Good Things at Trinity!

Well, it’s great to see some positive things going on, for a change! (At Trinity, anyway.)

Things have definitely changed for the better in the last 1½ months or so since Casey Cantwell officially became OCM at Trinity. Things had already gotten much better since June when Tappe left, but now that Casey’s officially in the position I’m seeing an energy and optimism in the choir that I haven’t seen before. Case in point: A couple of weeks ago at our first Evensong we seemed to breeze right through the psalm (sung in Anglican chant, of course). Before we had always seemed so intimidated, so afraid we were going to make some fatal mistake. But at our last Evensong we probably sang the psalm better than we’ve sung it before. The choir is singing with more confidence and conviction these days. Casey makes efficient use of rehearsal time, and so on Sunday mornings we have been thoroughly rehearsed in that morning’s anthem(s).

We’re having fun, too! Just the fact that Eric Gibson is with us again has brought back a lot of joy. We’re not afraid to laugh & enjoy ourselves. Casey has indicated he’d like to see more informal choir get-togethers to foster the sense of community that we need. We’re getting to know one another again, which is good. Hopefully Casey will continue his New Year Day open house – he’s a wonderful cook. Another way he continues the Tom Matthews tradition – like Casey, Tom was a fantastic cook.

Most of all, it’s great to see folks returning to the choir who’ve been away. Before last night several folks had returned – and Rosie Halpin was back last night! Hooray! She was all smiles and clearly glad to be back. When folks return that’s always a morale boost.

We’ve got our scores for the Vivaldi Gloria, which we’ll be singing Christmas Eve. Plus, we’re doing Randall Thompson’s Alleluia – on All Saints Sunday, I believe. Peter Gehres, one of our high school Trinity choir members, and two girls in the St. Cecilia choir, are visiting Sunday School. classes and teaching the children about the music in our liturgy. Since we use the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, this fits in perfectly. Outside of the music department, we’ve started handing out loaves of bread to newcomers at Trinity. Connie Cronley has joined the staff as parish development coordinator, and she’s already making a huge difference – I was overjoyed to get an e-newsletter the other day!

Things are definitely looking up at Trinity!

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