Karen Sender shared this article from the Oakland Tribune about our colleague and friend, John Renke, bringing Blue Christmas to Oakland. We surely do miss John!

Blue Christmas aims to soothe those hurting during the holidays

John Renke, Pastoral Associate for Divine Workshop & Operations for the Oakland Diocese, stands inside Oakland’s Cathedral of Christ the Light, where on Dec. 21 he will oversee Blue Christmas, a program he is introducing to the cathedral aimed at people who are going through “painful passages” during what is a joyous season for most.

John Renke, Pastoral Associate for Divine Workshop & Operations for the Oakland Diocese, stands inside Oakland’s Cathedral of Christ the Light, where on Dec. 21 he will oversee Blue Christmas, a program he is introducing to the cathedral aimed at people who are going through “painful passages” during what is a joyous season for most.

It’s difficult to believe, what with the perfectly appointed TV commercials — snow wafting gently over a McMansion in the woods — where the thing to do is give a family member a new luxury car; with Alvin and the Chipmunks checking in on the all-Christmas music radio channel; and with Amazon delivery vehicles deploying en masse over the landscape as if in a modern-day Oklahoma land rush, but:

Renke understands the dynamic. For a decade, he has been trying to soothe its effects.

Renke returned to his native Bay Area in March after 10 years in Honolulu. His title at the Oakland Diocese fills up a business card — Pastoral Associate for Divine Workshop [sic] & Operations. His first big project is simply titled Blue Christmas. He has planned and will oversee the service aimed at those trying to cope with holiday heartache.

Planned for 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 21 — the winter solstice — at Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, the event is subtitled: “A Service for the Longest Night.” Renke freely acknowledges this is not an original idea. However, he believes his lifelong love of the church and his 15 years at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, followed by his decade in Hawaii, make him uniquely qualified for such a sensitive and unique program.

***

Then I received an article from Gary Loughrey from the Duke Chronicle titled “Inside the organ music that fills Duke Chapel almost every weekday,” describing the typical work week of the Organ Scholars, namely Joey Fala and Jacob Montgomery. They share the duties of playing a daily organ recital from Monday to Thursdays, in addition to accompanying the weekly Sunday choral evensong, as well as weddings, funerals and choral vesper services.

I also just opened my Diapason magazine to see this article about musical events at Duke University. You can see that Joey will be playing a recital at Duke Chapel on January 21, 2018.

Unfortunately I’ll miss this concert but I am planning to visit Joey in North Carolina shortly after Easter in April 2018, and will be able to experience Duke Chapel and the organs in person!