Catherine Benskin: Who I Am

Remember I asked for help in sponsoring my friend Dan who is participating in the AIDS LifeCycle Event this June. The good news is that he has reached his original goal of $2500. The other good news is that he is still accepting donations. If you haven't had a chance to sponsor, there is still time! Thanks for helping Dan help those in need of medication and prevention outreach!

My friend Nic from church is opening a portrait studio in Gaithersburg. Even if you are not in the market for his services at present, do not miss visiting this site for an incredible adventure in photography!
www.nicholasfan.com

Alan and I are trying to get the gang together for an Advent Coffeehouse at Corpus Christi and St. Rose. As long as we are practiced up and ready, we thought we'd open it up to other communites. Last one we did, we raised $300 for Gabriel Project, a charity that supports women, as Mary once was, in crises pregnancy situations (the more the world changes, the more it stays the same). Would you like us to come to your church or venue? Please contact us for details!

May is turning out be a crazy month in the Benskin household.

As you may have heard, the Arlington Diocese has just allowed females to serve as acolytes. My daughter Madeline wasted no time in signing up and getting trained. By a lark, the boys scheduled this weekend were a no show. Luckily, Madeline and one other girl were trained, vested and in position when mass began, making them the first female acolytes to serve at Corpus Christi Catholic Mission. (See photo gallery)!

Next, Keoki will be making his First Communion this weekend. We are very proud of him and wish him a life of blessings with in communion with Christ and the Church!

Lastly, after returning from our annual trip to the farm, we will be adding a new member to our family. Please join me in welcoming Molly, the Pug! We met her this past weekend. She is five weeks old now and will be ready to settle in with us in about three weeks! (See photo gallery)

My music partner Alan Marcinek (see photo gallery) has just started his own personal site. Visit to learn more about his story and to keep updated on his happenings. Don't forget to leave a message in his guestbook so that the world will know how special and talented we already know him to be!

www.AlanMarcinek.com

A dear friend since High School (actually our marital matchmaker, best man, and Godfather to our first-born) called me a couple weeks ago. Usually, the tone to these calls is either rushed or the commonplace catch up phone call. This day was different. There was an excitement in his voice as he told me he was going to sign up to do the AIDS Life Cycle Event this June. Not typically the athletic type, I was caught off guard that he would volunteer 7 full days of bike riding down the California coast.

Wishing I could join him, I am not very proficient at a 2-wheeler. Would that trikes were not banned in the official rules, I'd be there to support him and the cause every step of the way. So, I thought, "What can I do from the comfort of my East Coast parenting duties?" My mission is to support him financially and get the word out as best I can.

You see, each participant must raise $2500. Anything not raised by generous donors becomes the financial responsibilty of the rider, him/herself. Quite a sum for one, but with the help of all those who receive this letter, we can support Dan by allowing him to concentrate on his physical training and not the financial aspect.

To find out more about the event and how you can effect the life of those living with HIV/AIDS, please visit the home site at http://www.aidslifecycle.org/ .

In this Easter Season of celebrating New Life, please consider sponsoring my friend Dan Pyryt in this life changing event! When you donate, be sure to leave a message to encourage him on his journey. To feel part of the journey, he will be blogging his experience during the event. His profile page is http://www.aidslifecycle.org/2492/.

Blessings to You and Your Families this Easter Season,

Catherine!

Ok, so when is being number 6 something to be proud of? When one of your songs hits the top 20 charts!

This weekend Danny Riddle sent me an email to congratulate me on "Wade in the Water" being #6 for the week on Pride Christian Music! (www.PrideChristianMusic.org)!

I was so fortunate to get this great news while visiting my friend Beth Smolko, the other voice on the track with me. I was bringing the first rain Arizona has seen in 146 days and 50 degree temperatures while DC was a sunny 80. Weather aside, I am glad Beth and I were able to celebrate together!

With this news, PCM has asked permission to interview me. When that is available, I will surely let you know!


We also had a blast at our last event with Fr. Paul Colloton at St. John Nuemann in Reston, VA. If you know of a church that would be interested in hosting us for and event, please pass our info on!

Thanks for your continued support of my ministry!


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We had a great event at St. John Nuemann, Reston on Saturday night. Thanks to Susan Trainor and their concert committee, Fr. Paul Colloton and our musician friends. We sold more CDs at this event than any previous engagement. Hopefully we touched some hearts. I know that my group enjoyed it immensely!

Very snowy today here. The 7:30 at my home church consisted of the priest, Fr. Tony Krisak,
a reader, a sacristan, me (cantor) and another reader (someone who just
showed up). So intimate and lovely around our historic chapel. Our
homily consisted of a discussion of who are the sick, kept out from our
culture and our chruch. Who is in need of knowing that they are welcome
here. We all stood around the altar for the Eucharist. Very cool.

If you are local, please remember to come to our (re)treat this weeknd! Hope to see you there!

It's almost February. Those love birds among you may be preparing to be married this Spring or Fall. Know that although I am taking on other adventures, I am still committed to being available for leading music at wedding liturgies. And, don't be put off, I am surprisingly affordable. It's not too soon!

I just got an email from an online station based in Ontario, Canada. They are going to be playing some of our tunes on their Sunday Praise & Worship segment! Here's the link:
http://www.cjoa.org .

It's been a year since my first enty and a lot has transpired. As you know, my music has been playing for a while on several online music sources that are accessible by links all along this page. To start my new year off in a great way, I received a flattering email.

PCM, Pride Christian Music, a station that features our GLBT brothers and sisters in Christ as well as friends and families, has asked me to do a station ID sweeper, you know, "Hi, I'm Catherine Benskin and you are listening to...." type thing and a recorded testimony of my faith journey and how it relates to my music ministry. Here is full written text from which they will pull segments that you will hear if you tune in:

PCM Testimony

I started singing in church after my first child was born. I needed to get out. I was stay-at-home mom looking for camaraderie and wanted to feel like I had done something more than change diapers all day. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve been doing it happily for 10 years. I home-schooled my daughter through third grade and my son up until Kindergarten and I am still in the classroom on a weekly basis. I wouldn’t have traded that opportunity or those memories for a paycheck EVER! But, anyone who’s done it knows it can be a thankless task.

I had done chorus and musicals in school, but didn’t do anything for years after. I felt I had to do the grown up responsible thing. Dreaming of singing for a living just seemed unrealistic.

So after being in choir and leading music for a year or two, I started to sing for weddings and funerals. Weddings are a good way to make a living, but believe it or not, funerals are where the ministry takes place. That’s when you know you are using your gifts for God’s plan and not your own.

When my music partner, Alan, arrived on the scene at my church, we clicked very quickly as music partners and friends. He saw that I had more burning in me than to remain unchanged by ministry. He encouraged me to stop thinking that just because God blessed me to be a wife and mother that was all I was made to be. He worked with me to train my voice and grow in ministry. That same year was the first time I had the honor of washing other people’s feet at Holy Thursday. What a life changing experience of humble service.

Unfortunately, Alan and my pastor were not a good match, so Alan left for another parish. I continued to sing with him there and at my home church. During this time, I thought I was being a super-efficient mom & cantor experiencing good and bad days like anyone else. Along with friends and family, I began to see that my swings were more dramatic than most and much more unpredictable. Skipping the gory details, I eventually found the strength, or better yet, admitted to weakness and went to seek treatment for bi-polar disorder.

During these times I was forced to really pay attention and listen to my heart in order to restore my health. This was God’s wake up call for me. I continued to follow my heart toward my music ministry path. On a vocal and spiritual retreat, I was inspired to produce a CD with Alan. During the last few years, I have found myself to be whole, to be the person God created me to be. I also learned that God had created me with my own discerning spirit. The further on this path I traveled, the more gay Christian and Catholic musicians I met. I knew we had a ministry for GLBT, friends and family at my church, but it had never been my time to join. When I was healthier, I knew it was time to support the members of my faith community who had been some of the most active and spiritual motivators in my life. These people knew what faith was!

I am so glad that I found PCM. It has been my desire to combine my two ministries and to use my music as an outreach to heal people and as an inspiration to find and follow their own God given passions. My concerts give me the opportunity to speak openly about my experience of growing with my diagnosis of bipolar and my path to letting go of human expectations of what a good Christian wife and mother is and does. I speak of God’s love for all of us and how seeing God in one another has changed me and continues to give me courage to stand with those who are often on the fringes of mainstream visions of church.

My newest gift is songwriting. Although I don’t have a lot of the “mental free time” that it takes to develop an inspiration into a presentable work, I continue to write and hone my skills working with a songwriting coach and a Christian songwriting group based in my area called “God-Song”. I hope to someday be able to present my own work and affect people in a way that will bring them closer to God’s greatest commandments of Love God Above All and Your Neighbor as Yourself.

I just found out that we are being played by Cross Rhythms - a UK Christian
music ministry - Radio, Festival, Magazine and TV.
How thrilling to know that we are being heard internationally. Here's the link: http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/artists/Catherine_Benskin__T_Alan_Marcinek/11124/
A side note, a Christian Bookseller from Brasil contacted me to sell our CD there as well!

Just wanted to let you know that my CD will be available for purchase at the St. Rose Christmas Tree Sale and Gift Shoppe starting Friday, Dec 2nd at 4 pm in the Parish Center Foyer. The sale will continue until the week before Christmas. CDs will be priced at the normal $16, with $3 of each going right back to the community!

BTW, we are now being played on www.WBERadio.net . I turned it on today and there we were! First time that's happened. Funny, huh?

This is a copy of letter a sent out to my e-list.

Is it me or does the Holiday shopping season come earlier and earlier each year? At my local shopping mall, Santa came LAST WEEK! The good news is that my son who knows Santa only as a legend wanted to say, "Hi" to this bearded man and I didn't have to wait an hour to do it.

I could be overly cynical, having spent more than a decade of Christmas seasons in retail, but the secularization and commercialism of Christmas really bums me out! I feel I have to keep my children from being drawn in at every turn. It's not even Thanksgiving and we're already being offered Peppermint Lattes at Starbucks and I've already seen my first house of the season with Christmas lights.

It is up to us, then, to do what we are able. I invite you to join those that Jesus really came for, the reason we are Christians: the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the abandoned, the lost souls...

I have 3 siblings, between us there are 7 offspring we call "The Cousins". We no longer buy Christmas presents between families for "The Cousins". Instead, we sit down and decide how much we can spend and to whom the money will go. There are many more people in need of my money this season than mass merchants. If you can't think of any on your own, here's a few ideas.

Samaritans Purse puts out a Holiday Catalog. My kids enjoy circling what they want for Christmas: a dairy goat for one family, a set of chicks for another or an education for a child just their age. Puts things in perspective, no?
Here's the link:

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/gift/catalog/gc.asp
Also similar is Heifer International:

www.heifer.org
My home parish St. Rose of Lima in MD has a "twin parish" in Costa Rica. The priest just spent some time with us. He has 260 children that he feeds their only meal each day. They are also trying to raise $3000 to build bathrooms for these homeless children to use.
To find out more, here's the link to the bulletin write-up:

http://www.strose.com/files/Bulletin11-13-05.pdf
Who are the Christ children of our day? Gabriel Project has written to me saying that with all the natural disasters this year, local charities are taking a hit. To support a mother in a crisis pregancy or a new mom and baby, here's the link:

http://www.gabrielproject.com/
Finally, if you have someone in your life whose bodily needs are being met, but do not have Christ in their life or a church community to call "family" this seaon, give them an invitation to spirituality. If they are hesitant to come worship with you, pray whether the gift of music may soften them or privately bring them closer to Christ. Many of the songs on my CD collection are the very ones that supported me through my healing journey and is the main reason I wanted to produce it; to return my time, talent and treasure to God.

To all, a very holy and blessed Christmas season.

I am pleased to announce that my Paypal system is up and running! I have received a few orders already and hope to hear from my satisfied customers soon! Thank you for supporting my ministry!

I've gotten a few responses to marketing inquiries this week. My interview for CatholicMom.com was released this week (Press). I have also had playtime on the Contemporary Music hour on EWTN. Latest breaking news is that my music has been accepted on PCM Radio at www.pridechristianmusic.org. If you would like to support my ministry (other than purchasing CDs), make sure to let these stations know that you'd like to hear more!

This is new!

Ok. So, I was going to keep this a low-key thing, but with the news that I have been picked for play time on EWTN, I hear God calling me to the next level.

You may still leave me an email to do a check or cash/ money order exchange with no shipping if we can hook up locally. But for those hearing me from parts far and wide the PayPal option is now available. I feel so ligit! See "Order CD" to do it NOW!

I received an email from Thom Price, Director of Programming for EWTN Global Catholic Radio Network.

They have reported that they will be featuring our music on their daily contemporary show M-F 7:30. This includes many AM/FM stations that use their programming as well as Sirius Satellite Radio (Ch 160) and www.ewtn.com. Go to www.ewtn.com/radio/amfm.htm to find a station in your area. To help spread the word, please email your requests to hear more of us at Jukebox@ewtn.com .

Thank you for all your support, guestbook affirmations, and purchases that have encouraged me to continue on this journey!

Although we are busy enough with weekly Masses and the occassional wedding on Saturdays, we look forward to the opportunity to perform at other churches in the area. If you are interested in us coming to your church for an evening of story, song and prayer, please leave me a message! We'd love to serve your community!

Exciting news! Alan and I have started getting playtime on an online Cathlolic music source, Catholic Jukebox. I have already gotten many hits on my website from there. Any help you give is appreciated. If you like what we do, please request our music be played more. I am in the process of researching more marketing venues, but in the meantime, if you have a favorite Christian or Catholic music source, please refer them to my site. Here is the web site for Catholic Jukebox.

http://www.apostlemusic.com/jukebox/artist2.asp

If you have been hesitating to order a CD because you are not sure how it works, don't delay! Just send me an email by clicking on "Contact". Please include how many you want and your address. Title your email "CDs Please!" And I will be glad to get back to you ASAP!!

Having taken a leave from my ministry at St. Stephen's to be with my family during the summer, I used the extra time to do a little marketing. I got a nibble from an idependent website called CatholicMom.com. Look for an interview and promo for my CD on her website coming soon. Also looking forward, see my calendar as Alan and I are scheduled for 2 appearances in September! Thanks for your continued interest.

Well, as Spring is upon us, I am busy making summer plans.

June for me consists of helping in the production of my daughter's school opera where the students write, compose, do PR, and present thier own musical in conjunction with WNO.

After that, I will be attending a Christian Songwriting Conference at McLean Bible Church and NPM at the end of the month

I will also be working with music and drama at Bible Camp at St. Rose in Gaithersburg.

For more information on any of these events, please contact me.

This just in...I wanted you to be the first to know. I have just received my Basic Cantor Certificate from the National Association for Pastoral Musicians (NPM). To earn this certificate, I had to pass a written exam on basic music notation and submit a video audition. These items were then judged by two members of the NPM Standing Committee for Cantors. I am proud to have received this affirmation and look forward to continuing my education and growth in my ministry.