Easter Blessings! We are at the beginning of the Great Fifty Days of Easter, a season of joy that is rooted in stories in scripture of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances and a recounting from the Acts of the Apostles of the first stirrings of what will become the new faith community of Christianity. We burn the Paschal candle at every worship service and during Easter, forego the confession in our liturgy as a reminder that because of God’s actions in Jesus Christ, we are a forgiven people, worthy to, as Eucharistic Prayer B says, “stand before God.” The Easter season ends with the celebration of the Day of Pentecost, this year on June 8.

Also on June 8, we will be welcoming our new minister of music! It was my honor and joy to announce on Easter Sunday that we extended a call to (almost) Dr. Travis Whaley to become the next minister of music at Calvary, and Travis has accepted that call. He and his husband, Payton, will be moving to Rochester from Bloomington, Indiana soon. Our MOM search committee interviewed well over a dozen very skilled and qualified people for this position, and after in-person interviews with four great candidates, Travis was overwhelmingly the first choice for the search committee, the Motet Choir, the members of the vestry who met him, and the staff. Travis is defending his dissertation this month at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. It is called “Organ Tablature and Conceptions of Music in the 17th Century.” He has two Masters degrees from IU as well, and his BA in Music and German from Virginia Tech.

Originally from North Carolina, he and Payton are very excited about joining us in mutual ministry and partnership at Calvary, and I can’t wait to start our journey of music and ministry in our parish and out to our neighborhood.

There will be much more information as to his arrival and start and celebration ahead, but please keep Travis and Payton in your prayers as they begin this transition to Minnesota.

We owe eternal thanks to the MOM (Minister of Music) search committee, who gave hundreds of hours of their time and talent to this work: David Inwards, Anne High, Michelle Ackerman, Jennifer Reiman, Martha Millman, Alistair McKean and Katrina Chan formed an unbelievably dedicated, faithful, and persistent team.

Welcome Travis and Payton, and Happy Easter!

With love,
Beth+