Concert to benefit Gulf parish
damaged by hurricane
By Mary Ann Wyand
St. Christopher Parish in Indianapolis has “adopted” Our Lady of the Gulf Parish in Bay St. Louis, Miss., whose facilities were severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina in late August.
Proceeds from the adult choir’s annual Winter Concert scheduled at 7 p.m. on Dec. 15 at St. Christopher Church, 5301 W. 16th St., will help restore the music ministry at the Gulf Coast parish.
The Advent concert will feature a variety of unique Christian songs, and donations will be collected for the Mississippi parish to help defray the cost of repairs to the parish’s musical instruments damaged during the Aug. 29 hurricane.
“This is the first time [that] St. Christopher’s Winter Concert has identified a benefactor outside its own parish, but we can empathize,” said Larry Hurt, director of music at the Indianapolis West Deanery parish.
“St. Christopher’s worship space was damaged by fire a few years ago,” Hurt said, “and I remember how anxious I became while we restored our worship space and our music ministry.”
Ed Grotkowski, director of music at Our Lady of the Gulf Parish, said both faith communities enjoy a “very lively” music ministry.
Grotkwoski said members of the Mississippi parish “really appreciate the outreach and generosity of the St. Christopher musicians in helping us to restore an all-important element of our worship service—music.”
Hurt said choir members will perform a variety of Christian music ranging from seasonal songs, such as “Run to Bethlehem” by Steven Warner, to songs recorded by the Notre Dame Folk Choir, such as “Run with the Light of Christ” by Karen Schneider Kiner.
Other concert selections include Nicholas Micchelli’s arrangement of “ ‘Tis the Gift to be Simple,” Ricky Manalo’s “Pie Jesu” adaptation from “Requiem Mass,” Francis Patrick O’Brien’s “Wood of the Cradle,” and Eileen Berry and Dan Forrest’s “Never a Brighter Star.”
St. Christopher Parish was established by former Bishop Joseph Elmer Ritter in 1937 west of the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and now has 2,400 registered households with more than 6,400 parishioners.
Hurt said the parish sponsors more than 50 Christian service ministries dedicated to witnessing and sharing in Christ’s mission of evangelization.
Also during Advent, St. Christopher School students are collecting gifts to send to students at St. Stephen School in New Orleans.
Our Lady of the Gulf Parish was established in 1847 at 228 South Beach Blvd. in Bay St. Louis, Miss. The parish campus, which sustained extensive damage during Hurricane Katrina, includes the church, Bay Catholic Elementary School for pre-kindergarten through sixth-grade students and Our Lady Academy for girls in the seventh- through 12th grades.
(For more information about Our Lady of the Gulf Parish’s rebuilding efforts, log on to www.olgchurch.net, www.baycatholic.org and www.ourladyacademy.com.) †