844 Ave. NOTRE-DAME,
St.Lambert, QC
(450) 671-6149
part of Saint John Paul II
Pastoral Unit...
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Open Letter of Thanks to Choir Members
Dear choir members,
I can't thank you enough for your so generously recognizing my years as choir director! I appreciate all your kind words and gifts so much!! I also hope we get to make music together for many more years. You are the best and I love you all!
Merry Christmas
& may God bless you and your families in the New Year!
Lisa
p.s. longer version below, because 25 years takes some reflecting...
In 1987, Linda G. (choir director at St. Francis, Susan's sister) invited Dominic B. (choir director at St. Mary's - of the choir I had been singing in for about 6 months) to collaborate and form a large choir for the Gift of Music (Carol of the Bells, Deep on A Dark, Momma Mary). I think it is important to mention this spirit of collaboration that brought me to St. Francis at this time when we are navigating our new Pastoral Unit's beginnings.
When Linda moved away, she invited Maureen to take over the choir and I think Dominic was kind enough to mention my name to Linda, which led to an opportunity to co-direct with Maureen. I can still feel my 16 year old self's nervous excitement when I went to Linda's place to meet with her and Maureen.
So, yes, aside from a few months away in 1997 and a year away in 2003-2004, I have been blessed to be involved in leading the music ministry at St. Francis of Assisi. Thank you to whoever it was in the choir who figured out that math and decided to honour me with a recognition of 25 years of service! That was quite the surprise - and I'm sure whatever words of thanks I mumbled in shock at the time were quite inadequate to express how touched I am.
Your kind words at our Christmas party and in the beautiful card, the "key" you dedicated to me on the mural, your beautiful gifts with such inspirational thoughts printed on them, the gift cards that will allow me to go on a shopping spree at Indigo... your generosity overwhelms me.
But I would not be a choir director without a choir - I would not be here if not for each of you and for every person who has sung and played with us over the years. I cannot mention every one here, but I hope that you each know how important you are to making our choir special - and if you're not sure, come see me and I will tell you. Every musical idea that is expressed by one of our drummers, piano or guitar players, every harmony that is learned or improvised, every fund-raising activity that is suggested and planned, every practice that is attended, every prayer shared... all these things and more make our choir a community for which I am very grateful. Thank you for your patience with me as I continue learning how to help make our music ministry effective, relevant, meaningful, and hopefully sometimes beautiful and inspiring.
Even though I can't mention everyone, I do need to say a special thanks to Maureen - I love collaborating with you!
Also, congratulations to every one of you who can count as many or more years of service to St. Francis Choir (especially if you had been in Linda's choir, and even if you took a few years off now and then).
I am thankful to the community at St. Mary's who had such an important role to play in my understanding of what music ministry is.
And I say a prayer of thanks to those who were with us a short or long time and helped make this choir what it is today, even though they may not see this note now.
Finally, I want to express my deep gratitude to my husband John, not only for contributing so much of his musical talent to our choir, but for his loving patience, enthusiastic encouragement, honest feedback and unending support - especially when I wonder if I am going in the best direction or when I try to develop some crazy-sounding new idea.
Thank you to you all - Looking forward to many more musical adventures together that can bring us closer to feeling God's love.
Lisa
I can't thank you enough for your so generously recognizing my years as choir director! I appreciate all your kind words and gifts so much!! I also hope we get to make music together for many more years. You are the best and I love you all!
Merry Christmas
& may God bless you and your families in the New Year!
Lisa
p.s. longer version below, because 25 years takes some reflecting...
In 1987, Linda G. (choir director at St. Francis, Susan's sister) invited Dominic B. (choir director at St. Mary's - of the choir I had been singing in for about 6 months) to collaborate and form a large choir for the Gift of Music (Carol of the Bells, Deep on A Dark, Momma Mary). I think it is important to mention this spirit of collaboration that brought me to St. Francis at this time when we are navigating our new Pastoral Unit's beginnings.
When Linda moved away, she invited Maureen to take over the choir and I think Dominic was kind enough to mention my name to Linda, which led to an opportunity to co-direct with Maureen. I can still feel my 16 year old self's nervous excitement when I went to Linda's place to meet with her and Maureen.
So, yes, aside from a few months away in 1997 and a year away in 2003-2004, I have been blessed to be involved in leading the music ministry at St. Francis of Assisi. Thank you to whoever it was in the choir who figured out that math and decided to honour me with a recognition of 25 years of service! That was quite the surprise - and I'm sure whatever words of thanks I mumbled in shock at the time were quite inadequate to express how touched I am.
Your kind words at our Christmas party and in the beautiful card, the "key" you dedicated to me on the mural, your beautiful gifts with such inspirational thoughts printed on them, the gift cards that will allow me to go on a shopping spree at Indigo... your generosity overwhelms me.
But I would not be a choir director without a choir - I would not be here if not for each of you and for every person who has sung and played with us over the years. I cannot mention every one here, but I hope that you each know how important you are to making our choir special - and if you're not sure, come see me and I will tell you. Every musical idea that is expressed by one of our drummers, piano or guitar players, every harmony that is learned or improvised, every fund-raising activity that is suggested and planned, every practice that is attended, every prayer shared... all these things and more make our choir a community for which I am very grateful. Thank you for your patience with me as I continue learning how to help make our music ministry effective, relevant, meaningful, and hopefully sometimes beautiful and inspiring.
Even though I can't mention everyone, I do need to say a special thanks to Maureen - I love collaborating with you!
Also, congratulations to every one of you who can count as many or more years of service to St. Francis Choir (especially if you had been in Linda's choir, and even if you took a few years off now and then).
I am thankful to the community at St. Mary's who had such an important role to play in my understanding of what music ministry is.
And I say a prayer of thanks to those who were with us a short or long time and helped make this choir what it is today, even though they may not see this note now.
Finally, I want to express my deep gratitude to my husband John, not only for contributing so much of his musical talent to our choir, but for his loving patience, enthusiastic encouragement, honest feedback and unending support - especially when I wonder if I am going in the best direction or when I try to develop some crazy-sounding new idea.
Thank you to you all - Looking forward to many more musical adventures together that can bring us closer to feeling God's love.
Lisa
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)