[Sundaycommunity] LETTER TO THE SUNDAY COMMUNITY ABOUT MUSIC

Sun Jan 8 15:10:47 PST 2023

Beautifully said Janette.
Thank you.

Mary M

On Sun, Jan 8, 2023 at 12:37 PM Janette McCabe via Sundaycommunity <
sundaycommunity at lists.integralshift.ca> wrote:

> Dear Brian,
>
> Although I am a relatively recent and intermittent participant in the
> Sunday Community (as I continue with my former spiritual community in
> Louisville) I wanted you to know how touched I was by your heartfelt letter
> to all of us members. Your ongoing commitment and dedication over so many
> years is a testament to your deep faith and a beautiful example of what it
> means to be present. I am sorry that Mary Lou's declining health has
> required such difficult decisions and changes in both your lives, yet you
> continue on bravely and faithfully. I also wanted to mention that I
> received a lovely phone call this fall from Mary Lou inquiring about me
> even as she was experiencing her own health problems. So selfless of her.
> Thank you for all you have done and I pray that the love and support of
> those close to you will carry you forward on this journey.
>
> Kindest regards,
>
> Janette McCabe
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Sundaycommunity <sundaycommunity-bounces at lists.integralshift.ca>
> on behalf of Brian Halferty via Sundaycommunity <
> sundaycommunity at lists.integralshift.ca>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, January 4, 2023 8:09 PM
> *To:* Sunday Community <sundaycommunity at integralshift.ca>
> *Cc:* Brian Halferty <bhalferty at yahoo.ca>
> *Subject:* [Sundaycommunity] LETTER TO THE SUNDAY COMMUNITY ABOUT MUSIC
>
> 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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