others bears fruit whether we know it or not. Father Loya likes to say that our well tended prairie grounds are evangelical. We have noticed that people often comment on them as one of the things that first attracted them to the Church. One would not readily think that would be the case.

A personal note: I love to make and tend flower gardens. Until recently I have developed rather large flower gardens for around our house. Those days will come again.

One morning our doorbell rang and a woman was at the door thanking me for my gardens. It seems she passed our house every day and it brought her great joy and comfort. She then showed me her kneck and drew attention to her face. She said that her husband had lost his mind a couple of years before and had doused her in acid. She had spent many months in the hospital and looked ahead to more surgeries. One of the things that sustained her was passing by the flower gardens at our house.

Many times evangelization is simply being faithful in little things.

Dan L

The expectation for immediate results has to be the most discouraging of ideas ever. We don't work on our time tables, we work on God's time tables... rather, He works on His time tables, not ours. We become the sowers of the seed. We have to toss out as much seed as possible as some will take root, but some will not. Even so, the seed doesn't sprout full grown the instant it hits the ground (most of the time). Our culture isn't one geared toward patience, but this is one of the most important virtues for evangelizers to have, in my opinion.

Dan, I intend to write something more formal later in August after feast days and the ordination are over regarding domestic churches, extended and expanded domestic churches, the relation of the parish to these when in an area such as ours of the Midwest with great distances and logistical problems for clergy, suggestions for longer-term growth, etc.

Hopefully before the next meeting, on-line or face to face, I will be able to disseminate for future discussions.

Mike, those are good points. Like the liturgical year, the mystery unfolds with gradual revelation, as do our efforts. I've seen many good, good people turned away by "hard sell" tactics. Be a good Christian and no selling is needed (which I need to work on).

Well said. Are you coming Aug 6th?

Dan L

Dan L. wrote: "I wish everything we did brought immediate and tangible results. But I believe every effort of kindness to bring Christ to others bears fruit whether we know it or not."

Dan--We're not looking for immediate results believe me. We started a concerted effort in 1998/1999 to revived and bolster parish membership when we began to plan for our centennial celebration. That's when we planned and brainstormed and worked and struggled. And believe me, this was LAY initiative, not clerical. There was a lot working against us and yet we forged ahead with hope. I've outline some of what we've done and come up with in other posts. Additionally, we've tried homecoming Sundays for former parishioners who have left the parish for various reasons. Thankfully, NOW we have a pastor who wants to revive and grow the parish and see it survive for another 100 years, as much as we do.

And it's not just about "doing things" to bring people in. It's been prayer and fasting, and preaching Jesus. We're not an "ethnic club" either. And unfortunately now, it's almost -literally- to the point where the priest is preaching to the choir every Sunday. I don't mean to sound doom and gloom, but it's hard to try again after trying and failing for so long.

But after so much time, and trying so many different things with little, to no results, it can get discouraging. There's no one to "merge" us with. We don't have 5 Ruthenian parishes in a 3 mile radius in New Britain. But there is an OCA parish, Ukrainian Orthodox and Ukranian Catholic parishes all within spitting distance of us. Like us, NONE of them are healthy or bursting at the seams. Yet stubborness, pride, ethnicity, and supposed religious differences keep us apart. So where does that leave us?

Interjurisdictional choirs are outside the control of the hierarchy of any one church. So, what standard is used in selecting what to sing, when to sing, etc? Isn't it usually the choice of the choir director in charge? Doesn't it have more to do with preferences of musical taste than it does with being faithful to the Church's mission?

If a church has a choir of its own, it can create opportunities for evangelization of the church's message as others here have mentioned. Christmas singing especially comes to mind. It's when it goes outside hierarchical control that I see focus being lost.

I am unsure as of yet. My wife and I are attempting to buy a house and find a renter to take over the lease we signed for next year (rental season is very early in Champaign). So, I don't know at this point in time if I can make it. I very much want to make it but there are a great many unknowns at this point in time.

Thanks for asking.