The clergy already had ample evidence that people in the parish and the wider community love sacred choral music. An advertised performance by a visiting choir from Christ’s College, Cambridge in July had phones at the church ringing non-stop, and it was a packed house for on the concert on that hot summer evening.

And when Calkin offered Nov. 11 as one of the possible dates, the Rev. Gillian Hoyer recounted: “We thought what better way to mark Remembrance Day in a military community than to offer this Requiem for All Souls with the music of Fauré’s Requiem sung by the combined cathedral choirs?”

Much planning and rehearsing later, the combined choir arrived in Pembroke on Nov. 11, including members from the girls and boys choirs, mens’ choir and the lay clerks. Hoyer estimated there were 35 to 40 altogether.

Remembrance Day services are always important services at Holy Trinity because of Pembroke’s deep connection with the military. “Many of our parishioners are veterans or are active members of the military… and right now our curate in the parish, the Reverend Claire Bramma, is in her two-year civilian posting before becoming a military chaplain herself,” said Hoyer.

More than $1,300 in donations were collected for Wounded Warriors Service Dogs. “We know that there are a lot of veterans in our communities who have been beneficiaries of that organization, and in the absence of a specifically local veterans’ charity, we wanted a veterans charity that has a local connection,” Hoyer explained.

The service was very well attended, and Hoyer said many parishioners said how moved they were to hear the music in a service as Faure intended.

Parishioner Lesley Lancaster wrote to thank the clergy for making the special service possible. “The level of musicianship totally blew us away and to be so close to the singers was a real joy. I have sung this requiem in the past and heard it in concert. Some movements were sung at my father-in-law’s funeral in 2001 by his church choir in England…but I have never heard it before as part of a full Requiem Mass and found it very moving.”

The Holy Trinity Anglican Church Women group went all out preparing a ham and turkey supper as thank you to the choirs before they travelled back to Ottawa.

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In contrast to the grey skies and snow flurries during the afternoon of Sunday, Jan. 22, the light and hope of being united in Jesus Christ prevailed when just over 60 people gathered at Grace Lutheran Church in Eganville for a special service of prayer during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The service was organized by the Eganville Ministerial group made up of ministers from the Anglican Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lily of the Valley Ministries, Roman Catholic Church and United church. It can also be said by the make-up of the congregation was a visible sign of God’s grace at work, bringing together people from across the Ottawa Valley from different background and denominations, in solidarity with what unites Christians at the core of their faith – love for God in Jesus Christ and love for neighbour.

This year’s theme was based on an important Bible verse about how to live out a life of faith: “learn to do good, seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” (Isaiah 1:17) The Rev. Gale Edmondson (former chair of the Eganville and District Food Bank, EDFB) shared a story about how the genesis of the EDFB was a response to the growing food insecurity in the region. The story also shed light on how partnership between church ministers, responding to Jesus’ command to “Feed My Sheep” (John 21:5), blossomed into a wider community endeavour that would have positive and transformative impacts. Rev. Edmondson’s story concluded with an anecdote about how a former client of the food bank, who eventually become a donor, expressed their deepest gratitude to them for the role that the food bank played in their life.

This story reminded all present that responding to the call to love God and one’s neighbour can bring tangible results—not only seeing others flourish but also inspiring others to be compassionate.

The Rev. Claire Bramma, Parish of the Valley; the Rev. Ralph Weigold, Grace Lutheran Church; the Rev. Gale Edmondson, Parish of the Valley; the Rev. Matthew Brown, Parish of the Valley; Michelle Robichaud, Melville United Church.

Photo: MIKE BASHFORD

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