Choir Sunday July 30 at Union Chapel: All invited to lend their voices

Union Chapel will be alive with the sound of music for Choir Sunday, July 30, at 10:30 a.m. Singers of all ages, regardless of skill or experience, are invited to join this joyous chorus to sing J. S. Bach’s “With Songs of Rejoicing.”

It will be an “All Bach Sunday,” according to Music Director Linda Betjeman. The rehearsal will be Saturday, July 29 at 10 a.m. at the Chapel.

Ms. Betjeman created Choir Sunday and the Chapel Community Choir in 1995 as an experiment when she invited friends from her New York City chorus, “Amici Cantante,” to come out for the weekend.

She put an ad in the paper and the “Miracle Choir” was born, a miracle, she said, because the singers rehearse for an hour and a half the day before and sing the next day.

“Over the years, both professional and non-professional singers have come together once a summer to enjoy the experience of making beautiful music in the beautiful space of Union Chapel,” she said.

Fr. Peter DeSanctis from Our Lady of the Isle Catholic Church will preach “The Treasure of the Pearl, Expressed in Hymns.”

Fr. Peter is a familiar presence around the Island. He’s been associated with Our Lady of the Isle in various capacities since the 1970s, and has been pastor for 12 years. He is the son of Peter and Gloria DeSanctis.

He holds two master’s degrees. He completed basic Army training at Fort Dix; served in the 8th Medical Brigade of the US Army; trained in Walson Army Hospital, the Veterans Administration and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital. He assisted the New York City Medical Examiner’s office and was appointed liaison to the New York Police Department. He also graduated from the Suffolk County Fire Academy.

He is an attending chaplain at Southampton and Eastern Long Island/Stony Brook Hospitals, and Our Lady of the Hamptons Regional Catholic School. On the Island, Fr. Peter is an active volunteer, working as assistant coach for the Shelter Island School’s varsity golf team, clergy consultant for the All-Faith Youth Group, and a member of the Fire Department, EMS board, American Legion and Lions Club.

Please join us for Choir Sunday – even if you don’t sing — on July 30. And if you do sing, come to the rehearsal on July 29 at 10 a.m. The service will be indoors, followed by an outdoor reception, catered by Stars Café.

“All Are Welcome: 150 years of Shelter Island’s Union Chapel in the Grove,” by Carrie Cooperider, is available for purchase after the service, at Finley’s Fiction or by contacting Trustee Kathy Dinkel.