Well, the cat’s out of the bag – we are hosting some amazing candlelit music concerts at SSPP this spring! Many of you have seen the news clip from WDIV channel 4 this week featuring the concert that took place Wednesday night.
I first became aware of the candlelight concerts last fall when I saw some ads for them on Facebook. At that time I thought to myself, “it would be fun to attend one of those”, not even considering that I might be hosting one in just a few months! Later in the fall we were contacted by Fever, an entertainment platform based in Madrid, Spain but with satellite offices in major cities around the world, about the possibility of hosting some concerts in our historic church. As of today we have 12 event dates booked with Fever, and I expect more to come. The concerts range in content but feature local performers presenting some of the best music.
So why are we doing this? Our mission statement is “A church for the city in the heart of downtown”. We strive in many ways to connect with our city, such as our Jazz Mass and Blessing of the Sneakers. We have also hosted other music organizations for concert performances in the past, including the Detroit Concert Choir and Madrigal Chorale. I may be biased, but I feel confident in saying that our church has the finest acoustic for live music of any church in the metro Detroit area. Concerts like this are the perfect opportunity for us to invite the Detroit community into our space. I know they are moved by the beauty, and they will experience some small piece of our faith when they see the statutes, paintings, stations, and my favorite detail – the gold leaf names of Jesus around the ceiling vault. I hope they will visit our website or facebook page, and learn that we are a diverse and welcoming community that offers many Social, Spiritual, and Service opportunities.
Most assuredly, music is one of God’s most glorious gifts to us. And so I know that as the music echoes through our church, those listening are brought into God’s presence, and they experience something Divine.
If you are interested in attending one of the Candlelight Concerts at SSPP you can purchase tickets at Fever’s website, feverup.com/detroit/candlelight. The concerts are organized according to musical content. Be sure to check the location of the event, as some events are occuring at other venues. If you want to confirm if a specific event is at SSPP feel free to send me an email at music@ssppjesuit.org