Joyce Kulyk posed in this selfie with her late husband, Mark Kulyk, for whom the concert is dedicated. (Contributed photo)
BY MARY SOLBERG | FAITHLIFE
“We are many parts, we are all one body, and the gifts we have we are given to share. …”
If you’ve been singing in church since the 1980s, you’ll most likely be able to finish this refrain from the popular liturgical song, “We Are Many Parts,” written by Marty Haugen.
It ends: “May the spirit of love make us one indeed, one, the love that we share, one, our hope in despair, one, the cross that we bear.”
Love, hope and the cross represent the Christian journey lived out by the late Mark Kulyk, a longtime musical leader and parishioner at Holy Cross Church in Fairview. His love of Haugen’s music, and that of two other renowned liturgical musicians—David Haas and Stephen Petrunak—will be shared at a concert featuring the three men May 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Holy Cross.
Before his death to brain cancer last November, Kulyk, 60, had challenged Kathy Felong, the parish music director, to organize a concert featuring Haugen, Haas and Petrunak. He had long wanted to see the three men perform together, given their important contributions to liturgical music in Catholic churches over the past three decades.
Felong knows Haugen, Haas and Petrunak through her involvement in the National Association for Pastoral Musicians (NPM) since the early 1990s. She has sung in concerts by Haas and Haugen and co-authored with Petrunak a series of method books for church guitarists. Petrunak is the newly named president of NPM.
Surprisingly, all three were able to accommodate their schedules and commit to the upcoming concert. More than 300 tickets have been sold so far; tickets also are sale for a pre-concert reception with the musicians.
“I think Mark would be thrilled to see the response of the people, knowing what a gift of faith the concert will be,” Felong says.
Haas, Haugen and Petrunak did not know Mark Kulyk personally, but their music deeply touched him, says his wife, Joyce Kulyk. The couple worked for 25 years with Worldwide Marriage Encounter.
“When their music came out, it was the new post-Vatican II sound,” Joyce Kulyk says. “The psalms they chose for their music were very singable and their words were more relatable to the liturgy and the Gospels. Mark had a positive feeling that it drew together the congregation. It was a unifying kind of feeling.”
In a recent telephone conference call, Haugen, Haas and Petrunak told FaithLife that music ministry is about sharing gifts, believing that through their songs people in the pews are moved to action in their own faith. For Haas, it’s “humbling.”
“We are servants. We trust that the Spirit will do its work,” says Haas, who has produced more than 50 collections of original music, including such songs as “We Have Been Told” and “Blest Are They.”
For Haugen, music is a shared language that Mark Kulyk obviously spoke as well.
“People still feel connected to our music,” Haugen says. “Music comes at a time in our deepest moments.”
Petrunak’s recordings are available through GIA Publications, including his most recent release, “With Hope and Healing.” He says music can enliven parishes, much like at Holy Cross.
“We’re coming to honor a person’s life who sounds like an amazing man to his family and to his faith community,” Petrunak says.
Before his death, Mark Kulyk knew the concert was going to happen. As Joyce Kulyk says, “He’ll be there.”
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To reserve tickets, go to HCmusicministry@gmail.com or call 814-474-2605. Cost is $15 per adult; free for children 12 and under. Tickets also at the door, unless sold out.
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