The Glory of Christmas

Chamber orchestra and Megan Hendrickson, soprano, present Henryk Górecki’s Symphony No. 3, the Symphony of Sorrowful Souls. The symphony has three movements and was composed by Górecki in Katowice, Poland, between October and December, 1976. The work is indicative of the transition between Górecki’s earlier dissonant style and his later more tonal style and represented a stylistic breakthrough: austerely plaintive, emotionally direct and steeped in medieval modes. It was premièred on April 4, 1977, at the Royan International Festival.

A solo soprano sings Polish texts in each of the three movements. The first is a 15th-century Polish lament of Mary, mother of Jesus; the second a message written on the wall of a Gestapo cell during World War II; and the third a Silesian folk song of a mother searching for her son killed by the Germans in the Silesian uprisings. The first and third movements are written from the perspective of a parent who has lost a child, and the second movement from that of a child separated from a parent. The dominant themes of the symphony are motherhood, despair and suffering.

Until 1992, Górecki was known only to connoisseurs, primarily as one of several composers from the Polish School responsible for the postwar Polish music renaissance. That year, Elektra-Nonesuch released a recording of the 15-year- old symphony performed by the London Sinfonietta that topped the classical charts in Britain and the United States.

It has sold more than a million copies, vastly exceeding the expected lifetime sales of a typical symphonic recording by a 20th-century composer.

With Christopher Urban on organ. Featuring organ music by contemporary organ composer, Paul Fey. Paul was born in 1998 in a small town outside of Leipzig, Germany. His music has energy and drive and is some of the best contemporary writing for the organ today.

Celebrate the ministry of the Rev. Judy Hockenberry at one worship service at 10:30 am, followed by a luncheon in Fellowship Hall at 11:45 am. Please RSVP for the luncheon by clicking the button below or calling the church office.

The Rev. Judy Hockenberry will officially retire as a Minister of Word and Sacrament on February 15, 2023. A motion to dissolve Judy’s call with First Presbyterian Church will be part of the business at our Annual Congregational Meeting on Sunday, February 12, 2023.

Save the date! More info coming soon.

Stone Catchers will sponsor an All-Church trip to the Illinois Holocaust Museum to tour this special exhibition 

The Green Book exhibit offers an immersive look at the reality of travel for African Americans in mid-century America, and how the guide served as an indispensable resource for the nation’s rising African American middle class. In an era of Jim Crow laws and “sundown towns” – communities that explicitly prohibited African Americans from staying overnight – “The Green Book” offered critical, life-saving information and sanctuary.

The afternoon will begin at 11:45am at First Pres for lunch. We will then travel by cars to the museum for a guided tour of the special exhibit. You will also have the opportunity to tour other areas of the museum during the afternoon.

Registration will open February 1 for this trip. Cost is $15 for adults and $10 for Children and youth. Cost includes lunch and admission to the museum.

For more information or questions contact Michele

First Pres will welcome Mark Adams and Miriam Escobar from the PCUSA border ministry Frontera de Cristo. Mark has served as the US Coordinator for the border ministry and his wife Miriam is a PCUSA mission worker with Frontera de Cristo working with families in sustainable agriculture.  

We are looking for a host home for Mark and Miriam for the weekend. If you would be able to host Mark and Miriam in your home for the weekend of March 3 -5 please contact Michele

We are fortunate to host The Grove City College Touring Choir for a concert on Tuesday, March 7 at 7:00 pm as part of their spring concert tour. The choir is comprised of 45 singers chosen at the beginning of each academic year and they seek to praise and glorify God and to minister to others through the medium of music, striving together to achieve choral excellence.

In addition to the annual spring tour, the choir performs for churches and schools in Western Pennsylvania and at various campus events. The choir has visited virtually every state east of the Mississippi River during previous tours and has performed in New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Boston, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Baltimore, and Detroit.

Grove City College is a private, Christian liberal arts college located in the Western Pennsylvania town of Grove City. Founded in 1876 as a normal school, the college emphasizes a humanities core curriculum and offers 60 majors and six pre-professional programs with undergraduate degrees in the liberal arts, sciences, business, education, engineering and music. While currently unaffiliated to a religious denomination, previously the college had strong ties to the Presbyterian Church.

Please contact Chris Urban at [email protected] if you are willing to host a student.