MUSIC
MINISTRY — The family of Marlene and Joe Konecsni
has been providing music ministry at St. Henry’s Church near Dysart,
Sask. for 100 years. (Flegel photo)
A
century of music ministry celebrated
By Frank Flegel
DYSART, Sask. — It
was three stories in one: a haunted cemetery, 100 years of music ministry,
and a mass for the dead.
The living skies of Saskatchewan
threatened rain but held off while about 70 people gathered here July
13 for the annual Mass for the Dead and the Konecsni family celebration
of 100 years of music ministry. It all took place at what some locals
and an author of ghost books describe as the most haunted place in Saskatchewan.
The cemetery sits on the
nub of a hill six miles south and two miles east of Dysart, about 100
yards west of a cairn marking the original site of St. Henry Church.
Graves of the original district, mostly German settlers and their descendents,
occupy the little hill with a panoramic view of the rolling countryside.
St. Henry Kronsberg was established
in 1906 and served the entire district until 1961 when it was closed
after St. John the Baptist was established in Dysart. The local people
still refer to Kronsberg, but it now sits in the Rural Municipality
of Lipton.
The tradition of the Mass
for the Dead began about 40 years ago, always on St. Henry’s feast
day and always celebrated outdoors, rain or shine. The little chapel
that once stored coffins waiting for spring when the ground could be
broken for graves is just large enough now for an altar and artefacts
from the original St. Henry Church. It faces north and its construction
allows the priest’s words to be clearly heard at the rear of the
crowd.
Msgr. Reymundo Asis who serves
St. John the Baptist Parish at Southey, Sask. said prayers for the dead
are said to express the unity of the church’s three memberships:
the triumphant members who have gone to their reward in heaven, the
suffering, and the militant who are still on earth.
For the Konecsni family, who led the à cappella singing during
the mass, it was a celebration of 100 years involvement in the music
ministry.
“My dad was the cantor
in the original St. Henry’s Church,” said Joe, who now plays
the organ at St. John the Baptist Church in Dysart. Joe’s wife
Marlene is now the cantor. The Konecsni daughters Caroline and Sarah
played the organ, Caroline for 30 years and Sarah for two.
“Sarah started when
she was 11,” said her mother, Marlene. Joe took over when the
daughters moved.
Author Jo-Ann Christensen in one of her books describes a dark, winged creature that seems to hover around the cemetery, and glowing globes that have been photographed at night that seem to hover over the graves.
A little boy has been seen
wandering in the cemetery grounds.
Marlene Konecsni said she is not aware of any locals who have experienced paranormal activity at the cemetery, although she did say that two of her nephews visited the cemetery one Halloween night and couldn’t stay there. “We prefer to let the souls rest in peace.”
 |
|