Christmas was coming! At St. Charles Parish this usually would mean adults getting together for parties and potlucks and children celebrating a Birthday Party for Jesus with games, crafts and birthday cake. A few days before Christmas, parishioners of all ages would have been invited to spend a few hours together decorating the church and sharing pizza.
In 2020 with COVID-19 and the necessary restrictions, everything was different. A group of friends from St. Charles wanted to find a way to reach out to parishioners over the Christmas season. There were limited options so they pooled their talents and produced a half-hour musical video which they posted on the St. Charles YouTube Channel. It was called St. Charles Parish Music Ministry Christmas Carols 2020 - From Our Hearts to Yours.
It happened relatively quickly. In early December members of the Music Ministry were invited to take part and the church was booked (in adherence with restricted numbers). Over a two week period, the participants were recorded separately. The individual videos were merged and edited into a 29-minute presentation and posted on our YouTube Channel - St. Charles Catholic Parish Winnipeg. During the Christmas season we had over 322 views.
Our motive for making this music video was to reach out to our St. Charles parishioners. We endeavoured to entertain and comfort them. Although we couldn’t celebrate Christmas as a community in person we could share the joy of the season in spirit.
“Having faith does not mean having no difficulties, but having the strength to face them, knowing we are not alone”. Pope Francis