Jim Reifinger Leaving Trinity Church

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Trinity Episcopal Church
44 East Market St.
Bethlehem PA 18018-5989
610-867-4741

Jim Reifinger Leaving Trinity Church
to Pursue Further Education

Fr. Nick Knisely - Written for Newsletter, July 2001

As many of you may have heard by now, Trinity's Organist and Choirmaster, James Reifinger, is leaving Trinity Church in August to pursue a Doctorate in Music Education at Indiana University in Bloomington Indiana. Jim will be a doctoral candidate in the School of Music, and while we will sorely miss his gifts and ministry, I am sure that ultimately our loss will be someone else's great gain.

While we begin to search for our next organist, Mary Schatkowski, a member of our parish, an organist, and a retired music educator, will be serving as our "Interim" Organist. Mary will begin her work the week of August 20th.

While we have all shared and delighted in Jim's gifts as a performer and in his leadership of the Choir, I have had the opportunity of working closely with Jim and seeing where his real gifts are. His greatest passion is in music education--which is testified to by the quality of music that the Choir has been performing in the last few years. But Jim isn't just interested in the immediate practical nature of teaching skills, but also in the more theoretical side of understanding why certain methods work better than others, and which are most appropriate in a given situation. I know that as a parent, I've been grateful for the close personal attention he's given to my daughter Kenney and the good base of music skills he has shared with her.

When Jim was called to serve here at Trinity, he was following in the footsteps of our beloved Marvin Beinema, which was and is certainly a difficult task. But Jim has been equal to it, and has shared some of his personal style and musical taste, and we are the greater for it.

The ministry of music in a parish, and the role of Director of Music in a congregation, is probably at least equal in importance to the role of the clergy in the planning and leading of worship. The canons of the Church remind us that while the Rector of a parish is ultimately in charge of the music, the Rector is always to consult with qualified persons in the selection of music appropriate for the context in which it is used. Interestingly, this is one of the canons that does not say "may" but rather "shall" seek assistance. This is probably for a number of reasons, but not least of which is the central role that the music in our worship plays in gathering us and uniting us into one voice so that we might most effectively offer our worship to God. But beyond that, music serves as the "language of worship."

When I was a student I remember very clearly Bishop Marshall's lectures on the role of music and hymnody in worship. One observation that he made at the time has always stayed with me. When we talk about God and about holy things, we find, more often than not, that spoken language and descriptive phrases fail us. We begin to use metaphors--saying things like "God is like a loving mother" or "Jesus is like a Lion of Judah." Eventually even the language of poetry fails to express what we feel about God and we find ourselves using words with pitch and rhythm--music. By understanding this, I've been able to fully appreciate the importance of the role that music plays in our worship and in our lives. It allows us to express the inexpressible and to describe feelings and ideas that words can not, by themselves, communicate.

We wish Jim the very best as he leaves Trinity and thank him profoundly for the generous ways that he has ministered among us.