[Sundaycommunity] LETTER TO THE SUNDAY COMMUNITY ABOUT MUSIC

Thu Jan 5 08:58:47 PST 2023

Dear Brian and Mary Lou

I’ll never forget the generosity of spirit, love and warmth with which you and the Sunday Community greeted me and my children when I joined in the ‘90s. You and Mary Lou helped Adam and Linda prepare for the Sacraments. 

Every Sunday the music selected helped carry our liturgy to a sacred space. It was moving and provided a deeper connection from the psalms through to the special days and occasions of the year. I’m so grateful to have experienced such beauty and serenity in our worship.

It’s hard seeing good things come to an end and realizing we have entered new chapters of our lives, like it or not.

I wish you, Mary Lou and your family much strength, comfort and courage as you navigate through the challenging journey ahead.

With gratitude,

Maria Pimentel 

> On Jan 5, 2023, at 1:30 AM, Angela sut via Sundaycommunity <sundaycommunity at lists.integralshift.ca> wrote:
> 
>  Thank you for all your service 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>>> On Jan 4, 2023, at 8:27 PM, Brian Halferty via Sundaycommunity <sundaycommunity at lists.integralshift.ca> wrote:
>>> 
>> 
>> Dear Members of the Sunday Community,
>> t has been quite a few years since Mary Lou and I, with our family, joined the Sunday Community, down in the basement of the Catholic Information Centre, beside St. Peter’s Church, on Bathurst Street in Toronto.  We thought of ourselves at the time as being, in a way, “on pilgrimage” – looking for a worshipping community that was a real community.  We had been searching for a long time. We found it when we arrived at the CIC.  Monique Newton, one of the earliest and most central members of the community, spoke to us immediately, and welcomed us, and made us feel at home.  In those days, there were still families, with their children, who were part of the community.  We were so impressed when a phone call came to our house during the week after we first joined the community, a phone call not for Mary Lou or I, but for our kids – someone inviting them to come and join the other young people for a movie later in the week.
>> 
>> We participated in the Sunday Eucharist with the community for a couple of years, I think, before I joined the other musicians in the music ministry. What a group! We had 4 guitarists, led by Heather, Mike on keyboard, occasionally Mike’s brother David on trumpet, a flute player, 2 or 3 additional vocalists, and for awhile a tambourine player as well.  Over the years, people moved out of town to other places, or their lives took different turns, and the “band” dwindled in size, until it got down to just myself on guitar and Mike on the keyboard.  Even then, for special occasions like Christmas or Easter, we were able to pull together some of the old gang to do music together. What fun!
>> 
>> COVID-19, of course, put us in this very strange situation of having to stay apart while trying to continue to gather together.  Our gathering together has been on Zoom – we’ve been doing it now for more than 2 ½ years --- and we have not been able to enjoy the reality of singing together in the same place.  Still, there has been a strong, spiritual linkage that has continued, something of value to us all.
>> Mary Lou and I both worked as lay Chaplains in Catholic high schools in Toronto, a position of spiritual leadership in which we each tried to do our best to answer to the spiritual needs of students and their families, and of the staff as well. I have described this to people as “the best job I ever had,” a job that was demanding, and difficult in many ways, and sometimes a source of anguish, but at the same time, a role in which I felt called, and blessed, and in which I often experienced success and satisfaction.  Underlying this work of Chaplaincy, for both Mary Lou and I, was the need to be connected to a source of spiritual inspiration and support for ourselves personally.  And we found that source, that spring of fresh water, in the Sunday Community, where we felt real community with others, with God, with the Church. 
>> In recent weeks, as you know, Mary Lou has not been well, has not been in a good place physically and mentally.  She has been hospitalized since November 24th, and since Dec. 14th has been at Providence Health Care in an “Interim placement” situation, receiving care while waiting for a Long-Term Care placement to be approved.  Those of you who have been part of the Sunday Zoom liturgy will know that Mary Lou has, with help, been able to join the Zoom call from hospital on recent occasions, including Christmas Eve, when I spent the day and evening with her.
>> In order to be with Mary Lou on Christmas Eve, I had to step away from leading the music that night. And now I have to tell you that, after a lot of thought, and after talking this over at length with my family, I will have to step away completely from organizing and leading the music, at least for the next while. 
>> Being in a hospital, away from home and familiar surroundings, is very difficult for Mary Lou.  The family and I are committed to trying to be with her as much as possible through all of this.  That includes me, and especially me, because it is me that Mary Lou most wants to have with her.  Mary Lou will not be coming home again to live. She requires too much care and needs to be in a place where that can be provided.  I can’t explain to you what a deep heartache this is. It is a painful tragedy all the way around. I am so grateful for the generous and loving support our family – children, spouses, their children – have given to Mary Lou through this awful transition, and have given to me also as I learn to live with what is happening.
>> I am also concerned about the Sunday Community. I know that the music is an important part of our worship, and indeed, an important part of my own spiritual and prayer life. I feel badly about having to stop providing it. May we find the way(s) to continue worshipping together and being sources of inspiration for each other.
>> Love to all of you,
>> Brian
>> PS: Since I started putting this letter together, Sylvia Skrepichuk has been in touch with me. She has offered to lead the music for the next couple of months, at least, and I have agreed to assist her by continuing to send out the weekly Song Programs. 
>> Thank you, Sylvia.
>> B.  
>> 
>> 
>> Brian J. Halferty
>> 146 Sumach Street, Apt. 214
>> Toronto, ON  M5A 0P7
>> 416-431-0038 
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