An upcoming concert being held in North Cape May will feature local and internationally acclaimed musicians coming together to support peace in the Holy Land.
“The Holy Spirit will be blessing us on Pentecost,” Father Miles J. Barrett said of the Concert for Peace, which will begin at 3 p.m. on May 28 in Saint John of God Church, Saint John Neumann Parish.
The concert will feature the musical talents of organist Rudy Lucente and pianist Helena Bew; a reception will follow in the church hall. The audience is encouraged to contribute to a free-will donation to benefit the work of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
The EOHSJ, a papal order, dates back to the First Crusade. Knights and Ladies in the Order are selected by papal edict and attempt to bring Muslims, Jews and Christians in the region together in peace, prayer and financial support. Saint John Neumann Parish administrator, Father James King, is also a Knight in the Order.
Father Barrett, a retired priest and former U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard chaplain, was honored with membership in 2017; he will explain the order’s mission while narrating pictures of his 2018 pilgrimage as Lucente plays a medley of Marian hymns. Among the Order’s missions is to raise awareness of the extreme poverty in the region, Father Barrett said.
“There are three refugee camps in Bethlehem alone, and people in nursing homes are often abandoned,” he said. “Some do not have running water or electricity.”
Reflecting upon the concert, Father Barrett explained that ever since an Allen G-330 organ was installed at the parish in 2020, “I’ve wanted to see it bring people together in worship and attract young people to learn to play it. … A Concert for Peace came out of the awareness of what the organ had to offer the papal mission. People of all faith traditions share great music. COVID delayed it. Now the time is right.”
Concert-caliber musicians will highlight the strength and beauty of the organ and piano.
Lucente, an internationally acclaimed Allen organ designer and Wanamaker organist, is an assistant organist at the Grand Court Organ in Macy’s, Philadelphia (formerly Wanamaker’s), and plays the Atlantic City Boardwalk organ as well. An internationally-known recitalist, he has also been a church musician for more than 40 years and is a holiday staff organist at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square. Lucente appears frequently as a recitalist and church music clinician and is a member of the Philadelphia Organ Quartet. He has published a number of recordings, including “Christmas at Atlanta’s Fabulous Fox,” done in Surround Sound, which has received wide acclaim from listeners and reviewers alike, and appears on National Public Radio every year.
Helena Bew, an American Guild of Organists member, is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music. She began her music career as an accompanist for Pennsylvania Ballet Company in Philadelphia, performed at Curtis Institute in the singer studio, and taught at Settlement Music School. She played the October 2022 concert for the Cape Community Arts at the Cape May Baptist Church on a Steinway grand piano with a variety of composers and styles. Bew has performed as a soloist with Glassboro College and Atlantic Community College.
Father Barrett said that, if the Concert for Peace is well-received, the parish may request their bounty of local instrumentalists and vocalists perform another program to benefit the Holy Land this fall.
“There are five AGO organists and other very talented musicians and choirs who are willing to fill an hour with a glorious variety of music,” he said. “It would be a blessing to see such a musical series bring people together … and serve a great cause today in the Holy Land.”
Saint John of God Church is located at 680 Town Bank Road, North Cape May. In addition to a free-will collection at the concert, donations can be submitted at paypal.com/US/fundraiser/charity/1401862 or by scanning the QR code above.
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