The Newport Experience...

I have just arrived in Newport, RI. I have taken the job as Director of Liturgical Music and Organist of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church. This magnificent edifice of stone, designed by Patrick C. Keeley built in 1848, was the sight of the marriage of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier in 1953. Presently, the Parish includes approximately 1,200 families. What a mysterious new challenge... a large, Catholic parish with a rusty 1950's era Casavant pipe organ and a dwindling music program on the island city that inspired Thornton Wilder's Theophilus North.

My first Sunday was a shock. At the 11:00 Mass, five women showed up in the choir loft and whispered their way through the hymns and service music. I thought to myself, "Is this the choir?" After my postlude, one of the women said to me, "Didn't they tell you? The choir's dead! We're it, kid!"

I've come to know these women very well. Over the past several months, they've taught me the ins and outs of Newport and St. Mary's: who's who; what's what; why this is this; why that is that... These ladies have been great friends in every sense.

Last night we had our fourth choir rehearsal of the year. There were fifteen singers present! The group of five ladies has begun to blossom into a fine little choir, with voices on all four parts. Every week, one or two new people come to me, interested in singing. What's left of the old guard tells me that just twenty-five years ago there were over forty singers in the choir. All the evidence suggests the choir will continue to grow in size and strength for the foreseeable future. The original five ladies, who whispered through the music when I first arrived, have begun to sing with confidence and pride!

The choir members are friendly, gracious people who want to do the best job they can, but still like to have some fun. My priest is kind, understanding, and helpful. I know I can trust him and I know there is mutual respect. There is a very supportive attitude among the entire church staff, for which I am grateful. Constantly, I hear people saying with excitement, "Things are changing!" and I couldn't be happier to be a part of that change.

St. Mary's Church interior, as viewed from the Choir Loft

Whatever the purpose, what the future holds... God must be working in mysterious ways. I have never felt this sense of belonging outside of the home I grew up in. I have never felt so strongly that this is where I belong at this time in my life.

I don't know how long I'll be here - four years, ten years, sixty years - but I do know that I have been brought here for a reason. For now, I know that this is where I belong. This is the right place.