ALLELUIA! THEY’RE BACK!
It is great to have our parish choir back from their summer break. It is always a joy to join our voices with theirs as we offer our praise and worship to our loving God.
Music is such an important part of our Sunday worship. Often the quality of music that is provided at Mass will determine if people will come back again next Sunday.
If the music is bad, people have no problem about “shopping around” to find a place that offers good music.
Today it is obvious that Catholics want, and need, to be spiritually fed when they go to church. Good music has the power to lift our souls, drawing our hearts closer to God.
This is why historic churches, like St. Joseph’s, were built with very high ceilings. It was to create a sacred place where our prayer and song could ascend to the heavens.
We are so blessed to have Liam Marchant as our Director of Music. He gives great attention and care to our music program, that has become a wonderful hallmark of our parish. Plus, it is a joy to work with Liam. He is so talented, positive and mature. He kindly laughs at my dumb jokes.
In my 42 years as a priest, I have worked in six parishes across the Archdiocese of Chicago. Our parish is the only place that I know of where folks do not leave Mass early at the end. Parishioners stay until the final hymn is over before exiting their pew. People stay around to applaud our cantors, choir and musicians for their good work.
This is a healthy habit and, better yet, a wonderful tradition that we have naturally embraced!
WELCOME MICHAEL PENICK
We welcome Michael Penick to our parish staff as our new Piano Accompanist. (You may recall that back in June, we announced that Maya O’Neill was headed to Bangkok to teach music and begin a new chapter in her career.) We are happy that Michael has been able to fill this position.
Michael Penick's talents as an actor and singer have been gracing us at our parish for the last 5 years. His ability to call our congregation into song and extend a supportive hand to our choir has been an invaluable part of our music ministry. In addition to his work as a cantor, he has delivered some incredibly memorable performances at our Love Song Cabaret.
Starting this Fall, you will see him playing piano regularly for two of our Sunday Masses, the 8:00 a.m. at St. Joseph’s Church and 9:30 a.m. at Immaculate Conception Church. Don't worry! You will still hear him sing at the 11:00 a.m. Mass.
When he is not singing or playing at ICSJ, you can find him singing and acting in theatre productions across the city.
If you close your eyes when Michael is singing, and I have done this many times during Mass, you will think that you are listening to Josh Groban. His voice is beautiful. Welcome, Michael!
THANK YOU, GUYS!
We are grateful for Colm Murphy, our Director of Facilities, and our faithful crew of maintenance workers, Peter Schneider, Mark Prost, and Mike Szot, who have prepared our buildings for full occupancy again after the summer break.
They have spent weeks over the summer break painting, cleaning, trimming, and repairing things so that everything is fresh and in good shape when school resumes. They often are called upon to do the dirty and messy work that no one else wants to do. Their hard work makes a huge difference for the hundreds of people that come in and out of our buildings every week.
Thank you, guys. You make us look good, and you make us proud of our parish!
ARE YOU CURIOUS ABOUT YOUR FAITH?
Are you still looking for something more meaningful in your life? If so, try Alpha and join a conversation about life, faith and purpose.
ICSJ's new ALPHA season starts on Thursday, September 17th at 6:30pm at Immaculate Conception.
Check it out. Just come and see and bring a friend for an evening of delicious food, engaging video and inspiring conversation. Visit our Alpha page for more information. Or contact Jutta Keenan, our Director of Evangelization, at: jkeenan@icsjparish.org for more information, and help you to sign-up for our kickoff night.
