Gerry D’Mello
Daijiworld Media Network-Canada
Canada, Dec 17: “Tonight our parish is hosting once again the Voices of Christ, A Festival of Christmas Music! This is a beautiful occasion to welcome the Advent Season; the four weeks of preparation for the birthday of the Messiah! This is a time to rejoice for the gift of the redeemer. No wonder this evening, the angels are singing on earth and the archangels are rejoicing! Let us join our voices to theirs!” said Fr Carlos Macatangga, SVD, the dynamic pastor of Cristo Rei in his message while inaugurating the ninth "Voices for Christ" Christmas Choral event organized by the Knights of Columbus Council #12214 here in Mississauga.
"The voices for Christ Choral presentation allows members of various choirs to share the gift of music they have received from our creator; it allows them to make use of this God-given talent to make a difference in the lives of the people who find solace and inspiration from music" he added.
Contrary to the chillness of the Canadian weather, the warmth of the divine Spirit spread through angelic singing thus preparing Christians in and around Toronto for the joyous feast of Christmas.
The ‘Knights of Columbus’, a Catholic Association having over two million members all over the world, is a Catholic men’s fraternal benefit society that is very popular in North America. It was formed to render financial aid and assistance offered to the sick, disabled, needy members and their families. Social and intellectual fellowship is promoted among members and their families through educational, charitable, religious, social welfare, war relief and public relief works. It is a great vehicle for Catholics to practice their stewardship in parishes and communities.
In order to spread the light of Christmas joy, Council #12214 of the ‘Knights of Columbus’ affiliated to Cristo Rei Roman Catholic Church, one of the prominent Churches in Ontario, organized “Voices for Christ”, an event participated by the various Church Choir groups of Toronto in ‘Cristo Rei’ Church Hall for the ninth time. Acclaimed choir groups consisting of talented singers and musicians from different multicultural backgrounds like Canadian, Portuguese, Indian, British, Italian, Polish, Chinese and Filipino participated in this magnificent event.
Dereyk Rego and Xavier Correa, a couple of the vibrant and talented personalities of Cristo Rei Parish ably anchored the evening’s program which took off with the national anthem “O Canada” led by Haze Joy Tulod and Sharai Castelino. They welcomed the full-house gathering followed by prayer in song led by Celia G Cuevas with the assistance of key board played by renowned musician Dr Luis Noronha.
Comperes Dereyk and Xavier then read out the list of participating choir groups. They were:
‘Children’s Choir' from St.Joseph’s parish – Director: Ana Maria Nunes.
‘Grupo Movidos Pelo Espirito Santo’ Choir from Cristo Rei- Director: Jaime Pereira
‘The One Voice Choir from Cristo Rei parish’ – Directors: Lynn and Rod Evangelista
‘St.Michael’s Parish English Choir’ – Director: Sonja Dalle Ave
‘Toronto Male Voices’ – Director: Daniel Thomas
‘Couples for Christ Choir’ from Cristo Rei - Director: RJ Rodrigues
The St Joseph Children's Choir sings for the 9:30 am Mass at St. Joseph Parish in Streetsville every Sunday. The choir currently consists of thirty six children who are 6-14 years of age. They are a very enthusiastic, talented group who are proudly led by Ana Maria Nunes and Tracy Morrison. The Choir is excited to be performing in "Voices for Christ" for the second year in a row.
The choir named "Movidos Pelo Espirito Santo","Moved by the Holy Spirit", is led by Jaime Pereira. This group is enthusiastic, committed and cheerful. Every Sunday morning they participate with their songs at 8 am. Portuguese Mass giving the utmost to bring the spirit of faith, joy and happiness. The Choir also joins the English Choir on special multi-bilingual masses. They are a great team who will continue to enhance the mass with their singing and as well, inspiring their parishioners. Their choir group would like to wish you all a blessed Christmas full of love, peace and happiness.
The One Voice Choir is made up of members from various cultures led by Rod and LynnAngelista. Membership is open to all, young and old, who want to commit and share their talents through the music ministry. The group enjoys performing con- temporary as well as traditional hymns in harmony, whether a-cappella or with accompaniments. They hold regular workshops to help members improve their note reading and other musical skill and be more self-sufficient in learning new songs.
St Michael’s is a bilingual Parish serving English and Spanish Catholics in the region of Halton. There are two choirs at St Michael’s, singing in the two languages respectively. The English choir has 15 regular members and several instrumentalists. There is a strong sense of dedication to music and to living our Catholic faith, mirrored in the friendship between the choir members. When needed, individual members step up to the plate and take on leadership or organizational roles. The group practises once per week and sings at the 9:00 a.m. Mass on Sundays.
In March 2012, a group of inter-denominational Christian men began meeting every other Tuesday to learn and sing choral songs of praise and worship to the Almighty under the dynamic leadership of Toronto CSI Church’s Choir Director – Daniel Thomas, alias Danichen. The nameless group, while still in its infancy had the opportunity to debut themselves at the closing ceremony of the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of Toronto CSI Church, Toronto in 2012; where a local TV journalist opportunely called them ‘Toronto Male Voices’ (TMV) for the obvious reason of giving a title to his program guide. While the name sounded and is very generic, the group decided to adopt it. TMV had their first Spring Concert 'Cantate Domino' in May 2013 featuring mostly sacred Latin choral repertoire from the 16th century. In March of the following year, true to the group’s vision, they held their first choir festival ‘Choralfest 2014’—featuring the Canadian Marthoma and the Toronto CSI Church Choirs. A few months later, in May of 2014 they held their second annual spring concert titled ‘Adoremus Te’ a collection of Latin, Malayalam and traditional choral arrangements at the Trinity Anglican Church in Mississauga. TMV believes in the triune God—the Father, Son and Holy Spirit—who is the creator and sustainer of all living things, Jesus Christ as the redeemer of all who believe, and the Holy Spirit as comforter and guide. They believe music to be an expression of adoration and worship to proclaim the wondrous and magnificent works of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. TMV works to be a platform for Christian musicians (singers, song writers, and instrumentalists), par- ticularly from immigrant nations to Canada, irrespective of their style of music or rendition to glorify God and His awesome work through the expression of music
The Couples for Christ (CFC) is an international Catholic lay ecclesial movement whose goal is to renew and strengthen Christian family life and values. It is one of 122 International Associations of the Faithful. The organization was affiliated with the Vatican recognition from the Pontifical Council for the Laity. CFC is made up of several ministries, and the music ministry is one them. Moved by the Holy Spirit, one with the Catholic Church, blessed to witness to Christ’s love and service, Couples for Christ is a united global community of family evangelizers that sets the world on fire with the fullness of God’s transforming love.
It was quite evident that every choir was very eager and enthusiastic to do their best and as a result, they all gave a great, well-prepared performance. Soon after the performance by various Choir groups, the members of ‘Couples for Christ Choir’ led by renowned music director RJ Rodrigues enriched and engaged the audience with their spell-bound singing of Christmas carols.
The dynamic and dedicated leader of Knights of Columbus Council #12214 and the ‘Grand Knight’ for the second term GK Valerian D’Souza proposed the vote of thanks wherein he thanked all the sponsors, Worthy Knights and all those who had worked behind the scenes. He extended a special thanks to the Worthy Chaplain Fr.Carlos for his great support groups and Allan Fernandes for heading the ‘Voices for Christ’ committee that resulted in a tremendous success!