Change: The One Constant

Mar 3

Letter from the Pastor
2nd Sunday of Lent
March 5, 2023

Change: the One Constant

I am very happy to announce that Michele Beck is our new Director of Liturgy and Music. With JoAnne Reeder’s retirement, I took this opportunity to reorganize the parish liturgical office. This new position will add some responsibilities to Michele’s already busy schedule. However, since she has been working so closely with JoAnne over the years, I know the transition will be a natural fit.

As many of you know, Michele has been singing at St. Francis for over 25 years and has been the Director of Music for a bit more than 20 years. During that time, she has done amazing things with our cantors, choirs, and liturgical music here at St. Francis. I have no doubt that she will bring that same enthusiasm, dedication, and expertise to our entire liturgical life. The depth of her knowledge of the liturgy, along with her natural “liturgical sense,” will only deepen our sense of ritual and common prayer.

To assist Michele in this new endeavor we have hired long time parishioner, Rosalie D’Amico, to the part-time position of Assistant to the Director of Liturgy and Music. Rosalie has volunteered countless hours over the years helping Michele organize the music for the choirs so she is very familiar with the workings of the office. We are very glad that she will be helping us to recreate our liturgical office.

*Fr. Fran, Dave Schnorbus, Michele Beck*

Congratulations to Michele and Rosalie and thank you for your leadership.

Coincidentally, one of the first acts as the new Director of Liturgy and Music was to accept the donation of an Estonia 9’ Concert Grand Piano. Our parishioners, Heather and David Schnorbus, were downsizing and asked if we would could use the piano at St. Francis. What an incredible gift to the parish!

After a crane hoisted the piano from the third floor of their house, the movers gently placed the new piano next to the organ in St. Francis.

The history of the piano is also quite interesting. Although it was made in Estonia, this piano was originally the concert piano in the Communist Concert Hall in Sofia, Bulgaria. How about that for a turn around? It has gone from communist patriotic songs to Now Thank We All Our God! God is good!

As Divine providence would have it, the piano was used for the first time at St. Francis at Davie Weiner’s Funeral Mass of Remembrance this past Friday. Nothing but the best for Davie!

Thank you, David and Heather, for your very generous gift to us. We promise to take great care of it!