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 35 Years of
 Sunday Gym Mass Celebrations 

"We Welcome You Wherever You Are On Your Journey"

These are the words most recognizable to the churchgoers at St. Joan of Arc. They are a testament to the angst, wonder, disappointment, joy, despair and magic that each of us faces as we navigate our lives. But they also characterize the road traveled by the priests, lay ministers and parishioners of St. Joan of Arc over the past 35 years. Today the gym Masses at SJA seem so right, so full of energy, almost spontaneous. But like so many of our own personal journeys, the liturgies at St. Joan of Arc have arrived through a process of trial and error, with lots of bumps and bruises - and a tremendous amount of courage. This is the story of the St. Joan of Arc Masses, from the early gym days through the present.

 The Early Years - the Harvey Egan Years 

Father Harvey Egan
The church was built in 1946 but up until 1967 the Mass at St. Joan of Arc was very much as it was in most Catholic churches. In the early 60’s Vatican II introduced fundamental changes that impacted all churches. The Mass, formerly recited in Latin was now said in English, the altar was turned to face the congregation, and participation by the laity was encouraged. But it was when Father Harvey Egan arrived in 1967 that the real change at St. Joan of Arc began to happen and the story began. Harvey had a vision of modern Catholicism that reached far beyond the imagination of most priests and congregations of the day. He immediately began the transition. Soon his vision of the contemporary worship and remodeling of some of the other traditional liturgies in the parish began to capture the attention and the hearts of Catholics throughout the Twin Cities.

On September 28, 1969 the first contemporary Mass was held in the gym. It was unconventional from the start. The altar sat on the gym floor level with the congregation. Non-ordained men and women were lectors and they distributed Communion years before it was allowed. Many of the prayers spoken during the Mass were composed by Father Egan, and in them God was “She” as often as “He”. Father Egan had long been a pacifist and activist. He believed that Christians need to hear the message of peace and social justice in order to carry the message of Christ into the real world. Homilists came from the community and represented a medley of religions, philosophies, political and social concepts.

 Telling It Like It Is 

A few of the notable speakers were Dr. Benjamin Spock, pediatrician and peace activist; Rabbi Max Shapiro, Jewish Theologian; Eugene McCarthy, US Senator; Robert Bly, poet; Arvonne Fraser, feminist; Father Dan Berrigan, peace activist, and Bernadette Devlin McAlisky, Irish activist. One of the most controversial speakers to be invited was Gloria Steinem. It caused a huge controversy that not only divided members of the parish, but spurred an outpouring of opinion and disagreement that extended throughout the nation. It led to a censure from Archbishop Roach but did little to quench the warrior soul of Harvey Egan.

 St. Joan of Arc Has Never Stopped Singing 

Sharon and Leroy Vague
If the homilists were the “heart” of the gym worship, the music was the “soul”. In 1969 Leroy Vague was named Director of Congregational Singing. Leroy was a good musician, but as his son, Lee Vague told me, “His real talent was in getting the people to sing along.” In the beginning there was only one screen with the words to the music because only a few hundred people attended. Leroy’s wife Sharon joined him singing, and eventually other musicians came. Leroy was a generous man who was willing to share the stage with anyone whose talent he admired. In the early years Anna and Fred Vagle, Steve Kremer, and Kate Cuddy were some of those who were invited as guests……and stayed to join the family. Talented young people in the parish were invited to share their talent and some, such as Dan and Joe Chouinard, Dick Hedlund, Shane Speltz and Lee Vague are now integral members of our musical community.

“His real talent was getting people to sing along”
- Lee Vague speaking about his father, Leroy Vague


Sunday Mass guest 'speaker' Michael Hennessey
When I talked to Lee Vague, he reflected on the fact that much of the music played in the early years is still used today. It was originally chosen to inspire the congregation to sing, and continues to do so: My Lord What A Morning, I Can See Clearly Now, Sunshine, I Saw the Light…..(And the beat goes on!)

Music wasn’t the only medium delivering the message of Jesus. Guthrie actor Peter Thoemke was a member of the parish, and with his help dramatic presentations proclaimed the Word, particularly during the Lenten and Easter season. Nancy Gormley, a talented actress and parishioner was part of those presentations and continues even today. Her dramatization as Mary Magdalene continues to be unforgettable.

 St. Joan of Arc in the Headlines 

When the construction of 35W cut a swatch directly through the SJA parish boundaries in the mid-60’s it greatly diminished the size of the parish, but Harvey Egan ignored parish boundaries. By the early 70’s St. Joan of Arc was being noticed and people were beginning to travel to Sunday gym services from many miles away. An article in the Star Tribune in 1974 talked about this uncommon worship service. It applauded a ballet troupe that danced the Passion during Holy Week and was amazed at the idea of the Mass held in the backyard of the rectory when the theme for the week was Stewardship of the Earth. Of course, much was made of the homilists and the music.

The September, 1981, Mpls. St Paul Magazine did an article entitled, “Super Sunday Services”.

“That old time religion moves to a different beat at these 11 area churches. They are trend setting congregations with new liturgies, charismatic pastors and music - Schubert, Dixieland, Gospel, Salvation Army band- that would do Gabriel proud”.

St. Joan of Arc was featured. The article talked about the Vague family, Leroy, Sharon, Lee, and Lisa, then highlighted the Vagles. “Fred Vagle is a master guitarist and Anna can sing the feathers off a canary”. “People are allowed to clap their hands, laugh out loud and respond to agreeable sermons with thunderous applause. SJA is an unusual congregation that insists worship must give people freedom to search for and discover their own spirituality.”

By the time Father Harvey Egan left in 1986 his vision of the Sunday liturgy was firmly entrenched. His dream of an inclusive, shared Christian community had inspired the parish; a committed and focused group of lay ministers was in place. It could continue without his direction.

 The Next Generation - Shared Leadership 

Fr. Bill Murtaugh is now pastor of St. John the Baptist in New Brighton.
Father Pat Kennedy, pastor from 1986-1988, and Father Bill Murtaugh, pastor from 1988 - 1992 served during the years following Harvey Egan, the transition years. It had to be a difficult time - Harvey was a hard act to follow. But they were not alone. The real backbone of the parish was the lay community; many people dedicated to carrying on the mission and vision of Father Egan. The new priests each left their mark by focusing on the strengths of the parish and working to further actualize the goals. Father Kennedy worked with the staff and parishioners to help make SJA become more child and family centered. His contribution to the Sunday worship service was to inaugurate the Family Mass in which children attended Sunday school while their parents participated in the gym liturgy. After the homily the parents and children met in the church to share a creative liturgy designed for families. That is still the model used today. Father Bill Murtaugh challenged the parish to respond in a meaningful way to the growing AIDS crisis. His most enduring legacy is the conversion of the former rectory into a residence for people with AIDS, Grace House.

During these years, while Kate Cuddy was music director, she used her choral background to initiate the SJA choir. From the beginning it has been a special events choir, gracing the gym Masses for special liturgical celebrations and concerts. Kate also used her connections in the Twin Cities musical community to introduce new guest musicians such as Mary Jane Alm, Gwen Mathews, Pat Frederick, Prudence Johnson, Debbie Duncan, Dennis Spears and Robert Robinson to name a few. For many of them it was a mutual admiration society. The musicians relished the opportunity to perform for the enthusiastic audience; for the audience, it was pure musical heaven.

 From Then Until Now 

The years from the early ‘90’s until now have been years of growth, enhancement, refining and redefining - with a little high-tech thrown into the mix. Father George Wertin, a man who believes strongly in collaborative effort, has been pastor since 1992. Those eleven years have been active and productive - but always with an eye to the vision and mission of St. Joan of Arc. Because of the Capitol Campaign the gym liturgies have been enhanced in many ways. The gym is larger, offering more seating, better lighting, and a state-of-the-art sound system. The old slide system that projected songs onto the screens was replaced with computer generated images. It was Father George who suggested starting each Mass with a “Welcome Giver”, a member of the parish who greets and welcomes the congregation. He refined the Headlines at the beginning of the Mass by making them more specific, focusing on peace and justice issues where people can make a difference. After 9/11 Peace Prayers were introduced after Communion. These are powerful and moving prayers representing the religions of the world and serving to recommit SJA to its pledge of peace and non-violence.

Christmas 1993
It was in the early ‘90’s that Kate Cuddy gave up her position as music director in order to take a position in the music department of Benilde-St. Margaret’s high school. In doing so she turned the leadership over to the more-than-capable hands of Anna Vagle. Anna’s musical abilities were legend, but she had no previous experience in choir direction. That proved to be an easy hurdle (as anyone who has heard the choir will attest to).

Anna has actually written many of the Eucharistic prayers sung during the masses and special celebrations. Father George describes them as “very beautiful and easily singable”. That is in keeping with the strong feeling of the SJA musicians that it is most important for the people to sing, not just be sung to. To that end, the sound system and musical arrangements are designed to let the congregation hear themselves sing. Judging by the volume and enthusiasm of the singing their plan seems to be working. Dan Chouinard, described by Anna as, “Artist in Residence”, assists Anna with some of her responsibilities as music director. She also credits him with the ability to attract the large number of guest musicians; Dan is an amazing pianist, able to play any music in any key. Performers know he will always make them sound good.

“All music is holy"- Anna Vagle

Anna has made a deliberate effort to add more women to the regular musicians. Rachel Kroog, Deb Harley, and Nancy Stockhaus are all gifted and engaging singer/musicians, often helping out at the Sunday liturgies - and always on hand for the fall Cabaret performances. Cyril Paul, master of Calypso and Reggae, became a regular member of the Sunday musicians after some years as a guest musician. And as for the music, it really hasn’t changed too much from the earliest days of the gym liturgies. It is an eclectic mix of tunes that gladdens the heart and touches the soul. As Anna says, “All music is holy”.

Fred Vagle, singer/song writer-turned-high-tech-maestro, keeps as busy as Anna. We have seen him on the altar, next to Anna for years, but these days what he does behind the scenes is just as important. Besides helping to develop the computerized display of songs for the gym masses, Fred is instrumental in bringing the most important messages of the Mass to the web site by recording the audio/video of the masses each week.

 Which Brings Us to the Latest Chapter - www.stjoan.com 

What could a web site have to do with the gym Masses at St. Joan of Arc? These days the answer is “plenty”. The SJA web site, voted one of the top church web sites in the country, has flourished since an all volunteer webteam led by webmaster Jeff Rholl took it over in 1999. With the help of the SJA staff, the webteam produces a myriad of information about everything going on at St. Joan. Besides the weekly audio highlights, the website offers the Sunday bulletin and Mass readings. One of the most popular areas on the site is the preview of upcoming homilies. As a result of reader interest and requests, text copies of the homilies are also available on the web site. Beginning in the next two weeks, stjoan.com will offer parishioners a chance to discuss online each Sunday’s mass. In effect the website is an extension of the liturgy because it allows those who are vacationing, confined, or living far away to have portions of the Mass available to them wherever they are.

Sue O'Brien is the wife of Tom, mother of four children, and grandmother of six. She is dental hygienist and manages a dental practice in Spring Lake Park. A parishioner for many years, Sue worked as a caregiver at Grace House for seven years, beginning the week it opened. Now she is looking forward to meeting new people at St. Joan of Arc as she helps out as a web reporter and photographer. Sue can be reached at sueo-b@comcast.net.
So that’s the story of the gym Mass at St. Joan of Arc - to date. No ending needed. The liturgies are purposeful, nourishing, uplifting, and above all, Holy. But they are also fluid and pertinent. They are grounded in the past but not stuck in the past. They will respond to the future but serve the needs of today. And like all good journeys it was not undertaken alone, but in the best of company.

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