So appeared a recent headline in a prominent British paper. Did you know that there are now only 11 daily singing choirs of men and boys left — four Anglican cathedrals, one Catholic one, four Oxbridge colleges, and two Royal Peculiars. As Britain is the only country in the world that maintains the medieval miracle that is daily sung services with psalms, responses, canticles, and anthems, this means that there are only 11 choirs of men and boys left in the world singing daily. (Well, 12: St Thomas’s Fifth Avenue in New York has a choir of men and boys who sing five services a week, emulating the glorious British phenomenon.)

This tradition, for those communities blessed to support it, twice blesses. Those who come to listen are given pause to re-think, re-experience, re-feel, reconnect, and recharge. And for the boys who sing, it’s not just about becoming musically literate, it is also about becoming emotionally literate and learning how to grow spiritually.

In the current climate of how the world teaches boys to behave, our sons and grandsons have very few places to turn to learn how to safely express how they feel. What the world needs now more than ever are caring, expressive boys who will grow into men with great empathy for the people and communities in which they will one day live and lead. The Grand Rapids Choir of Men & Boys is dedicated to our boys, sharing with them how to connect their head-to-heart and heart-to-head.

Boys will be boys must leave our mindset. In its place let’s proclaim that boys will be and are caring, expressive, empathetic, and open-hearted spiritual human beings.

As to the Grand Rapids Choir of Men & Boys and the extinction of en & Boys and the extinction of boys’ choirs, with your continued support and prayers, the choir remains strong and has now returned to presenting musically and spiritually rich performances throughout the year. We are re-engaging several of the world’s greatest choral conductors to travel to Grand Rapids to be part of our GRCMB family and to inspire the choir to be the very best that it can possibly be.

The Grand Rapids Choir of Men & Boys receives no city or state grants or corporate support, but depends totally upon you, our choir family, for the funds to keep this sacred programming alive.

As year-end approaches, please also remember the Grand Rapids Choir of Men & Boys in your year-end charitable giving.

For tax purposes, GRCMB is a Registered 501 (c) (3) Non-Profit organization. Contributions to the Choir are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. The Choir’s tax-exempt ID# is 38-2919772.