Highlights from a Memphis ukulele festival 2022.
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The Magic of Christmas
The rest of the story. How the Magic of Christmas photo was taken.
Read MoreMemphis Shown In A Positive Light to Millions of People
Guidepost Magazine Features Memphian James Lindsey
At this Memphis cemetery, veterans who die alone are not forgotten, thanks to James Lindsey. He was shocked to learn that a dozen veterans a year were buried at the West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery with no family and no ceremony, so he took it upon himself to make sure they were honored prior to being laid to rest. (Photos by Karen Pulfer Focht ©) OCT/NOV GUIDEPOST MAGAZINE
Guidepost specializes in inspirational content and was founded in 1945 by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale.
LINK: Story and photos below:
This is not the first time that James’s story has made national news. I’ve told his story once before for the Associated Press and also for The Daily Memphian.
You can read and see those stories and photos here. https://www.karenpulferfocht.com/blog/remeberingtheforgotten
THE REST OF THE STORY……..
Those of you who know me know I play the ukulele. In Jan. 2019 my ukulele group, the Memphis Ukulele Flash Mob, showed up at what we thought would be a sparse funeral for three unclaimed veterans. We planned to play Amazing Grace for them graveside. However, when we showed up, cars were lined up for a mile. Our big-hearted Memphis community came out to give these veterans a proper send-off thanks to James Lindsey. I recognized this as a fantastic news story, put down my ukulele and picked up my pencil and camera. I’m so glad I was able to record this act of kindness and share this wonderful story with the world.
Singing Nuns Record Again
After being separated due to growth in their order, enduring a series of shootings on their property, and a pandemic, The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, reunited to record their first album in over three years. VIDEO ABOVE
Breaking the silence, the sisters breathe deeply. Then with ever so much control, they start singing in perfect unison. Without a word being spoken, the sisters intuitively know what Mother Cecilia is calling forth from them.
Sweet harmonies fill the church as the sisters of the Benedictines of Mary record their latest album. The hand-painted arches of their church resonate the sound so beautiful that it falls gently on a listener’s ears.
These are not just any singing nuns. These nuns are recording artists. These are chart-topping nuns who have had four albums reach number one on the classical Billboard charts. They were also the first nuns to be given Billboards Classical Artist of the Year award.
It’s been more than three years since their last album.
Their latest album was released on Oct. 26, 2021.
Every sister at the Abbey of Ephesus learns to sing. It is an integral part of life for the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, a cloistered order of nuns living by the ancient Rule of St. Benedict in rural Missouri.
The lifestyle here may date from medieval times, but young women are flocking to this monastery. Candidates seeking a life of union with God, in prayer, are between 17 and 30 and they come from all over America. They leave behind a world driven by pop culture and enter a world guided by the wisdom of St. Benedict.
It is also a humble life. These young girls spend time in a lovely orchard- filled with fruits and nuts. They milk cows by hand, gather eggs, make cheese and pull potatoes from the dirt. Self-sustainability is an ideal passed down from St. Benedict.
They believe farm work keeps you dependent on God and that such work is conducive to simple prayer. Sister Scholastica adds, that as the grounds they work become more cultivated and civilized, they are literally working out their salvation. “We hope the ground of our own soul also becomes more cultivated and something beautiful for God.”
The chanting and the musical life inside the monastery are a large draw. The monastery has grown so fast that they’ve had to split up and expand. “When the family grows large enough that we begin to lose the sense of the family, it is time for some "repotting," transferring portions to new soil” Sister Scholastica explains.
So, some of the sisters have moved and have established another community in Ava, Mo., where they have purchased 350 acres. Catholic families wanting to live near the monastery have already purchased property from the sisters. Next spring, the Benedictines of Mary plan to break ground on a new large monastery and a church.
The two groups of nuns have missed each other terribly, not just in day-to-day life but in song. Their separation prevented them from putting out another album. They tried to recreate their sound with some of the new sisters, but it just didn’t work.
Mother Cecilia asked the superior of the Ava house if she could spare three sisters for a short time so that they could reunite at the Abbey and record together again. When the sisters from Ava showed up, they arrived in time for night prayers and snuck into the choir stalls so that when the rest of the sisters processed into the church, it was a huge surprise.
It was a family reunion. “Once the Ava Sisters were here, we were back in our recording element. It was like old times” said Sister Scholastica.
In mid-September, the veterans of recording from both houses, along with a few new voices, came together to form something of a “Dream Team.”
It has been a tradition for Mother Cecilia to write at least one original song for each CD. In hopes to put out an album this fall, she quietly waited for an idea.
Just the day before the recording was to start, she was divinely inspired and composed original music, setting it to a poem written by Sr. Wilhelmina, their foundress, an African American who died at age 95 in 2019. The sisters very quickly learned their parts for the new song, “Hymn to Christ the King,” to record it live in the church.
For two days, with the afternoon sun streaming into the church, the sisters stood in a circle beneath a statue of Mary singing their hearts out until sunset.
Seeking perfection, each time a throat cleared, a shoe squeaked, or the walls cracked in the background, their brows would furrow. Every little sound was coming through to the recording engineer. They would have to start over.
At times they would take a break, walk the grounds and rest their voices. Then as they came together again and started fresh, they’d get a perfect take, they’d giggle, nod and smile because they knew-- yes, that was the best take!
“We draw our strength from being set apart from the world with God and the sisterly support of one another,” says Sister Scholastica, “the music seems to be a perfect means to reach out to the world that we are always holding up in prayer. There is no compromise of our life, but we can share what we have, and we are happy to do so.”
Written By Karen Pulfer Focht ©
Freelance Photojournalist in Memphis, Tennessee
Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles
PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED CONTENT RELATED TO THESE NUNS:
https://www.karenpulferfocht.com/blog/benedictinesofmarynewalbum?rq=Benedictines%20of%20Mary
Stax Music Academy Launches Fundraiser #MusicMustContinue
Zalissa Stewart sings out some soul music to entertain the crowd during a vaccine incentive event outside the Stax Museum on Friday August 6, 2021. Free Moderna COVID vaccines were administered by Christ Community Health Services for those who qualified. Anyone who got a vaccine received two free guest passes to the Stax Museum.
The Stax Music Academy engages students through their music program, giving them the incentive to do well and stay in school. Students learn about the Stax Records and Memphis music legacy.
Since 2008, every high school senior has been accepted to a college or university, many on full scholarships
Stax has given us such artists as Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, The Staples Singers, and many more.
The pandemic has affected the students and families.
~ Soulsville Foundation's Solid Gold Soulsville event was presented by the Stax Museum and Stax Music Academy on Aug. 6, 2021. The event featured live music by 926 (the Stax Music Academy Alumni Band).
The Stax Music Academy launched its #MusicMustContinue campaign to assist students with tuition funding. Since many of their families have been so negatively affected by the COVID pandemic, this year 90% of their students qualify for financial aid as opposed to 50-70 percent in recent years. Their goal is to raise $50,000 so that no student is turned away for financial reasons.
The donation link is here:https://soulsvillefoundation.networkforgood.com/projects/136155-musicmustcontinue2021
Source: Soulsville Foundation
Jerry Lee Lewis Renews Vows with 7th Wife Judith
Rock and roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis, 85, celebrates his ninth wedding anniversary to his wife, Judith, at the Lewis ranch in Nesbit, Miss. Judith is Jerry Lee’s seventh wife. The couple was married on March 9th, 2012.
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Holiday Lights In Memphis
The Memphis Zoo and the Memphis Botanic Garden both have holiday light shows through Christmas. Both events are a great place to create holiday rituals and memories with your family.
Both events are outside and allow for social distancing; masks are required.
In the event that you are can’t get out this year due to the pandemic, I am bringing some highlights to you right here! Share it with a child or elderly person in your life.
Enjoy and have a happy holiday!
Karen
The Botanic Garden has their Holiday Wonders at the Garden special exhibit through Dec. 27, 2020. https://www.memphisbotanicgarden.com/Wonders (Video less than one minute)
A holiday light display brightens up the Memphis Zoo https://www.memphiszoo.org/special-events select nights through Jan. 3rd, 2021. A variety of activities including a Ferris wheel, horse drawn carriage rides with hot chocolate and S'Mores, a holiday market and more. Masks are required.
Purchase tickets ahead if possible.