8-13 October 2011
Saint Benedict Parish Mission.

The Fathers of Mercy Parish Mission with The Reverend George McInnis, C.P.M.

30 October 2011, 3:00 p.m.
Saint Benedict Church

Hisako Tokue, Violin
James A. Dorn, Piano

Born in Tokyo, Hisako Tokue started violin lessons at the age of 3 as a student of the famous Suzuki Method.  She went on to study at the Toho Music Conservatory and made her début when she was 12 with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra.  As a young adult, Ms. Tokue was invited to the Tchaikovsky conservatory in Moscow by the celebrated Russian violinist, Leonid Kogan.

Over the years, Ms. Tokue has received wide recognition in Japan and abroad through her recordings and in concert.  She has received numerous musical awards, including the Mainichi and NHK music awards in Tokyo, the Aspen International Music Competition in the United States, the Long Thibaud International Competition in France and the Paganini Competition in Italy. 

In April of this year, she gave a charity concert in Tokyo for the victims of Japan’s tragic Great Eastern earthquake and tsunami. Ms. Tokue’s newest CD was released in Spring 2011 by Nami Records of Japan.

- Program -

29 January 2012, 4:00 p.m.
Saint Benedict Church

The City Singers Children's Choir
Leslie Dripps, Artistic Director

with

Saint Benedict Children's Choir
James A. Dorn, Choirmaster/Organist

Special guests:  The Pritchard Sisters Violin Trio

Admission is free, but a good-will offering will be received.

21 February 2012, 7:30 p.m.
Saint Benedict Church

The Reverend Sidney H. Griffith, ST, Ph.D.

Semitic and Egyptian Languages and Literatures,
Catholic University of America

"The Qur'an and Early Christian History"

“In this lecture I will describe the approach of a historian of Late Antique Christianity to the Islamic scripture, reading the text and its critique of Christian beliefs and practices against the background of contemporary Christian controversies and debates especially in the realm of Christology. This approach, as I will show, is much different from the one adopted by most western scholars of Islam and it highlights the Qur'an's knowing take on contemporary Christian thought and modes of expression.” (Father Griffith)

The Reverend Sidney H. Griffith, ST, Ph.D. is Ordinary Professor in the Department of Semitic and Egyptian Languages and Literatures at the Catholic University of America, where he participates in the programs in Syriac and Arabic. He publishes widely in the areas of Syriac Patristic thought, Christian literature in Arabic, and the history of Christian/Muslim relations. His most recently published book is: The Church in the Shadow of theMosque: Christians and Muslims in the World of Islam (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2008); his forthcoming book is titled, The Bible in Arabic: The Scriptures of the People of the Book in the Language of the Qur’an.

He has been a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, as well as at the Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies. He has been president of both the Byzantine Studies Conference and the North American Patristic Society, and has served as a member of the Catholic Delegation to the Eastern Orthodox/Roman Catholic Consultation.

• Laetare Sunday
• 18 March 2012
  11:00 a.m. Mass 

  Premiere of an Anthem commissioned for the St. Benedict Centennial:
  TO KEEP A TRUE LENT (Text by Robert Herrick)
  by award winning composer and Richmond native Zachary Wadsworth

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  Palm Sunday
• 1 April 2012
  3:00 p.m.
• Concert – VCU TROMBONE CHOIR & FRIENDS 
  Dr. Ross Walter, Director

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  22 April 2012
  5:00 p.m.
  Concert – JAMES RIVER SINGERS 
  David Pedersen, Director
  Saint Benedict Church

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  Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
• 15 August 2012
• 6:00 p.m. Mass
  
• The choir will sing the MISSA BREVIS by Zoltan Kodaly, and Anthems by Grieg and Biebl  with Guest Director, Dr. Axel Theimer; and the Propers chanted by the Schola from Saint Joseph Parish in Bon Aire, David Pedersen, Director.

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