St. Alfred Parish - From 30 to 300

About 2 ½ years ago, I was asked to help out with the music ministry over at St. Alfred parish in Taylor, MI. At the time, the community had recently started having a mass in Spanish.

To tell the truth, I was very happy and most willing to be involved. There is something about a liturgy in the Spanish language. I mean, English is my first language. For me, this isn’t about a vernacular issue. There’s something very real, very different about the mass celebrated in Spanish and about Latino culture in general. . . but that, my friends, may very well be another blog entry. . . Really, I’d like to use this blog entry to say a few words about my friends at la parroquia de San Alfredo.

First of all, a heartfelt thank you must be given to our pastor, Fr. Jim Kean. Fr. Jim went out on a limb starting this Spanish mass. I know there are those who weren’t too happy that he went forward with it. But something must of moved Fr. Jim to proceed anyway. Somehow, he had a vision of what would be and moved decidedly toward it. Thanks, Fr. Jim. We are all the better for it!

Slowly but surely the mass and the ministries thereof have progressed. We went from 1 or 2 Lectors. . who often doubled as Eucharistic Ministers. . . to a full liturgical ministry team. We went from no altar servers at all to a full crew week after week! We have a couple of gentlemen who serve as sacristans, helping to prepare before and straighten up afterwards.

Folks who attend this mass in Spanish are active in the parish evangelization commission, catechesis, and other areas of parish life. Octavio helped set up the big Christmas tree near the church entrance. . . among a myriad of other things that he’s done around the parish!. . . .Quinceañera celebrations are coming up. And we have had many baptisms at this Spanish mass as well.

And music has progressed, slowly but surely, too. Rosa was the one who initially invited me to participate in the music ministry. Rosa is a friend. . . and a distant relative. . . someone married someone somewhere along the line and we never did quite figure out how, exactly, our two families are related. . . .anyhow, Rosa first invited me to participate in the music. Rosa, Ron (her husband) on conga drums, a couple of her sisters, her brother Albert on guitar and a few friends banded together to create a choir. . . . and then, me, with a few parish volunteers in between. . .
This past Sunday, a couple of new gentlemen stepped forward to sing. . And one young man came to mass with his guitar! We recently combined all of our musical efforts for the parish mission during the Lenten season and I must say making music at St. Alfred really felt great! . . .Oh, and I would be amiss not to mention my wee girlfriend (Tere’s baby) . . I often encourage her to sing during Fr. Jim’s homilies!

Even more, the ministries have really taken on a life of their own due, in great measure, to Janet Diaz. She is ever present and really, one fine pastoral person. Thanks, Janet! You know, you really do make a difference for the better.

Now. . .I’ve said all of that to say this: St. Alfred just celebrated an anniversary. This past Sunday we celebrated 3 years of mass in Spanish! Although I was not present at the first mass, during those first 6 months or so, I understand that there were about 30 in attendance at the beginning. Today we number close to 300! My how we have grown!

I am ever grateful that Rosa invited me to participate a couple of years ago. Thanks Rosa, I really am grateful. And I really have come to appreciate the community of San Alfredo.
And after mass this past Sunday, Samuel thanked me for the songs I chose for mass, for my ministry of music. It’s a simple thing, really, but it gave me a good feeling.

I mean, it’s one thing to appreciate and be grateful for a parish community. But it’s really quite another feeling when the community is grateful and appreciates you back.

San Alfredo, abogado de esta comuunidad;
Ruega por nosotross.

Español Aquí /Spanish Here

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About the photo:

This picture is of the altar area

at St. Alfred parish in Taylor, MI - Easter 2008.

Bilingual Lenten Mission

It’s about two years now that I serve as a music minister for St. Alfred Parish.
St Alfred is located in the city of Taylor, MI.

St. Alfred presents a bilingual mission:
Jesus asks
What Do You Want Me to do for You?

Come and join us!
All are welcome!

Feb. 14 - 7:00p.m.
Presentor: Bishop Daniel Flores

Feb. 21 - 7:00p.m.
Presentor: Fr. James Kean

Feb. 28 - 7:00p.m.
Presentor: Bishop Daniel Flores

Childcare will be provided.

There will be Mass, Mission Presentation and Fellowship.

For more information, plcase call:
Janet Diaz, Pastoral Minister
313-291-6464, ext. 105

St. Aflred
9500 Banner
Taylor, MI
(At Telegraph, one block south of Wick)

St. Alfred's Website

St. Alfred in the Free Press

about the photo: Bishop Daniel Flores as he presides at a mass last December at LaSed.


Español/Spanish Here

Celebrations en Honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe

It is true that this blog entry is a little overdue. The fact of the matter is, I had many photos in my digital camera and I just kept putting off uploading them to my PC and doing the crop and irfanview thing. That’s the thing about digital cameras. One must really be religious about uploading them or you end up with a ton of photos!

These photos are from recent masses in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I had the great honor of serving as a pastoral musician for both of these celebrations.

The first mass was held in Dec. 11th at St. Alfred parish in Taylor. The procession began and went through St. Alfred school. You know, that school building is a lot larger than she looks from Telegraph Road! The school children had adorned the halls with "Ojo de Dios" and "Papel Cortado," as well as with other fine art work.

We processed through the halls with the parish’s deacon carrying the image of Our Lady. The community sang "Las Apariciones Guadalupnanas" and ended the procession with "Las Manañitas a la Virgen de Guadalupe."

It really was a wonderful celebration with the parish’s newly formed Spanish choir. Kudos to Teresa P. for organizing the choir. Congrats, Tere, on the parish’s newest little Guadalupana!
The second celebration I had the honor of serving for was held on Dec. 12th at Detroit’s Most Holy Trinity Parish. Located in Corktown, this historic church is one of the most beautiful in the City of Detroit. The acoustics are phenomenal. The stations of the cross are huge and beautiful paintings. Trinity houses many lovely statutes, including one of St. Patrick. (This parish is THE place to be for St. Patrick’s Day Mass!)

The organ itself is one of the oldest pipe organs in the city. . . .The couplers on that instrument can offer a challenging touch to those of use who are so accustomed to playing electronic organs! Yes, it’s a beautiful instrument indeed there at Most Holy Trinity!

The Guadalupe celebration at Most Holy Trinity was bilingual. And I must say, Fr. Russ really does have a way with bilingual celebrations as these can challenge even the best of presidors.
The thing is, I prefer a mass that is bilingual. I mean, for those of us who are 2nd and 3rd generation in the States, being bilingual is a very natural state of our being. We’ll flip flop between the 2 languages all the time. I realize that sometimes this can frustrate folks. . .especially when the not so well informed want to repeat everything about mass in the other language. Anyhow, my point is that Fr. Russ really has a handle on celebrating a good bilingual liturgy. The mass in Honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a perfectly good example.

The photos above show Our Lady in each of these parishes. The first iImage of Our Lady of Guadalupe is St. Afred parish in Taylor, MI. The other image is at Most Holy Trinity in Detroit, MI.

Español/Spanish Here