The past few months have been filled with joy and wonder, as the choir continues to grow both in numbers and in ability. We have six new choirboys, and we thank God for their presence among us. How did these new boys come into the choir?


{grid8}Over the summer, I got a chance to forge a relationship with the arts department at Epiphany School, which was founded here at All Saints in the late 1990's. I approached the school to ask if we might be able to set up a system in which Epiphany boys leave school a little early on Tuesday and Thursday, so that they might participate in the choir here at Ashmont. I pitched the idea first to their headmaster, John Finley, who was very supportive of the idea. With God’s help, we will now have a steady stream of new choirboys from Epiphany School!

Transportation is without question the most complicated aspect of running a boy choir here in Dorchester. How do the boys get to the church for the Tuesday and Thursday choir rehearsals? Some of the boys take the T from school, if they are old enough and have parental permission; some of the boys walk from home, if they live nearby; some of the boys take the T or bus with their parents; some of the boys are driven to rehearsal by their parents; and some of the boys need help. For almost a year now, devoted parishioner and Sunday School Teacher Suzanne Gaskin has been providing transportation three times a week for two of our choirboys. Without Suzanne, these two boys would not be able to participate in the choir. And finally, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I drive over to the Epiphany School to pick up the students there, and sometimes drive the boys home afterward if their parents cannot.

Do you think that you might be able to help the choir with transportation, starting in January? There is an Elementary School nearby (at the corner of Norfolk and Morton Streets) called the Pauline A. Shaw School, and there are four boys in that school that would like to participate in the choir, but they have no way of getting from the school to the church on Tuesdays and Thursdays because their parents are working. If you think you might be able and/or interested in volunteering your time on those days, please let me know. The boys need to be picked up at the school between 4:00 and 5:00, and transported to the church, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, in time for the beginning of rehearsal at 6:00.

In October, I was invited to sit on a panel of musicians and clergy that was convened at Virginia Theological Seminary as part of symposium on the future of the hymnal. Some in the national church are crying out for a new hymnal, and I can assure you that I have not joined that chorus. Instead of a new hymnal, we need fresh energy and vitality in the singing of the hymns we already have. I told one of our parishioners that I had attended this conference, and her response to me was, paraphrased: “They aren’t going to change the words, are they? The hymns are the foundation we stand on!” I couldn’t agree more. The hymn singing here at Ashmont is good, and I thank you for opening the hymnal to sing with joy and vigor. But, to quote my dear mother: “What is the biggest room in the world? The room for improvement!”

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{grid4_last}Upcoming

December 25 Christmas Day
10 amSung Mass with Carols

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