| “One
Lord, One Faith, One Song”
The St. Noel Music Ministry is made up of dedicated individuals
who place high regard on being not just musicians, but truly
ministers. We strive not only to make the prayer of our parish
richer through beautiful, well-executed music, but also to
serve our community and one another. As a group we worship
and as a group we celebrate each other’s joys and lift one
another up in times of sorrow.
The ministry consists of the choir, Chamber Singers, Handbell
Choir, cantors, guitarists, keyboardists (piano and organ),
and several additional instrumentalists (flute, violin, trumpet,
clarinet, and various percussion instruments).
With praise and thanksgiving we make music before the Lord.
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The
St. Noel handbell choir is filled with new energy and
new bells! With
13 wonderful ringers in the group, we are always trying
new things and expanding our repertoire as well as our
ranks. The bell choir currently rings four-octaves of
bells and four octaves of hand chimes. We can be heard
on major feast days, at special events, and occasionally
at weekend liturgy throughout the year. We have recently
begun ringing at events off-site from St. Noel. If you
are interested in having the St. Noel Handbell Choir
ring at your function, please click “contact us” and
let us know. |
The
St. Noel choir has over 65 members and is a true demographic
sampling of the St. Noel community. Young and old, men and
women, avid musician and novice singer alike all unite to
sing together in praise of God. Each Thursday we prepare the
music for the upcoming weekend liturgies as well as for approaching
feast days. 
Members
attend the weekend liturgy of their choice so a choral presence
is heard at each Mass and the choir members can still enjoy
a flexible weekend schedule. Making this happen successfully
requires a tremendous amount of hard work, but our smiles
and laughter tell the real story. We enjoy our ministry. We
enjoy each other. We enjoy being the vessels of God’s music.
This group rehearses at 7:00 on Thursday and is open to anyone
who worships regularly at St. Noel and loves to sing.
St.
Noel Chamber Singers
The St. Noel
Chamber Singers is a 20 voice choir that consists primarily
of St. Noel Music ministry members and a few members from outside
the community. The purpose of this group is to sing not only
at liturgy, but also to help bring the message of the gospel,
through music, out into the community. The Chamber Singers have
sung in a number of formal concert venues as well as nursing
facilities, retirement communities, adult day care centers,
homeless shelters, and the Lake County Jail. With repertoire
that includes everything from renaissance motets to modern classical
works to vocal jazz, the chamber singers surely have something
to offer everyone. If you are interested in having the St. Noel
Chamber Singers sing at your function, please click “contact
us” and let us know.
| The St. Noel Instrumentalists |
|
“Whatever
your gift, use it for the glory of God.” With this motto in
mind, St. Noel has developed a richly diverse and growing
ministry of instrumentalists. Led by the Steinway piano (or
sometimes the organ) and three keyboardists, the group has
several guitarists, two flautists, two violinists, a clarinetist,
a bassist, a recorder player and several people who are willing
to take up a rhythm instrument from bongo drums to ratchet
and tambourine. For those instruments for which no written
part exists to a particular piece, one can be written out
or sometimes improvised. Our instrumentalists rehearse with
the adult choir on Thursdays and often double as singers either
while playing or during an a capella piece as the instruments
are resting. We are always interested in exploring new possibilities
and in welcoming new instruments to our merry band. “Give
praise with blasts upon the horn, praise God with harp and
lyre. Give praise with tambourines and dance, praise God with
flutes and strings. Give praise with crashing cymbals, praise
God with sounding cymbals.” PSALMS 150:3-5.
How
Can We Keep from Singing?
You
can now hear the St. Noel Choir, Chamber Singers, and Handbell
Choir whenever you wish with one of our newly released CD's
entitled “How Can We Keep from Singing?”. This recording includes
music for every season of the year including favorites such
as “O Holy Night,” Randall Thompson's “Alleluia” and the Hallelujah
Chorus from Handel's Messiah . The cost is $15 for
one CD, $25 for two CD's, $35 for three CD's, and four or
more are just $10/each. If you are interested in purchasing
for yourself or as a gift, please click on “contact us” and
we will let you know how to order. A complete title listing
follows:
The
St. Noel Choir performs:
He
Will Come!
Voces
Angelorum
O
Holy Night
Take,
Lord, Receive
Thy
Will Be Done
Hallelujah
from Messiah
Lift
Up Your Hearts
The
St. Noel Chamber Singers perform:
On
Jordan's Bank
Jesus,
Oh, What A Wonderful Child
Sing
Me to Heaven
Alleluia
How
Can I Keep from Singing?
The
St. Noel Handbell Choir performs:
What
Child Is This?
O
Sacred Head
Celebration
on ‘Hyfrydol'
The
St. Noel Dance Ministry |
The
St. Noel Dance Prayer Ministry has been a part of St. Noel
Parish for over 15 years. We began as a small group of 5 people
who only danced in paraliturgical services. Then in 1990,
when the parish celebrated its10th anniversary, we were asked
to be a part of the celebration at the old Front Row Theater.
That marked the beginning of our being a regular Liturgical
Ministry. We now dance 3-4 times per year. Members include
people from all walks of life, young and old, male and female,
disabled and not
.
We
in the Dance Prayer Ministry believe that dance is an honored
form of worship which has been part of Christian tradition
since the earliest times. People of the parish have told me
how much more meaningful words become when accompanied by
gesture or other movements. Many sense the deepening of prayer
as a result.
Anyone interested in being a part of it can contact me through
the link below or phone me in care of the parish at 440-946-0887. |
