Opening Concert
Next Sunday
All Class Reunion Event Planned
We thank everyone who responded to our July questionnaire about the possibility of a 2012 reunion event and have planned accordingly. Our all-class reunion dinner will be held on Saturday evening, October 13, 2012 at Classics Banquet & Conference Center (known locally as Classics V), 2425 Niagara Falls Blvd. in Amherst, New York. The Alumni Mass will be scheduled for Sunday, October 14. For your convenience in planning separate class events, we have not scheduled anything for Friday evening, October 12.
We continue to encourage each of you, particularly members of the anniversary classes, to personally contact members of your graduating classes regarding alumni activities. This will be particularly important as we prepare for our 2012 All Class Reunion Events. We are happy to provide whatever contact information we have for your classmates, but our committee is just too small to organize separate class reunions. To request class information, send an email to Roberta Schmelzer Lukasik at bertababe2 [at] yahoo [dot] com.
Check this page for class news and the latest information on scheduled events and activities. If you would like to post a notice for your classmates on this page, click HERE. Blessed Trinity School Alumni also has a Facebook page with some old and not-so-old class photos. We encourage you to “like” us and share your memories or class photo.
We thank those of you who joined us at the 2011 Alumni Memorial Mass on October 2, 2011, and we look forward to welcoming many more of you next year on October 13-14.
Buffalo Alliance Tour
In January of this year, Blessed Trinity, the Buffalo Religious Arts Center, Corpus Christi RC Church, and First Presbyterian Church formed the Buffalo Alliance for Sacred Places (the “Alliance”) “to promote the preservation and appreciation of the art, architecture and history of Buffalo’s houses of worship.” On August 28, development efforts paid off with what the Alliance hopes will be the first of many day tours to visit the four religious sites. Judy Casassa and Mickey Dick welcomed a bus from Know How Tours of Hamburg and acted as docents for a group of 32 tourists during their time at Blessed Trinity.
The 2011-12 Trinity Concert Series
Some of the almost 450 in attendance for a special appearance by The Camerata di Sant’ Antonio
The marvelous concert by the Camerata di Sant’ Antonio on July 22 was an event to remember! Over 425 people applauded the music of Mozart, Bach, Grainger and Britten and learned first-hand about the uniqueness of Blessed Trinity’s architecture. Our sincere gratitude goes out to Christopher Weber and the professional musicians of the Camerata, as well as to Professor Martin Ederer who shared with the audience his deep appreciation for the beauty of our church structure. The audience response was very positive, both in terms of applause and in its free-will offering: the concert raised $1,800 for our Under This Roof fund for church repairs. A special note of thanks goes to Bud and Mickey Dick for their hard work to enable the Camerata to come to BT, to Bud and Jessie Wells for planning a most pleasant post-concert reception, and to all the volunteers who helped in any way with either the concert or the reception. Last but not least, we thank the New York State Council on the Arts for providing the funding that made the whole “Architecture and Music” event possible. It was a superb finish to Blessed Trinity’s 2011-12 series of “beautiful music in a beautiful space”! Click HERE to view photos from the event.
Music in the Air Choral Concert
The June 10, 2012 choral concert, Music in the Air, was indeed an “Extrava-Gala” – a smashing success, followed by a wonderful reception!! There were more than 200 people in attendance and the concert raised more than $2,800 for our Organ Fund. Special appreciation goes to our own Nick DelBello, who arranged for the concert, Roland Martin and the choir of St. Joseph University Church, and Frank Scinta and the St. Louis Church choir. These superb musicians gave of their talent and weekend activities to share their generous goodness with us. A giant note of thanks, too, to the members of the special BT concert choir, the Parish Council for hosting the lovely reception, and all the volunteers who helped with publicity, logistics, programs, greeting attendees, bringing food, setting things up and cleaning up afterwards. It was indeed a team effort and an event to remember. Thank you all! [Photos will appear here soon].
Church Musicians Guild Festival Liturgy
Music Director Nick DelBello (far r.) and choir members (l. to r.) Mickey Dick, Judy Casassa, Luis Clay, Helen Roddy Gray, and Sister Claire Edwards represented Blessed Trinity at the CMG (Church Musicians’ Guild’s) annual Festival Liturgy, held May 24 at Ss. Peter and Paul Church in Hamburg. The reception that followed gave everyone an opportunity to “meet and greet” other music ministers from throughout the diocese, including CMG Vice President and former BT Music Director, Bridget Blesnuk (2d from r.).
The Buffalo Alliance for Sacred Places
The National Trust for Historic Preservation 2011 Conference in Buffalo put our city’s architectural treasury of civic, sacred and residential landmarks “front and center” for a national audience. In the aftermath of this high profile event, a new collaborative titled the Buffalo Alliance (the “Alliance”) for Sacred Places has been formed “to promote the preservation and appreciation of the art, architecture and history of Buffalo’s houses of worship.” The initial member organizations, which began meeting in January, 2012, are Blessed Trinity, the Buffalo Religious Arts Center, Corpus Christi RC Church, and First Presbyterian Church. The group chose to participate in The New York Landmarks Conservancy’s Sacred Sites Open House Weekend on May 19-20, 2012 as their first collaborative initiative. Over the two-day period, Blessed Trinity welcomed 98 visitors including residents of Rochester, Toronto, Pennsylvania and Michigan. We anticipate an increase in church tours as one result of this collaborative and are looking to expand our team of parish docents. If you are interested in becoming a Blessed Trinity docent, click HERE to leave a message for Judy Casassa or Mickey Dick. To learn more about the other Alliance sites, click HERE. We would also appreciate your becoming a friend of our Alliance on its Facebook page.
Sacred Sites Open House at Blessed Trinity, May 19-20
Photo by Sharon Cantillon, Buffalo News Photographer
Greeter Vera Andrew and Docent Judy Casassa (right) welcome the first visitors to May 20 Open House.
Click HERE to read article in the May 20 Buffalo News.
Click HERE to view more photos from our Open House.
Sacred Sites is the country’s oldest and largest statewide program providing financial and technical assistance to help historic religious properties. Since 1986, Sacred Sites grants totaling $7.3 million have mobilized more than $530 million in restoration and repair projects statewide.
Click HERE to see other Western New York religious sites that participated in the Sacred Sites weekend. In Buffalo, they included The Buffalo Religious Arts Center, Corpus Christi R. C. Church, First Presbyterian Church of Buffalo and St. John’s-Grace Episcopal Church.
Freudig Singers
The choir of St. Louis R.C. Church, under the direction of Frank Scinta
The Freudig Singers returned for the third year with their popular choral presentation of music from Broadway and Hollywood. Under the direction of Roland E. Martin, they performed Our Favorite Things from Stage and Screen III. Visit our Facebook page to see more photos from their May 11, 2012 appearance.
Vocalis Chamber Choir
On Sunday, March 18, 2012, The Vocalis Chamber Choir presented “Choral Compositions from Buffalo and Beyond,” a diverse and entertaining mix from their repertoire showcasing composers with a local connection, including Dale Adelman, Caroline Mallonee, Roland Martin, Robert Paterson, Cary Ratcliff, Michael Slon, Persis Vehar and Marty Wimmer.