I am a white teen age girl born and
raised her whole life in Rhode Island, the state with the most
Christian Catholics. I was born in the summer to my father an
Irishman, and my mother a Syrian woman. Each of these
characteristics effect the way I see and think, for since I was
raised as a mix of Roman Catholic and Melkite Greek Catholic, I may
see a Catholic Church Choir that I am focusing my research on
differently from someone who is not. For as long as I can remember I
have been going to two different Churches, one, St Basil's the Great,
during the school year because of their Sunday School program and the
other, St Rose and Clement's, during the summer in the off season.
Now that I have graduated Sunday school and have entered the work
force I can no longer attend church with my family Sunday mornings,
so I attend after work on Sunday nights at St Rose and Clement's
since it is more convenient.
I decided to join the St Rose and
Clement's Choir in September of this year. My reasons for joining
this choir are, one I was to chicken to audition for my College Opera
workshop (opera and the classical choir music are what bests suit my
voice), and two it was something I have always wanted to do but I
have always been afraid that I would not fit in, and three, my
biggest reason, was that I did not want
to leave music in my past, I wanted to
continue doing it and keep it in my life because I love singing so
much, so this was my way of making that possible.
Lindsey!!! You tease us here with so many hints at interesting details but then you leave us hanging, wanting more! I have many questions, designed to help you write in a little more detail about some of the subjectivities you've sketched out here in skeleton form.
ReplyDelete1. What is the difference between St. Basil the Great's and St. Rose and Clement's Churches? Denomination? Location? Family preference? Tell us how they are similar and different. Remember that we are all outsiders and you're the only insider. You need to be our guide to this culture!
2. You state that you grew up as a mix between "Roman Catholic and Melkite Greek Catholic." How are your two religions the same and/or different? By name, they are both forms of Catholicism. But, they each originated in different parts of the world for different reasons. Tell us more about how you've experienced each of these two religions growing up.
3. Where do you work? Why did you choose to work on Sundays instead of attending church with your family like you used to? Work must be pretty important to you to keep you out of church on Sunday mornings. If it's that important, it's also important enough for you to tell us about, as it is a subjective position that impacts your research!
4. How long has music been in your life? Why do you love singing? Why were you certain that you could not leave "music in your past" when you came to college? Why does it mean this much to you? Tell us!
I'd appreciate it if you could give this "Positioning Yourself" assignment another pass, looking a little more specifically into the details of your relationship with this subculture, the choir at St. Rose and Clement's, as well as with Catholicism and with singing/music. Thanks, Lindsey.
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