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Music has been an important element of liturgical celebrations since the founding of our parish. At first, when Sunday liturgies were held in St. Joseph's Hall, Pat Suschnik was the organist, Jack Knorr the director of the first choir. Then the choir sang "The Mass of the Angels" in Latin, and half the hymns were sung in Latin, half in English. Even though English was prescribed in 1964, Fr. Martin preferred to continue in Latin. By December, 1965, to encourage congregational participation, the choir disbanded and all hymns were sung in English with the people participating. In the mid-60's, the organ was brought down from the choir loft and placed near the altar. After this move, a variety of people played and sang at the various liturgies: Monica Lutz, Cecilia Moran, Rosemary Fritterer, and Pat Suschnik. In the early 1970's, Aurora Hameland, her four daughters, sang as a quintet at several Christmas celebrations. In 1979, the Lalonde family, with Rosemary leading the singing and her children Tom and Annaliese taking turns playing the organ, began to lead the music first at 8 a.m. Mass, then at 10 a.m. Later, Daniel Huang and Donna Spanu helped out playing the organ. Other people involved in this minsitry have been Mary Beaulieu, Ed Wahl (weekdays and 8 a.m.), Sr. Kathleen Crowley who had a small choir of young girls at one point, Gloria Togni, Gerry Curtis, Melanie Filiatrault, and Carol Jensen, and Donna Schneider. Sr. Paula Gallaher assisted in this ministry during the week and at 11:30 Mass on Sundays. Several of these people and groups have performed at community functions such as the Christmas Carol Festival as well as a great many parish functions. Music has always added a vital and vibrant note to our liturgical and parish celebrations. Reference: Donna Schneider, Our History, 1986 If one of your favorite parts of the Mass is the music, maybe you should consider joining in the music ministry. You can share your giftedness in playing a musical instrument or singing. This is one of the best ways to start getting involved and it also brings the beauty of song into the Eucharistic celebration. Give the office a call to find out how you can start belting out the tunes and making our celebrations even better!
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