The time has now come for Jesus Guild to recruit a full time Music Director, and I am pleased to start the process here in our Newsletter, with you, our friends and supporters. After all, if we are but six degrees of separation from one another, it may be that our new colleague is reading this right now!

With six-figure funding from generous financial backers, a new Skinner organ ready to be installed this summer, and our brand new Girls’ Choir poised to become the cornerstone of a fully professional Choir of Girls and Men, this could be the opportunity of a lifetime, for someone with vision and ambition.

The dexterity of ‘Oratory’ status with exposure to the whole Diocese by means of the Bishop’s vision for renewal ‘The One,’ means the Music Director of the Guild will be at the heart of transformational change in the culture of music in the local Church.

There is, frankly, nowhere else in the American Church that such a combination of direct episcopal sponsorship and liturgical breadth coincides, as at the Guild. A thriving, young worshiping community, and enthusiastic clergy who are liturgical musicians means this is the place to experiment with the very best in choral music.

An exceptionally generous full time salary, with benefits, is available for an immediate start, either on an interim or permanent basis. The position will be advertised more widely in the upcoming weeks, but interested parties are invited to send a resumé to [email protected] to get ahead of the competition.

Everyone’s a little bit Irish…

We are busy bees on campus at the moment, making preparations for our annual St. Patrick’s Feast, which this year is on Sunday March 10th, 2 PM - 5 PM. We’re calling our event a ‘céilí’ (pronounced ‘kay-lee’) because there will be top class music and dancing, in addition to classic Irish fare and traditional refreshments.

Again this year we will be joined by our friend, Jesse Ofgang, https://www.jesseofgang.com who is, without a doubt, the most talented piper in Connecticut, who plays all sorts of different pipes, and is able to accompany himself by sampling and layering. Jesse is a consummate musician (he is also organist and choir director at the First Congregational Church in Washington, CT) why not check out his YouTube channel below?

Also returning is pro Irish dancer, Chloe Quigley, who will be dancing alongside her brother, Jared Herrmann. Chloe danced last year to rapturous applause, defying the rules of gravity in a spectacular display of skill and timing. Chloe and Jared are part of our extended Oratory family, and it’s a delight to welcome them back this year.

What is unmistakeable is the contribution of Irish culture to the melting pot that is the United States. Especially in the North East, it is true that everyone’s ‘a little bit Irish’ come March 17th (even the Rector!) But what is this Irishness that is so important to the American spirit? Perhaps ‘tenacity’ sums it up.

Beautiful though it undoubtedly is, it has never been an easy life living on the island of Ireland: persecution, violence, hunger, and the notorious Atlantic weather to name just a few of the struggles. But that’s just it: a sense of ‘getting on with it’ - even when conditions weren’t perfect, money was not plentiful and there were bills to be paid, is Ireland’s lasting contribution to the American DNA. It is the true Irish spirit: not wallowing in self-pity, but doing what you can, whilst keeping the home fires burning.

But there is more. A lot of this Irish spirit comes down to Faith. This is why St. Patrick’s Day continues to resonate around the world, because it was Ireland’s Apostle who gave the people he came to love the greatest gift of all. The gift that makes sense of all adversity, and indeed, allows all suffering to be transformed into good.

So join us March 10th for what will be a joyous event, celebrating all that Ireland has given to us, with music, dancing, laughter and craic. Tickets, to include music, food and drink, are $15, $5 for Concessions and under 12s go free. They are available from the Office, or by emailing [email protected] - don’t miss out. Last year was a sell-out event!

Heritage under Threat

Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone?” laments Joni Mitchell in her 1970 hit, Big Yellow Taxi. I was thinking of that song when news came of the collapse of the First Congregational Church in New London, CT. One day it was there - and how much more seemingly solid can you get than a granite church with a tall steeple? Here one day, gone the next.

A little closer to the Rector’s heart is this church in Cornwall, UK. A landmark on the entrance to the city of Truro, St. Paul’s was built in phases between the 1840s and 1910s to cater for a growing suburban population. Sadly, the building is now facing imminent demolition, because the cost of repairs needed to the friable stonework far outweigh the economic value of the building.