20 Years of the Parish folk group

By Nigel Ward

Kraainem (04 December 2005).- Back in 1985, in the days when Fr Michael Bailey was our Parish Priest, a meeting was called with a view to setting up a music group to serve at one of our Sunday masses. It was in October of that year when the first six members came together in the parish hall and put together our first set of hymns. Some of these people are still members of our current group. The first song we learned as a group was ‘Blest Be The Lord’ which is still a firm favourite. More members soon followed and the group grew. Due to the nature of our community, musicians and singers have come and gone over the years. There was a really low point in the late 1990’s when numbers fell to only a handful. Thanks to the dedication and perseverance of those who remained and gathered new recruits like good shepherds gathering sheep, the group gradually grew again and now numbers around 20.

We’ve sung at baptisms, weddings, funerals, and in fact services of all kinds. We’ve sung in Cathedral St. Michel and in other churches, sung for charity events, organised charity events, performed at the parish Fayre…. Our Ministry is making music and we are happy to serve our parish and community in this way. We are particularly pleased to have recently reunited with many of our ex-members to celebrate 20 years of singing with our Birthday Concert, which took place on 15 October. Many of you came to celebrate the occasion with us and the evening is one which will remain bright in our memories for a long time.

We love our music and this is reflected in the commitment of our members at rehearsals, at mass, and for social events. We have just begun rehearsals for our annual Parish Carol Concert. This takes place on Sunday 18 Dec at 16.30hrs and is a real family treat. Rehearsals are on Thursday evenings at 20.00hrs and anyone interested in being part of our choir for that event should come along to the church for these rehearsals. Everyone welcome. On November 25 we will host our Autumn Table Quiz – mark that in your diaries and on December 15, in the church in Sterrebeek (Kerkplein) we will join with two local choirs in presenting the Sterrebeek Christmas Carols. For additional information on any of the above please contact Nigel (0476 451450), Susan (02 7842342) or Noel (0477 837296) or email Susanmceneaney@skynet.be.

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