Midsummer’s Presents Fifth Annual “The Seven Last Words of Christ”

Midsummer’s Music Festival continues to plan the upcoming performance of “The Seven Last Words of Christ.” The Stella Maris Catholic Parish/Sister Bay has graciously offered to host this magnificent event on Tuesday, March 18 at 7 pm.

The highly professional and widely acclaimed string musicians are Midsummer’s Music favorites: David Perry, violin; Isabella Lippi, violin; Sally Chisholm, viola; and Walter Preucil, cello. They will perform Haydn’s masterful composition and will be joined by guest speakers:

• Michael Brecke serves as the Pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Juddville/Fish Creek. A Wisconsin native, Pastor Michael has served churches in Canada, South Georgia, and metropolitan Kansas City, Missouri. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, Yale Divinity School, Concordia Seminary-St. Louis and Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. He is married to Elizabeth (Betsy) Titterington and has two children, Matthew and Anna. He moved to Door County, a place he loves and honors, in 2001. He has served St. Paul’s since the spring of 2001. Hiking and some running, reading, writing and studying Eastern Orthodox Icons occupy his time when he is not working as a parish pastor.

• Dr. James Danhof is the pastor of the Sister Bay Baptist Church, where he has been serving for the past five years. He is appreciated at First Baptist for his thoughtful preaching, his Biblical knowledge and his easy and caring manor. He is a graduate of Taylor University (BA in Christian Education and music), Dallas Theological Seminary (ThM in Biblical studies) and Trinity Divinity School (D.Min. in Church Administration).

• Lucy Klug is a member of Calvary United Methodist Church. She was born and raised in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, graduated from Wellesley College and received a Masters Degree in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin. Lucy and her husband Karl lived and worked in the Green Bay area for over 30 years and then retired to Baileys Harbor in 1996. They are members of the Door County Land Trust, Friends of Toft Point, Peninsula Chamber Singers and supporters of Midsummer’s Music Festival.

• The Reverend Joseph Mazza, ordained in 1954, retired to Door County after a long pastorate in Wilmette, Illinois and subsequently was instrumental in founding St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Sister Bay. He is an opera-lover and amateur musician, and has supported these performances of “The Seven Last Words” from their inception.

• Rev. Gwynne K. Schultz has followed her passion in moving to Door County full-time in 2006. She first came here in 1936 and has visited most summers since then. She is ordained in the United Church of Christ and lived for many years in Santa Barbara, California. There she co-founded and staffed Centerpoint, an interfaith program for the training of spiritual directors. She is a graduate of Middlebury College and Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Locally, she is an associate member of Zion United Methodist Church. She is the mother of three daughters and eight grandchildren, who visit often and are coming to share her love of Door County.

• Joan Shiels was baptized Lutheran, schooled by Baptists, educated by Catholics and ordained in the United Church of Christ but she has also meditated with Buddhists, prayed with Muslims, chanted with Hindus and waited on the spirit with Quakers. Also comfortable with atheists and agnostics, she is a true theological hybrid. She grounds her spirituality in a deep belief that God is The Source and that the various religions are different rivers that flow from that Source. In her experiences as a pastor of a church, a chaplain in a large nursing home and as a teacher of comparative religion she has found that God speaks in many languages but in no voice more beautiful than music.

• Jim Workman is a graduate of Wesleyan University and Harvard Law School. After practicing law for five years in Cleveland, Ohio, he joined The Trane Company in La Crosse, Wisconsin where he held a number of administrative assignments and eventually was named President of Trane, then a division of American-Standard, Inc. Jim moved to Door County in 1992 and has participated in various community non-profit events, including the United Way (twice Campaign Chairman, and President for two years.) Since 1995 Jim has served as Treasurer of the Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac. He is a member of St. Luke’s Church, Sister Bay.

This is the fifth annual presentation of Franz Joseph Haydn’s “The Seven Last Words of Christ.” People of all faiths are invited to attend. There is a suggested good will offering of $10 per adult. The Stella Maris Catholic Parish/Sister Bay is located at the top of the Sister Bay hill on Highway 42, just across from the Country Walk Shops.

And don’t forget the traditional Palm Sunday Brunch at Alexander’s of Fish Creek on March 16, from 11 am – 1 pm. The brunch is $20 per person and $5 for children 12 and under.

To learn more, call 920.854.7088 or visit http://www.midsummerSmusic.com.