I composed this Psalm Offering for Bill and Mary Beckfeld as an ordination present, the summer of 1994. Bill was a tall, large man, outspoken, smart, compassionate, and, at the same time stubborn and bullheaded. Mary is a short, compassionate, smart, and equally outspoken, who knew she had her, at times, stubborn and bullheaded husband wrapped around her little finger. Bill knew it, too, and often referred to himself as “Mr. Mary Beckfeld.” Both Bill and Mary, like Ruthie and myself, have a strong leaning toward progressive politics and ecclesiology. Bill and Mary had a large family. Their youngest son, who was developmentally disabled, died early in life. Bill had a great love for those who are developmentally disabled and originally thought he might spend his life as a deacon ministering to that community. Bill and Mary also had a son, Joe, who was Gay. As their life became transformed by his coming out, Bill and Mary started to minister more to the LGBTQ community and were advocates for that community. Bill was the first member of my diaconal class to die. He suffered an aneurism while assisting as a deacon at a funeral Mass, and died a couple of days later on February 27th, 2001. I put together the Vigil prayer for his wake. Bill and I use to joke about which one of us would have our diaconal faculties pulled first by the Archbishop. I miss my diaconal brother, Bill, greatly. From time to time, Ruthie, Mary and I get together.
This Psalm Offering is written in the key of C major. Melody A has a joyful, playfulness to it, the tempo only moderate in speed. Melody B continues the same playfulness but in the relative key of A minor. The music segues back into C major with the A melody being treated at first in a fugal fashion before finally ending in a slower, grander restatement of the melody. Bill asked me to play this Psalm Offering as a post-communion meditation at his Mass of Thanksgiving. I was able to get away from my music duties that Sunday at St. Hubert to fulfill his wish.
Note: You can download all my music from CD Baby, iTunes, and Amazon. You can also find it on YouTube and Spotify.
