By Roderick Beaman

No season is as entwined

with, and as defined as

much by, music as

Christmas.

Even Easter, The Feast of

The Resurrection and the

central event of our

Catholic faith, does not

have the same association

with music. Oh, for sure,

there are hymns, but the

only one which

immediately springs to my

mind is “Alleluia!

Alleluia! Let the Holy

Anthem Rise.” And I

know of only two secular

songs about its cultural

celebration, “The Easter

Parade” and “Here Comes

Peter Cotton Tail.” There

are hymns

commemorating the

Crucifixion such as “Were

You There When They

Crucified Our Lord?” and

maybe one or two others

whose names I’ve

forgotten.

Perhaps it’s the suffering

of Jesus which tempers its

musical remembrance.

The only Gospel account

of His life between

childhood and ministry is

“The Finding in the

Temple,” where He had

remained after the

Passover celebration in

Jerusalem. Mary and

Joseph had joined their

caravan back to Nazareth

but then realized that

Jesus was not with them.

They had to return to

Jerusalem only to find

Him in deep and earnest

discussion with the elders,

impressing them with His

knowledge of scripture.

The events of Jesus’

ministry, the last three

years of His life, have

been an especially rich

source for the arts. His

miracles, starting at The

Wedding at Cana, the

various events of His life,

His sermons through The

Stations of the Cross, His

Crucifixion and

Resurrection, have been a

cornucopia for sculptures,

paintings, mosaics,

architecture, frescoes and

dramas. They are all

depicted in paintings and

sculptures, but little

depicted in the way of

music.

Gospel coverage of the

last years of Jesus’ life far

outweighs the details of

His birth. Mark and John

make no mention of it.

Matthew and Luke devote

their first two chapters to

the events leading up to

His birth and infancy, a

total of 168 verses. Not

much to go by. By

contrast, multitudes of

songs and hymns cascade

across our consciousness

when we think of

Christmas.

(Continued on page 2)

The Writer’s Seed Spreading the Seed – Christ in the Culture

Volume 1, Issue 12

December 2015

St. Johns Chapter of the Catholic Writers Guild

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Music 2

CWG 3

Sneak Peeks 3

Local Events 3

Highlights 4

Survey Request 4

Access this newsletter

online at

https://jaxcwg.wordpress.

com/newsletters/

MUSIC: The Art of Christmas

Writing Prompt:

Hemmingway was

once challenged to

write a story in only

six words, he

penned: “For sale:

baby shoes, never

worn.”

Try writing a story of

your own in less

than 20 words.

(Continued from page 1)

Just a few are “White

Christmas,” “Silent

Night,” “O Holy Night”

(my personal favorite),

“Rudolph The Red Nosed

Reindeer,” “Hark The

Herald Angels Sing,” and

“Joy to the World.”

Classical music has given

us Pachelbel’s “Canon in

D,” Mozart’s “Eine Kleine

Nachtmusik” and “The

Hallelujah Chorus” by

Handel. Everyone

recognizes them. The list

seems endless. I’ve never

been exactly sure why, but

I think it has to do with

our celebration of the birth

of a Savior.

Death, especially one by

such a horrible and

humiliating execution, is

never a nice thing, in spite

of our realization that

Jesus had to die for our

salvation. We reserve

unalloyed joy for births,

and Christmas is about a

birth, the greatest one in

history.

We celebrate everything

with music – births,

birthdays, holidays,

weddings, anniversaries,

awards, and ceremonies.

We even honor deaths

with music, although more

somber and far less

extensive. Music

dominates our celebration

of Christmas. Jesus’ birth

is commemorated in all

the arts, but what would

Christmas be without

music? And it’s not just

among Christians.

“White Christmas” was

composed by Irving

Berlin, a Jewish

immigrant from Siberia

who also composed “The

Easter

Parade.” Johnny Marks

was also Jewish but, as excerpted from Wikipedia,

he “wrote many holiday

standards, including

‘Rudolph, the Red-Nosed

Reindeer,’ ‘Rockin’ Around

the Christmas Tree,’ ‘A

Holly Jolly Christmas,’ and

‘Run Rudolph Run.’ ” Mel

Tormé, also Jewish,

collaborated with Bob

Wells to compose another

Christmas favorite, “The

Christmas Song – Chestnuts

Roasting on an Open Fire.”

There are many more.

Some of the greatest

Christmas albums were

recorded by Jewish artists –

Leonard Bernstein, Barbra

Streisand, and Neil

Diamond (whose version of

“O Holy Night” is my

second favorite, right after

Mahalia Jackson’s).

Christmas and its music,

like all music, transcends

religion, race, cultural, and

ethnic boundaries, as does

Christmas itself. Without

music, Christmas would not

be the same. We can’t say

that about any of the other

arts. For sure, music is The

Art of Christmas. ◊

Roderick Beaman is a

D.O. who writes op-ed,

non-fiction, and lyrics in

Jacksonville, FL

St. Johns Chapter of the Catholic Writers Guild

“Christmas

and its

music, like

all music,

transcends

religion,

race, cultural

and ethnic

boundaries,

as does

Christmas

itself.

Without

music,

Christmas

would not be

the same…..

music is the

Art of

Christmas.”

Roderick

Beaman

MUSIC: The Art of Christmas

Literary Versus Genre Fiction

page 2

CWG January Calendar

Event: Local Chapter Meeting

Date: 1/9/2015

Time: 10-12 noon

Location: Father Felix Varela

Center (formerly the Cuban

American Club) 5110 Lourcey

Road, FL 32257

Discussion Group: “Writing Goals and Challenges for 2016” Moderators: Dan Costello and Judith Emami Business:

Venue for 2016

Speakers/ Workshops line-up

Critiques:

As time permits

Sneak Peeks

The Catholic Writers Guild, Inc. Ph 317-755-2693 Annual dues: $40 www.catholicwritersguild.com National CWG is looking for volunteers/ leaders. Please consider offering your services. Training provided.

CWG Members—How active are you? We have a lot of

opportunities to help the Guild and fellow members—

contact volunteercoordinator@catholicwritersguild.com to

learn more.

Mark Your Calendars: Upcoming Nearby Events

Catholic Writers Guild

Stop Talking, Start Writing Your Life Story Event Type: Workshop Date: 1/16/2016 Time: 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM Where: Winter Park, Florida Description: In "Stop Talking, Start Writing Your Life Story," you learn: How to overcome procrastination and begin writing your stories

How to fend off the inner critic and find your seat of inspiration

How to identify core story ideas

How to painlessly organize your writing

How to conquer perfectionism

Contact Info:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/stop-talking-start-writing-your-life-story-tickets-20092793085?aff=ebrowse

The Art of Personal Essay

Event Type: Workshop Date: 2/6/2016 Time: 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM Where: Orlando, Florida When: Saturday, February 6, 2016 | 10 AM – 1 PM Description: In this workshop, we’ll discuss several different approaches to writing from the “I” and spend some time drafting our own flash essays, or short personal essays

Where: Kerouac House, 1418 Clouser Avenue, Orlando FL 32804 MAP

Fee: $35. Part of your workshop fee goes to support Kerouac House

Presented by Sarah Viren, personal essayist who teaches literature and creative writing at Texas Tech University

Contact Info: http://madaboutwords.com/writing-workshops/art-personal-essay/

page 3 St. Johns Chapter of the Catholic Writers Guild

New Local Chapter Board Members Chairperson Tony Kolenc Vice Chairperson Paula Babadi Treasurer Dan Costello Secretary Judith Emami

ST. JOHNS CHAPTER

OF THE CWG 2016 Board Members: Chairperson Tony Kolenc Vice Chairperson Paula Babadi Treasurer Dan Costello Secretary Judith Emami Coordinators: Publicity Rod Beaman Jerry Webster

Access the newsletter archive at:

https://jaxcwg.wordpress.com/newsletters

A warm welcome to new members

at the December meeting from

newly relocated authors to long-

time San Jose parishioners, we

look forward to seeing you again

in January.

The group enjoyed a lively

discussion on “What it Means to be

a Catholic Writer.”

2016 Planning yielded suggestions

for discussion groups, guest

lectures, and workshops. More to

come at the January meeting. way

I do because (not though) I am

a Catholic. This is a fact and

nothing covers it like a bald

statement. However, I am a

Catholic peculiarly possessed of

the modern consciousness, that

thing Jung describes as

unhistorical, solitary, and

guilty.

Flannery O’Connor

Christmas goodies and décor

followed the session with book

giveaways and networking.

Are you interested in

gathering together for

an Epiphany party?

Contact Paula Babadi at 904-

536-9989 if you would like

to pursue.

I write the way I do because

(not though) I am a Catholic.

This is a fact and nothing

covers it like a bald statement.

However, I am a Catholic

peculiarly possessed of the

modern consciousness, that

thing Jung describes as

unhistorical, solitary, and

guilty.

Flannery O’Connor

St. Johns Chapter of the Catholic Writers Guild

Highlights Key points of interest from the chapter meeting

page 4

Please Help: Short Survey Request

Please consider taking ten minutes to respond to a short survey:

SURVEY LINK: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZGCSHWY

Your participation can help young seminarians by letting them know your thoughts on what makes a good priest

and how you support vocations.

We have a young seminarian in our parish who is interning for one year. I am working on a project to provide him a

compilation of 1) Catholic lay persons’ thoughts, advice, comments, and words of wisdom on becoming a good

priest and 2) how we, as the lay community personally promote vocations to the priesthood. At the end of his

year, I will present the results to him in the form of a book.

This survey link contains some basic information and a few questions followed by space to write your thoughts.

Your anonymity will be respected: Please only use your first name and age by your comments. Your first name and

age may be used in the book, but never your full name. Please sign and date your release and permission to edit or

not edit (minor corrections to spelling, etc.), print and publish your comments for the book. For parents of children

under 18, please sign your permission on their behalf. Thank you for helping me in this project.

Sincerely yours in Christ, Paula Veloso Babadi