MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – A Marquette church with deep musical roots is celebrating two major milestones this Christmas season…
The 150th anniversary of its historic sanctuary and more than a century of the world-famous “Burt Carols”.
At St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Marquette, a Christmas tradition born more than 100 years ago is returning home. On Sunday, November 30, the church will host “Caroling, Caroling Now We Go,” a celebration of the Burt family’s enduring musical legacy.
“Those Christmas carols, the Christmas carols that we have grown up on. That’s a part of who we are as a family. It just brings back great memories, nostalgia, but just of time as a child, I think, more than anything,” said St. Paul’s Musical Director, Jan Brodersen.
It was here in 1922 that Reverend Bates Burt, the church’s rector, wrote his first original Christmas Carol and mailed it as a holiday card to parishioners. His son Alfred Burt later joined him, eventually composing 15 Carols now performed around the world, including “Caroling, Caroling”, and “Some children see him”.
Today. That tradition lives on through composer Abby Bettinas Bates, Bates’ great-granddaughter, who continues creating a new family Carol.
“Every year, we have an amazing group of singers that will be presenting these Carols in different forms, either solo or in small groups or as a whole ensemble, or as a choir,” said Brodersen
Admission is free, but donations will support St Paul’s Building Restoration Fund, part of a major preservation effort made possible by a matching grant from the National Fund for Sacred Places.
“Most of it is going toward masonry work, tuck pointing, replacing the mortar between the sandstone blocks,” said Parishioner Fred Cole.
The celebration begins at 3:00 p.m. on November 30 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, located on East Ridge Street in Marquette. For more information, visit St. Paul’s website, https://upepiscopal.org/churches/st-pauls-marquette/
