Sharing Songs of Faith Holy Family Students Spread Easter Joy Through Music

Sharing Songs of Faith

 Holy Family Students Spread

Easter Joy Through Music

Deidra Bowling-Meade

The Ashland Beacon

In celebration of the Easter season, first through fourth grade students from Holy Family Catholic School shared their voices and hearts with local assisted living residents. Their mission was simple yet powerful: to spread joy, faith, and the message of Christ through song. What started as a classroom music project quickly blossomed into a touching community outreach effort.

Holy Family Catholic School students in grades one through four recently brought smiles and spiritual inspiration to residents at several local assisted living homes. Led by music teacher Julie Peacock, the students prepared five hymns that they first performed at a Community Prayer event in Ashland. Each year, the school provides prelude music before the Lenten service begins, and this year’s performance sparked a new idea—to bring the music to others.

The students visited three senior living homes: Kings Daughters and Sons Home for Senior Living, The Lantern at Morning Pointe, and Woodland Oaks. Peacock explained her motivation for the visits: “We have parishioners at each of these homes, so I wanted to bring some students around to sing and cheer up the residents. My childhood friend's mom just moved to the Lantern around Christmas, and I knew how much she loved music. Also, one of our third-grade students, Lily Ratliff, has a great-grandmother at Woodland Oaks whom we wanted to be sure and sing to. I also thought taking the students to sing would be a good community service opportunity and help them develop empathy and understanding of the different aspects of life.”

Over the 40 days of Lent, the students at Holy Family deepened their understanding of the season through both faith practices and classroom instruction. First and second grade teacher Jennifer Collins shared, “Learning about the season of Lent is incorporated into our curriculum, where the kids learn the importance of prayer, sacrifice, and helping others. We also pray the Stations of the Cross on Fridays during Lent, so they can better understand Christ’s journey to his crucifixion and how we can apply that to our daily lives.”

Two of the five hymns performed by the students were traditional Lenten hymns. Peacock reflected on their significance, noting, Were You There is a hymn about the crucifixion of Jesus, so it was very appropriate for Holy Week. Somebody's Knockin' On Your Door is a hymn about Jesus calling us to serve Him. It includes a cantor part, which the students really enjoyed because some got to sing solos.” Those solos were performed by several enthusiastic students: a group of first and second-grade girls, and soloists Alex Salem, Austin Pereira, and Mack Meade.

Second grader Mack Meade exclaimed, “It was so much fun! Somebody’s Knockin’ On Your Door is my favorite song to sing.”

Another highlight was the performance of the hymn Dona Nobis Pacem, which means “grant us peace” in Latin. Peacock shared, “At first, the students thought it was way too difficult, but they soon found it to be a lot of fun because we did it as a three-part round. Since Latin is a traditional language in the Catholic Church, I wanted to continue incorporating it into what we do.”

Students also sang one verse of Holy, Holy, Holy in Spanish—an intentional choice, as Holy Family teaches Spanish in elementary grades and several students have Spanish-speaking family members. The set concluded with the classic hymn How Great Thou Art, which Peacock described as “an old-timey favorite I wanted this young generation to learn and share with the residents.”

Third grader Lily Ratliff said that How Great Thou Art was her favorite, especially because she got to sing it for her great-grandmother. “I got to be there to give her a big hug! I saw several of the older people crying, but I know we were making them happy.”

First grader Sofia Bastidas added, “I love singing for the older people because I know it makes them happy!”

Second grader Allison Salem agreed, “I like seeing the smile on their faces because they thought we sang so well!”

The residents were deeply moved by the performances. Ruth Martin, a resident at Kings Daughters and Sons, praised the children: “I love it when you smile and love the little girls’ pretty voices. I’m just so proud of the boys because I could hear them sing, and usually you can’t get boys to sing. Keep it up! The Lord will bless you!”

A resident at Woodland Oaks also shared, “You all are wonderful! How Great Thou Art is one of my favorites.”

The students began preparing the hymns in early February, dedicating weeks of practice to perfect their performance. Meade summed up the experience best: “You get to meet a lot of people you didn’t know before. They were happy to see us sing. I like singing because you get to make all the different sounds that make a beautiful noise. Easter is about Jesus dying on the cross to save us from our sins. I wanted to share His love and message with others.”

The visits left lasting impressions on both the residents and the students. Through their voices, the children offered more than melodies—they offered hope, love, and faith. As teacher

Jennifer Collins reflected, “Being able to sing to our community members that reside in local nursing facilities brings so much joy to both the residents and us! Mrs. Peacock put together a beautiful Lenten music program and facilitated a way to share that. Sharing moments like these with the students is one of the many attributes that make Holy Family so special.”