Honors in the St. Georg church choir: 60 years of music and community

Honors in the St. Georg church choir: 60 years of music and community

The St. Georg Kapellen church choir celebrated its traditional St. Cecilia Festival as part of the Christ the King Festival, and the event was very well received. In the festive service, which was beautifully organized by the choir, the singers were not only able to celebrate together but also received recognition for their efforts in the past church year. The community spirit was celebrated in a special way in a subsequent celebration in the St. Bernardin residential complex, where active and some passive members came together for a sociable evening.

Gerd Uehlenbruck took the floor during the celebration and gave a congratulatory speech in which he particularly emphasized the achievements of the choir members. These honors are not only a nice gesture, but also an important tradition within the choir community. A total of four members of the choir were honored for their long-term commitment: Wilma Martens and Bärbel Kreutz were honored for 25 years, Dorothe Sestig for 40 years, Petra Kohnert for 50 years and Franz-Josef van Betteray for 60 years of membership. Unfortunately Wilma Martens and Dorothe Sestig were unable to attend; their certificates will be presented at a later date.

Tradition and honor in the diocese

These honoring ceremonies are a valuable tradition that is also maintained in other parts of the Münster diocese. As can be found on the Diocese of Münster's website, the Vechta church music department processes honors for members of church choirs in the Lower Saxony part of the diocese. For choirs, this means that applications for honors must be submitted by email, and the deadlines for submitting applications are clearly regulated:

• Bis zum 1. Juni für den Zeitraum 1. August bis 31. Oktober.
• Bis zum 1. September für den Zeitraum 1. November bis 31. Januar.
• Bis zum 1. Dezember für den Zeitraum 1. Februar bis 31. April.
• Bis zum 1. März für den Zeitraum 1. Mai bis 31. Juli.

It is important that those celebrating 25, 40, 50 and 60 years of membership are awarded silver and gold badges of honor.

Choirs and the challenges of today

The importance of choirs in the Catholic Church is undisputed. As of 2022, over 209,000 members were organized into church choirs, and more than half of church ensembles are choirs. But here too the decline cannot be overlooked. According to statistics, the number of amateur musicians in the Catholic Church has been steadily declining since 2010. One reason for this is the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in the loss of around 46,600 singers.

The challenges facing choirs today bring with them the need to find new ways to continue to attract enthusiastic singers and supporters. In this respect, the honors such as those that took place in chapels at the St. Cecilia Festival are an important step in honoring and promoting the commitment and passion for church music.

It is to be hoped that the cozy evening after the service will not only remain in the memory of those celebrating their anniversary, but will also serve as an incentive for all other members to continue their participation and joy in singing together in the church choir.

For further information about the activities of the St. Georg Church Choir and church music in the diocese of Münster, those interested can visit the website Lower Rhine News, Diocese of Münster and MIZ visit.