DAY 9 - SUNDAY

Our departure time of 8:30 this morning came way too early for us after the long day and wonderful evening last night.  The moms have performed their final room check of the tour (they always find something left behind!) and we are on our way to St. John the Evangelist Church in Swampscott which is about a 35 minute drive.

Before entering the church, we stopped for the obligatory photo!

Then it was time to go inside the church to take a look around and warm up our voices.

Once you have walked up the steps to the church you need to pause and turn around for a great view (sort of like looking out our own church doors in Ft. Lauderdale).

The church's organ is in the choir loft in the back of the church.  After vocal warm ups and a brief rehearsal, we left the choir loft to sing "In This Very Room" from the steps of the sanctuary using the nearby piano.

Then we quickly hurried back up the steps as I had to play the first hymn!

In addition to singing four of our anthems, we sang the hymns and the parts of the Mass.  Since the organ faces away from the altar area, the organist uses a mirror to watch what is happening in the sanctuary while he is playing.

Here are a couple of excerpts of their singing in the church.  The first anthem, "I Lift My Eyes", is divided into 2 videos but you still get to hear Amanda's solo.

 

 

 

  



Before the Mass began, we saw a familiar face in the congregation.  Cathedral Choir member Mary Lynn Lovejoy (who now lives in the Boston area) came to hear the kids sing!

 

When the Mass was over the kids went down from the choir loft to meet some of the people.  We are thankful to Joseph Cipoletta, organist at the church, for inviting us to sing this morning!



After the kids had changed clothes for the baseball game, Mary Lynn, her daughter and Matt Jackson posed for a picture.



The Mass finished in less than an hour, so we had time to stop at Chipotle for lunch before heading off to Fenway Park.

 



After a healthy Mexican lunch, it was time to "play ball" and Fenway Park was our next destination.

 

The girls came ready to support the Red Sox!



We all passed through security before entering the park.

 

 

We had prepared to be in the sun throughout the game, but we had great seats and were under the cover of the upper deck.

 



 



The Redsox did not have a good game as the outfielders had a tough time of spotting and catching fly balls in the blue grey sky.  With the score 13-5, we left in the top of the 8th inning to beat the crowd.  Our great bus driver, Bob, was waiting for us.  Since we had a little extra time before our 8:00 flight, we stopped at the Hard Rock Café for dinner.

From the Hard Rock, it was a short drive to Logan International Airport and our JetBlue flight to Fort Lauderdale.  Unfortunately, the plane that would take us home was coming from San Francisco and was delayed.  Still, the kids found something to occupy their time.

In just a few short hours, we were home where smiling parents greeted us at the baggage claim.  There were lots of smiles and hugs!  And just like that, the 2015 Kirk Singer Concert Tour had come to an end.  My special thanks to Lesley Karentz and Susana Pocock who were our chaperones for this trip.  They truly made it special and memorable.  Thanks, as always, for your thoughts and prayers.