(Singing Opp) Easter Vigil at St. Martin of Tours Church

[Sandra Gierisch]

Dear Lovely Singers!

 

We have been invited to sing with a Catholic church for an upcoming Easter Vigil on the evening of Sat, April 7th. If you are interested, please contact Rachel Payne at rac...@gmail.com . She will have the music and can let you know about upcoming rehearsals.

 

Thank you!

Sandra

 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rachel Youngberg Payne <rac...@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Feb 10, 2012 at 12:51 PM
Subject: Fwd: Easter Vigil at St. Martin of Tours Church
To: Sandra Gierisch sandrag...@gmail.com

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <saved...@aol.com>
Date: Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 3:03 AM
Subject: Easter Vigil at St. Martin of Tours Church
To: rac...@gmail.com

Dear Rachel,

 

Here is some basic information on the Easter Vigil at St. Martin of Tours.  Please fee free to share it with all concerned.  Thank you for considering this.  It was highly successful last year with the Long Beach East Stake.  Participation even included a member of the Stake Presidency, the Stake Patriarch, a couple of former Bishops, and a member of the Public Affairs Department.

 

1.  What is the Easter Vigil? 

 

It is the most solemn and sacred service in the Roman Catholic Church.  It's a celebration anticipating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and it's the service where new members are baptized and confirmed.  It also marks the joyous return of the Eucharist (sacrament/communion) to the church (Eucharist is not celebrated on Good Friday.)

 

 

2.  How did you get involved?

 

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has many pastoral musicians who are of other faiths.  I have been involved since 1996 as a profession musician.  Our organist is also LDS, and is an accompanist for the Southern California Mormon Choir.  Through musical service in the Catholic Church, we have been able to help expose thousands of people to the LDS faith tradition.  Additionally, I sing regularly with the Jewish Community.  Last year, we were privileged to have Rachel as our Soprano Section Leader at St. Martin of Tours.

 

Last year, select members of the Long Beach East Stake Choir sang in the Easter Vigil.  It was a wonderful experience for all involved.  We were able to share in each others' traditions, make friends, dispel rumors/myths, and portray our LDS faith in a wonderfully positive light.

 

The clergy and membership at St. Martin of Tours was highly impressed and appreciative of the LDS community and what we did.  The catholic community is still commenting on what a wonderful experience this project was.  They were most grateful to the LDS community for our display of dignity and respect toward their faith traditions.

 

I have had many faith promoting experiences in the Catholic Church, and many opportunities to share Gospel principles with others.  Through triumph and tragedy, these have been wonderful, spiritual experiences.  I'd be happy to share some of these with you anytime. 

 

 

3.  What/who is St. Martin of Tours?  St. Martin of Tours is the patron saint of the local catholic church in Brentwood.  Traditionally, catholic churches (meaning the building and the local organization--not the religion itself) are named in honor of a saint, the Blessed Vigin Mary, or the Savior.  Some exmples of names of  Catholic churches in the Los Angeles Archdiocese include St. Paul, St. Bernard (author of our hymn "Jesus the Very Thought of Thee"), Our Lady of Refuge, Holy Family, and Holy Redeemer.  St. Martin of Tours was a diplomat who worked between France and what is now the Czech Republic.  He was know for his charitable works.

 

 

4.  What would the time commitment be?  How hard is the music?

 

The service is at sundown on Saturday, April 7, 2012.  Prior to the service, we have a run-through rehearsal.  Then we have a break/social time.  The service itself is about as long as a General Conference session.  After that, a lovely reception for everyone is held.  The break and reception were amazing:  Members of the joint choir were discussing and sharing their faith s and doctrines in friendly and enthusiastic ways.  What a wonderful opportunity!

 

There would need to be about two rehearsals prior to the service. There are many options for this, and we could establish rehearsal dates convenient to those participating.  The rehearsal dates/times need to be established according to mutual convenience.

 

The music is not overly difficult.  But, keep in mind that a catholic service involves many musical elements and a far amount of organization, etc.  Those who can sing our LDS hymns in harmony, have some choral experience/musical background/music reading skills will do fine.

 

The scope of the project is such that singers who meet the above criteria should be invited.  In other words, it is best to invite a delegation of your more experienced members to participate.

 

Also, the catholic church is very open to those of other faith traditions, particularly in music.  We have members that are Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Budhist, etc.

 

 

5.  How many people are needed?

 

Last year, we had eight people from the Long Beach East Stake.  We invited select singers who had music reading skills and choral experience.

 

 

6.  What is the music like, etc?

 

Choral packets will be given to all the singers.  Music includes settings from the Psalms, acclamations such as Glory to God, Alleluia, etc., hymns, choral anthems (including selections from our American Gospel/Spiritual traditions, and some selections from Messiah, by Handel.

 

 

7.  What is the service like?

 

The service begins with a beautiful procession proclaiming "Christ Our Light."  Following this are narrations from the Old Testament and sung Responsorial Psalms.  Next is the sung acclamation "Glory to God."  Following this are selections from the New Testament and the sung proclamation "Alleluia."  After this, baptism and confirmation are celebrated.  The last part of the service is the celebration of Eucharist. 

 

 

I am available to answer any questions and provide more information at your convenience.  It would be wonderful to repeat and reinforce the positive experience we had last year.  This project was a wonderful way to share the Restored Gospel with others in a positive, helpful, and constructive way.  There is not doubt that the seeds planted year will eventually result in an abundant harvest, as the Lord has promised us so.

 

A big thank you, to you and your Stake Leadership for considering this project.  These opportunities to share the Gospel through music need to be taken advantage of.  I hope we can make this happen.

 

Faithfully Yours,

Rick Wilkinson

(Long Beach East Stake)

Music Director

St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church

Brentwood

 

(213) 220-7350

saved...@aol.com

 

--
Rachel Payne
310.854.9688
www.reallyrachel.com