From the Rector

Dear Friends in Christ,

I was in conversation recently with a local music teacher and we talked about how hard rising costs have been on her students and their families. Saint Philip’s has a long history of supporting music and education of all kinds in Tucson. This year our Christmas Eve offering will go to make instruments, lessons, and scholarships available for kids from all backgrounds who long to sing.

Our hope is to ensure that we are as creative in meeting the very real need as these kids are with their talents.

I remembered a particular event that teacher had been a part of last year. It was the same day as the Christmas pageant rehearsal. As always, it was chaotic and joyful and stressful and a glimpse of those wonderful moments that make up the life of living, loving congregations.

Later in the day, I went to a music recital with our boys. It’s part of a music therapy program. Most of the kids there have some condition or another—autism, ADHD, Down’s Syndrome, or one of a thousand other things that put kids at the margins of classrooms, families, and friendships.

Each kid went up to play. Bravely and tremulously. Some played piano, some violins, some guitars, and others glockenspiels. The tunes they played were everything from Hot Cross Buns to In the Bleak Midwinter. There was Yankee Doodle Dandy and cowboy songs and some Tchaikovsky, too.

Some kids laughed nervously. Some covered their eyes. Some focused tightly on their music pages and others shook and trembled. Some couldn’t see and others didn’t want to be seen. But there they were. Bravely. Courageously giving all that they had to make beauty and joy together.

The truly remarkable thing was the encouragement of the community there. The “worse” a kid did, the louder the clapping and the cheers. Every parent there knew what it took for that kid to be there. They knew what a struggle it was to find those moments of creative focus and happy play.

In a world where these kids are treated like problems, left behind, and regarded as slow or aggravating or distracted—in that world moments like this are priceless.

It was impossible not to see the image of God revealed in those kids and parents. Daring, loving, encouraging, welcoming, quick to laugh, and ready to support—all of it revealed the best of humanity in one room for an hour or so.

I’m delighted to say that Saint Philip’s will host that same recital program this year. It’s one small way we can support the kids and their families. Your giving this Christmas Eve will be another. We know that music is absolutely transformational in the lives of kids and communities, and your generosity this year will help make that transformation possible.

Yours in Christ,

—Fr Robert