Chris Youstra has led us in our joyful songs of faith for three decades. We have been blessed by his sharing his remarkable gifts with us. Chris celebrated his last Masses with us August 14, 2022, and we gathered to celebrate his service on October 23, 2022.
Letter from Fr. Gerry
For nearly three decades of our parish life, as we have come before the Lord in prayer and hymn — in times of celebration and in moments of loss, in Ordinary Time as well as through our seasons of Advent and Lent, in the Glorias of Christmas and the Alleluias of Easter, Chris Youstra has led us in our joyful songs of faith.
St. John the Evangelist has been blessed by the gifts and talents of Chris Youstra all these many years. I cannot begin to count the many, many times where Chris has selected and offered a Communion Meditation that has spoken to us all, but especially, me. In those moments, our attentions have been called back toward the reading of the day as well as challenged us forward in living out the word of God as we depart our time as community together. In our pandemic times, we would receive a mini-recital of Chris on piano and his lovely daughters on violin offering a moment that would break through the isolation of remaining at home and speak into our hearts.
Chris has helped to organize many concerts in our parish, which has ensured a very full Room 1 annually at Christmas. But, through Chris’s leadership, our music has carried outside our wall and door to places as close as the Harmony Hall retirement community and as far away as Rome. (See the picture!)
Chris will celebrate his last Masses with us this weekend (August 14, 2022). Following the 10am Mass, we will offer light refreshments to share time with Chris. As we enter into the fall, we will gather with Chris once more for a proper celebration of his service here at Saint John (Sunday, October 23; 1:30 – 3:30pm at Wilde Lake). Please know that there will be an opportunity to offer a gift to show your appreciation to Chris. We will make available envelopes for this at church as well as online at GiveCentral. We will present these to Chris at his reception. You may also wish to present your gratitude to him in person at the reception.
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all you lands:
Serve the Lord with gladness:
Come before him with joyful song.
Psalm 100
Psalm 100 continues by saying Know that the Lord is God, he made us, we belong to him. Chris, because of your long-standing ministry and outstanding service to our community, we have continued to grow in our relationship with the Lord. For three decades, we have been blessed by your decision to share your remarkable gifts with us from a piano bench rather than a Broadway stage. We offer our gratitude, prayers, and best wishes.
Father Gerry
Letter from Chris Youstra
In 1993, fresh out of graduate school, I began working at St. John the Evangelist parish, and for the next twenty-nine years, it has been one of the greatest honors of my life to serve this parish.
The time has come for me to complete my journey here – I began when I was a young lad of 23 and now I need to simplify my life and make way for new talent to come and further lead this parish. As the pandemic has shown us, there are many challenges ahead for our parish, and for faith communities all around the world, and I have every belief this parish will flourish.
Not only have I been blessed to be a part of this community, but I also celebrate the wonderful music ministers here that give of their time and talents every week and who have become very close to me. There may be a finer, more dedicated group of volunteers somewhere, but I have not met it. I know that the parish will be in good hands.
I have also been blessed to work under two wonderful pastors – Msgr. Tillman and Fr. Bowen. I particularly wish Fr. Bowen a wonderful future with the parish he has ably led these 10 years.
St. John’s will always hold a special place of love in my heart and I will dearly miss it. I remain reachable at cyoustra@aol.com if you need anything (and yes, aol.com is coming back!)
Best wishes to all of you and my undying gratitude.
Chris Youstra
August 8, 2022
