Decades of Dedication to a Melodic Ministry

Jennie Leighton has always loved to sing.  It is why she first joined the choir at St. Leo the Great Church in Howland when she was still a teenager.

“My sisters and I used to sing all the time,” she says. “We sang for different functions.”

When Jennie was in her 20s, she moved to Lincoln and began singing in the choir there as well.  Sixty years of hymns and harmonizing later, she still rarely misses a day.

“I love singing with the group,” she says. “I love singing with people, not by myself but with people.”

The Sunday morning choir at St. Mary of Lourdes Church has about 15 members, and many, like Jennie, have been dedicated to the group for decades.

“I sang in the glee club in school, and I just love to sing, too, so I just kept on going,” says Lorraine Sweet, a member for more than 40 years.

“I like to sing,” says Joanne McIntyre, a choir member for around 30 years. “I have music going in the house all the time, from the time we get up in the morning until we go to bed.”

The choir members say, in addition to the joy they get out of singing, they want to take part because they believe their ministry has an important role to play in the Mass.

“I think it’s important to participate, do something in the liturgy, the Mass,” says Emilio Ocaña, a member for more than a decade.

“We’re praying in song. It just adds to the joy. It helps us to worship,” says Sue Johnston, who organizes the choir.

“It’s like praying twice,” says Joanne.

“I think having a choir adds an awful lot to the Mass,” says Jennie. “We pick out songs that are meaningful.”

And they select songs that they believe the congregation will be able to sing. Rather than perfect pitch, they place a greater priority on parishioner participation.   They point to the inspiration of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate who served at the parish for many years.

“When Father Myles (Cyr) was here, he told us that we’re not here to give a show. We’re here for the congregation to sing. So, that’s what we’ve always practiced,” says Jennie.

“We’re down to earth, and we try to sing songs like that,” says Don Barker, who joined back when he was a teenager.

“In the keys they can sing in,” adds Sue.

Their approach has been a success. While parishioners at some churches seem hesitant to open their hymnals, at the Sunday morning Mass at St. Mary of Lourdes, they chime right in.  Father Richard Malo, the pastor, says when he’s at the altar, it’s like hearing a hymn in stereo.

“When the choir starts singing, I hear it from both sides because the people in the pews are singing, too,” he says. “It just adds so much. It’s another prayer opportunity. It’s another form of prayer that we don’t respect enough, so I’m really grateful to the people.”

Although many of the choir members are aging, that doesn’t mean they don’t continue to expand their repertoire. Sue, for instance, recently put together a CD with 20 hymns on it for members to learn.

“Not many of them can actually read the music, so they like to listen and get it in their heads,” she explains.“I have my CD in my player all the time, and I turn that baby on, and I listen to that,” says Pearl Smith, a choir member for about 25 years.

The choir is accompanied by Sue who plays the organ and by Jennie and Don, who are both guitarists.  Although she can’t read music, Jennie taught herself to play when she was a child. Don, who once performed as part of a family band, says some of his inspiration to learn how to play the instrument came from watching Jennie.

“She is one of the best guitar players in Lincoln. She can play any chord,” he says. “She is one of the best harmonizers around, I tell you. She can harmonize any song. She does a great job.”

“She has an incredible ability to listen to a song and play it, and play it well, and get people to sing,” says Sue. “It’s just absolutely wonderful.”

The members of the choir all credit Sue for helping the choir move forward.

“Sue has been a godsend to us,” says Jennie.

But they also say they don’t know where they would be without two of their linchpins, Jennie and Don.

“They’re a miracle with us. We just pray that they stay with us,” says Rena Glidden-Rush, a member for 20 years.

Jennie now suffers from macular degeneration and is losing her eyesight, but the choir members have pitched in to allow her to continue. Sue prints out all the hymns in large letters, and Lorraine, who stands next to Jennie, turns the sheets over so Jennie can follow along.

“She has to put them on the stand for me, and that’s a job. That’s really a job,” says Jennie.

“I’ve got to get them up there quick enough,” says Lorraine.

“She doesn’t always remember the words anymore, but she loves to sing as well as play, so if we make the words big enough, she can do that,” says Sue. “We do what we can to keep Jennie going, because she is a real gift to us.”

The choir is a gift to St. Mary of Lourdes Church and to the community.  Some of the members also participate in music jams held in Lincoln and Enfield, where people are invited to gather and sing.   They also sing at funeral Masses and visit the local nursing home once a month, where they share old favorites.

“‘You Are My Sunshine,’ ‘Side By Side,’ all the old songs you can think of,” explains Jennie.

The choir is hoping to attract some younger members, but in the meantime, this group plans to keep going as long as possible.

“I just feel the Holy Spirit. I really do. That’s why I love being here, because it really lifts me up for the rest of the day. Being with these people here lifts you up,” says Rena.

“When we sing ‘Go Make A Difference,’ and everybody goes out of church singing that, it just keeps us going. They say, ‘Oh, the choir sounded wonderful today.’ It makes you feel good.”