Special St. Patrick's Day Celebration During Chaplain's Hour at Christian Health Care Center

In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, harpist Penny McCulloch and flautist Mary
Nussear gave a special performance for residents of The Longview Assisted
Living Residence and Hillcrest Residence at Christian Health Care Center in
Wyckoff. They led residents in a sing-a-long of Irish songs and hymns,
including “When Irish Eyes are Smiling,” “Danny Boy,” “Be Thou My Vision,” (an
ancient Irish poem and ballad), “Christ Beside Me,” and “My Wild Irish Rose.”
Rev. Kathy Jo Blaske, MDiv, Chaplain and Hawthorne resident, organized the
special event as part of her Chaplain’s Hour, which she holds weekly for
residents at Longview and Hillcrest.

Ms. McCulloch, a resident of Ramsey who has played the
harp since she was in high school, talked about the importance of the harp in
Irish history.

“The harp is Ireland’s national symbol and dates back to
the times Chieftains ruled the land and they all had minstrals,” said Ms.
McCulloch. “The harpers transmitted the news of the day and were powerful in
getting people to rally around a cause. Their songs included themes about the
battles and victories, beauty of the land, and love. All the harpers were men,
since women and slaves were forbidden to play the harp. How times have changed! Most harpers today are women.”

She explained that the harpers were so powerful in influencing the Irish people to protest against British rule, that Queen Elizabeth I ordered the harpers to be hanged and the harps to be burned. Consequently there are only three mediaeval Gaelic harps in Ireland today. One, known as Brian Boru’s Harp, is housed at Trinity College in Dublin.

Ms. McCulloch also told the residents that her harp is an Irish harp, or Celtic harp, which are commonly called lever harps because levers control the pitch of the string. The 36 strings correspond to keys on a piano. She also had special decals of Irish symbols put on the front of the harp.

“I wanted my harp to reflect my love of Ireland and Irish
music,” she said.

The bottom decal is the Celtic knot. She explained that there are several types of Celtic knots representing a variety of things, including the Trinity; eternal love; and life, death, and eternity. The one common thing about the symbol is that there is no beginning and no end to the design. The other decals are a serpent, representing good luck and prosperity, a turtle, representing longevity, and a soaring bird, representing the messenger of creativity and prophecy, which are inspirational to artists and musicians.

Ms. Nussear, a resident of Ridgewood who has also been
playing the flute since high school, said that flutes are also important in
Irish history.

“This is a modern-day flute, but in Ireland they often use what are called tin whistles or fifes,” she said.

Rev. Blaske also entertained the residents with a quiz
about St. Patrick and in her closing prayer, she gave thanks to God for St.
Patrick’s compassion and loving ways.

Christian Health Care Center provides a broad continuum
of high-quality, compassionate care, offering superior mental-health,
elder-care, residential living and rehabilitation services. As a non-profit
organization, we deliver care to our community based upon the Christian
principles on which we were founded more than a century ago.