“Let There Be Peace On Earth”

Posted on December 25, 2020 | 4 Comments

Though their buildings are in Norwalk, Temple Shalom and St. Matthew Church include many parishioners from Westport.

Plenty of choral members too.

Last month — for the institutions’ Interfaith Thanksgiving service — Westporter Martin Gitlin and his daughter Kayla (Staples High School Class of 2015) produced a virtual choir video.

“Let There be Peace on Earth” was conducted by Temple Shalom’s Alice Lipson. She’s revered in Westport for her years as a Staples and Long Lots music teacher.

Whether it’s Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah — or any other day — this is music, and a message, worth hearing.

This entry was posted in Arts, religion and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

4 responses to ““Let There Be Peace On Earth””

  1. Roseann Spengler | December 25, 2020 at 10:10 am |

    Amen!!!!

  2. Gerald F. Romano, Jr. | December 25, 2020 at 10:35 am |

    And let it begin with me.
    Merry Christmas
    Best,
    Gerald F. Romano, Jr.

  3. Rabbi Cantor Shirah Sklar | December 25, 2020 at 10:55 am |

    Thank you for posting this, Dan. The Temple Shalom community has a long-standing tradition of this wonderful Interfaith gathering for Thanksgiving that we missed greatly this year, but were able to produce a beautiful virtual concert including this virtual choir video. We are sad to share the news of the sudden passing of our Interfaith clergy partner, Monsignor Walter Orlowski of St. Matthew Church, who died suddenly just a few days ago. Our friendship represented the best of Interfaith relationships and we will miss him greatly. Special thanks to Marty and Kayla Gitlin, and the many choir members who participated in this wonderful video for Temple Shalom and St. Matthew Church. The Lipson and Sklar families were thrilled to be able to be a part of it and share this level of music and goodwill with our greater community. It was also a true honor for my mother and I to be a part of the magnificent Staples Candlelight presentation this week. Music truly nourishes the soul in this difficult time and I am continuously so thankful for the technology that allows us all to connect in this way.

    Rabbi/ Cantor Shirah ( Lipson) Sklar
    Senior Rabbi, Temple Shalom

  4. Cheryl Mayer | December 25, 2020 at 4:03 pm |

    Lovely, just lovely. Thank you Dan. We enjoyed this video on Christmas. We celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas in our house in New Mexico. No trip to CT this year so we have to make the most of sights and sounds of where we are right now… blessings and peace to you.
    Cheryl Mayer
    ( formerly Castiglia)
    New Mexico