“Caroling, Caroling, Now We Go” A celebration of the musical legacy of Rev. Bates and Alfred Burt and Abbie Burt Betinis at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church – Marquette

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Marquette will host Caroling, Caroling Now We Go!, a celebration of the musical legacy of Rev. Bates and Alfred Burt and Abbie Burt Betinis on Sunday, November 30th at 3:00 pm at the church at 201 East Ridge Street in Marquette. The concert celebrates the 150th anniversary of St. Paul’s sanctuary building this Christmas and over 100 years of Burt Carols which originated at St. Paul’s.  

 

In 1922 Rev. Bates Burt, the rector at St. Paul’s in Marquette, composed a Christmas carol and sent it out as a Christmas card to family, friends, and parishioners.  Burt Carols became an annual tradition and Bates’ son Alfred joined his father in composing 20 years later.  Alfred Bates went on to compose 15 carols of his own including “Caroling, Caroling,” “Star Carol, and “Some Children See Him,” which have been recorded by artists all over the world.  Composer Abbie Burt Betinis is the great granddaughter of Bates and grand-niece of Alfred, and since 2001 has continued the family caroling tradition. 

 

 

“Celebrating the carols, along with the 150th anniversary of the sanctuary, is an honor and a privilege. The carols are an enduring legacy, hopefully, one that will continue for years to come.”    – Jan Brodersen, St. Paul’s Music Director 

 

 

The concert performers will include Stephanie Beinlich, Jim Edwards, Adam Hall, Jon LaFonde, Kristen Ludwig, Jimmy Ludwig, Eric Marta, Darrius Morton, Janis Peterson, Dani Simandl, and the St. Paul’s Choir.  Classic Burt carols from all three generations of Burt composers will be performed and some entirely new arrangements will also be featured by vocalists and string ensembles.

 

As the Fred Bock Publishing Group has noted,  “The most famous American Christmas carol family is indisputably the Burt family. The carols of Bates and Alfred Burt and the Christmas carol cards they sent are now part of our hymnody and folklore..  Composer Abbie Burt Betinis is the great granddaughter of Bates and grand-niece of Alfred, and is continuing the tradition with freshness and craftsmanship.” 

 

   

Admission will be free and donations will be accepted.  All donations will benefit St. Paul’s Building Restoration fund as the church seeks to match the grant it received from the National Fund for Sacred Places.   The NFSP grant will help St. Paul’s address urgent structural needs, ensuring its continued role as a gathering place for worship, outreach, and community activities into the next 150 years. 

 

 “St. Paul’s sanctuary building opened 150 years ago on Christmas 1875 and we are excited and honored to celebrate the Marquette – and now international- tradition of the Burt Carols which originated here at St. Paul’s 103 years ago.”  Fred Cole, member of St. Paul’s Choir 

 

 

About the Burt Carols: 

From the website of Abbie Burt Betinis: 

 

“In the 1920s, Rev. Bates G. Burt, my great-grandfather and a self-taught musician, began composing annual Christmas carols. He wrote both the text and music and sent them as Christmas greeting cards to his parishioners in Marquette — and later in Pontiac — Michigan.

 

In 1942, Bates passed the job of composing the music for the annual Christmas carol to his son, Alfred S. Burt, a jazz trumpeter who had just received his music degree from the University of Michigan. Alfred Burt’s 15 carols were originally made famous by the Voices of Jimmy Joyce and are now recorded by artists all over the world.

 

In 2001, fresh out of St. Olaf College with a degree in music composition, I decided to try my own hand at this family tradition. My first carol, a re-setting of Bates Burt’s “In a Far Judean City,” was given its first reading at a pre-concert talk for a Dale Warland Singers holiday concert. Within days I received a call from Minnesota Public Radio, who was interested in running a feature about the renewed family tradition. Now, nearly every annual carol has premiered to a regional listening audience on Minnesota Public Radio..

 

Each year, my mom and I collaborate to produce the new Christmas card, which, like Bates and Uncle Al, we send out to family and friends. She creates the design and does all the production, which often includes hand-stamping, pasting, and glittering each card.”

 

About St. Paul’s NFSP Grant

St. Paul’s has been awarded a matching grant from the National Fund for Sacred Places (NFSP), a program of Partners for Sacred Places in collaboration with National Trust for Historic Preservation.  In 2024 St. Paul’s applied for and received the matching grant from the NFSP.  St. Paul’s was one of 24 congregations selected for this grant from among nearly 500 nationwide applicants of many faiths.  The congregation is seeking to raise about $150,000 to match the NFSP grant and complete our building restoration projects as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of our sanctuary building. 

 

The NFSP grant will help St. Paul’s address urgent structural needs, ensuring its continued role as a gathering place for worship, outreach, and community activities into the next 150 years.

 

The restoration projects include repairing damaged sandstone, tuck pointing the original hand cut sandstone blocks, and applying water sealant to protect the building. The NFSP grant will also support the restoration of some of St. Paul’s beautiful stained glass windows that were not restored in 1999-20.

 

 The preservation work began this summer, with the goal of completing the projects by fall 2026.   St. Paul’s invites the community to join in supporting these efforts to preserve a treasured piece of Marquette’s  history.. To learn more about this program and this year’s grant recipients, visit fundforsacredplaces.org. 

 

NFSP Matching Grant and St. Paul’s 150th Anniversary Celebrations

St. Paul’s is holding events this year to celebrate the 150th anniversary of their sanctuary building and the NFSP restoration grant.

 

The National Fund for Sacred Places supports the preservation of historic places of worship across the country, helping congregations like St. Paul’s maintain their buildings as vital centers for community service and spiritual growth.

 

St. Paul’s seeks to match the $135,000 NFSP grant through donations from our congregation, the community, area businesses, and foundations.

 

For more information, please contact:

 

Jan Brodersen, Music Director                   

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church                                                                               fcole906@gmail.com 

Marquette, MI 49855                                           

 

Or 

 

Fred Cole, Grant Coordinator, St. Paul’s

201 East Ridge Street 

906-361-9936 – cell

 

jbrodersen56@gmail.com

906-458-7783 -cell 

 

About St. Paul’s Episcopal Church:

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Marquette, MI is a Upper Peninsula treasure that has a rich 170 year legacy of community service and outreach. The story of St. Paul’s parallels the story of Marquette and the Upper Peninsula. For 150 years the community landmark of St. Paul’s sanctuary has served as a place of worship, a community center for music and the arts, and a catalyst and incubator for many community programs.

  

About the National Fund for Sacred Places:

The National Fund for Sacred Places is a grant-making program dedicated to helping congregations preserve their historic places of worship. It supports the restoration and rehabilitation of religious buildings that serve as centers of community life, promoting their ongoing use for worship, outreach, and cultural engagement.

  

St. Paul’s Fundraising Contact info:

 

You can write a check to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Please note “Building Restoration” in the memo and send it to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 201 E. Ridge Street, Marquette, MI 49855.

 

Interested in making an online donation? Donate here. 

 

Or you can go to https://tithe.ly/give?c=5527881 to donate online.  Please select “Building Restoration” from the menu.