Jesus Is Here

Following the end of Orin's set-up talk, Oddwalk and the band sing and pray "Jesus Is Here" at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows Junior High Youth Day Celebration this past Saturday:

A Mysterious Land

This week, now that the Novena has finished, Orin and Erin are heading up to that magical place called Minnesota to visit family. Oddwalk has a few days off and then come back together for a week long conference at the Shrine starting on Monday. The event we're doing next week is called the Institute in Adolescent Catechesis which is being sponsored by the Center for Ministry Development. We will be providing music and prayer support. Keep us in your prayers!

Come Pray With Us

This coming Monday, as part of the ongoing Healing and Hope Novena at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, IL, Oddwalk will lead the music for Mass, beginning at 7:30pm.

The Mass, being held in the Church of Our Lady of the Snows, will feature Fr. Jeff Vomund as the main celebrant and homilist. Some of you may know Fr. Vomund as the producer and host of Faith Matters, a bi-monthly television program for KMOV in St. Louis as well as regular guest on the Dave Glover Show in the “Priest and the Rabbi” segment for 97.1 FM Talk, also in St. Louis.

Following Mass, there will be a candlelight rosary procession.

Hope you can join us!

Power to Witness and Power Up!

This Saturday, July 19th, Oddwalk will be part of a day-long event at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, IL called Power to Witness which will culminate with an evening concert called Power Up! This day will feature national Catholic recording artists Tom Booth, Vallimar Jansen, and Sarah Hart. The flyer below says it all. It should be a tremendous opportunity for people of all ages to deepen their faith and recharge their Christian battery. The event is free for those who register by Thursday, July 17th. Registration even includes a buffet dinner at the Shrine Restaurant. What a deal!

We certainly want to encourage the Oddwalk faithful to join us all day on Saturday. You won't be disappointed.

'08 YSP Update...sort of

Here are a few pictures taken from the first couple of days at Youth Sing Praise. Since I (Shannon) am not actually at YSP this year, I have no frame of reference for these pictures, so I'll just take a guess as to what's happening in them:

This one's pretty obvious, although it wouldn't be hard (with Photoshop) to erase what's actually on the card and write something else. We could change it to read "Oddwalk is awesome!" or "I love my husband, even when he rips his pants wide open on stage in front of several hundred middle school students".

Here, Orin tries to convince a fellow YSP staffer that his degree in Folklore and Mythology has truly been the secret ingredient for his rise to rock stardom.

After careful review of the manual, Brad and Melissa are horrified to discover that YSP actually stands for "Youth Shaving Platypi". So that's why they're always trying to sneak off. Who knew?

Lost and Found

Sorry for the lack of blog posts lately. A combination of a lull in the Oddwalk schedule, and usual summer craziness for each of us individually, has contributed to the slowdown.

This week, Orin (and wife, Erin) will be helping with another Youth Sing Praise music camp at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, IL. In case you don't know, Youth Sing Praise (or YSP) is a week long Christian theater experience drawing together 70-80 high school students from around the country. In a week, these talented performers will audition for roles in a full-length musical, be worked through grueling rehearsals, participate in a retreat like experience, and finally perform that musical for around 3,000 people at the Shrine Ampitheatre. Oddwalk has posted about past YSP experiences which you can find here, here, here, here, and here!

This year, YSP is performing Lost and Found, written by Rory Cooney, a well-known writer of Catholic liturgical music. If you plan to be in the St. Louis-area next weekend, we recommend that you stop in and see the show. The performance is scheduled for Saturday, June 28th beginning at 7pm. While there is no admission, there will be an opportunity to give a free-will offering. Hope to see you there!

Here comes MMVIII

Happy New Year!

Lots of exciting things await Oddwalk in 2008: Appearances at the LA Congress, the, NCEA conference, putting together another CD with GIA, and the opportunity to present in many different parishes, schools, and dioceses. 2008 also marks the return of Earth Man and the Other Guy! It should be a lot of fun.

We hope to see you somewhere along the way!

Be safe and healthy in the new year. We'll keep all of you in our prayers.

Shannon's Take on the "Tear"able Keytar Solo

As Orin mentioned, there are several teens who went home Saturday with a different take on the Youth Day theme, "Eyes on the Prize".

Anyone who has seen us do "Jammin' with Jesus" knows that, during that song, we enter into a whole other level of ridiculousness. Saturday was no different.

We got to the part of the song that we usually do the solo and Orin stepped into rock star-mode. To the delight of 400 teens, Orin wailed on, rocked, and even licked the Keytar, during the solo.

As he was scooting around on his back, I looked down and saw more than I ever wanted to see. Orin had a rip in his pants the size of Texas and he was displaying his underpants for all to see. Erin Brennan, one of the Shrine staff members also reported seeing a horrified look on the face of a young girl who was right up front. Since Erin didn't get a picture of that girl, I've included the picture you see here. It probably looked a lot like that.

Once I realized the problem, I yelled for Erin (Orin's wife) and then alerted Orin to his breezy situation. The rest is history, or soon will be.

The thing I regret most about the whole event, is not taking the opportunity to auction off his ripped pants later in the day. I'll bet we could have made a good chunk of change at Orin's expense. It would have been a great way to raise money for charity. Oh well...maybe we'll do it the next time he rips his pants in front of hundreds of people.

That Rippin' Keytar Solo We Mentioned

From Orin's perspective - Shannon's views will arrive later on today.

So, on Saturday, Oddwalk at the Shrine Youth Day Celebration played "Jammin' with Jesus" as part of our set.

Somewhere in the middle of the usual on-stage hysterics involved with a proper keytar solo, Orin's pants ripped. Not just a little, not just on a seam, but about a foot and a half right down the front, from beside the zipper down to the knee.


The pictures, snapped by Erin C, don't really do the damage justice. As I was really focused on the solo, I didn't even know it had happened until after striking the final pose, which itself is unfortunate. A clever placement of the keytar enabled me to finish the song and then head backstage while I waited for Erin H to run to the Kmart nearby and pick up some replacement jeans. In the meantime, I wrapped some spare purple cloth around the affected areas.

It was a moment that I, Oddwalk, the band, and about 400 junior high youth will probably never forget.

Now, that's what we call a really rippin' keytar solo!

Mary's Got My Back

Saturday and Sunday this weekend are the two days that make up the Shrine's Youth Day Celebration. One of the keynoters this year is Sarah Bauer, who is also featured on Oddwalk's Soon-to-be-released CD, "Walk Away Different."

One of her more popular songs is "Mary's Got My Back" - and singing that song at the Shrine amphitheater, she certainly does!


PS - We'll have another quite interesting post soon about a rippin' keytar solo this weekend (with pictures!) - so stay tuned!

I thought I told you, Wednesday was my day...

Orin was amused to arrive at the office today, only to find coworker and Oddwalk friend Joe dressed in a similar way.

I'm sure Joe is thrilled to be featured again on the Oddblog. While we've unfortunately lost the audio, click here to see his first go around with stardom.

A Night at Busch Stadium

Saturday night, Orin's choir at the Shrine had the honor of singing "God Bless America" before the St. Louis Cardinals game! Here's a pic Erin H. took of the jumbotron during the singing:



And here's the view Orin had, just before singing, behind home plate:



Later, watching the game with friends, Oddwalk friend Mike suggested I squish the Reds' player at first base:

Happy Feast of Our Lady of the Snows!

Or, as it's more usually known today, the solemnity of the dedication of the St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome:


Orin will be celebrating come 7:30pm tonight as the novena at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows comes to a close.

Yet another caption contest!

Last night, Oddwalk etc. gathered to make music at the Healing and Hope Novena at the Shrine. Afterward, Oddwalk and families, and Ricky, Tania and Craig, and Rick S. the bass player went over to Steak -n- Shake for some yummy food. Orin also delivered to the Cernekas presents he got for them while in Tijuana. During all this, Orin snapped some pics. Please provide additional captions in the comments...

Shannon, having decided that bullfighting was too risky, decides instead to save the 2007 Cardinals starting pitching, beginning down in the Mexican leagues.

Craig was apparently more hungry than we thought.

A couple more novena pics, etc.

Many novena prayer petitions gathered in the Church of OLS.

Erin H. was part of a slide show of pics from a young adult trip to Tijuana. Some of the others on that trip helped with the homily at Mass on Wednesday night. The text and audio of that homily can be found on this page under August 1. The four voices you will here are friend Katie Press, co-workers Donna Eisenbath and Erin Brennan, and friend Ben Smyth.

Prayer Request

One of Orin's coworkers at the Shrine, Tom Mulhall, marketing manager, passed away suddenly the morning of July 28. He had struggled with MS for many years, but his condition had not deteriorated to the point where death would be expected. In fact he was at work all last week, including last Thursday and Friday. He was 53. He leaves behind his wife and three children. Please pray for him, the Mulhall family, the Shrine staff, and all who knew Tom and will miss him.

This picture is of the devotional area at the Shrine known as the Resurrection Garden. An eternal flame burns inside the rock, representing Jesus' empty tomb. May Tom today rejoice with all the angels and saints in heaven.

And during this Healiing and Hope Novena, we ask:
Our Lady of the Snows, pray for us.

A Couple Shrine Pics

Saturday night, pre-Novena, the OLS statue takes a ride from the Shrine church to the Outdoor Altar and Amphitheater.

Sunday morning, pre-Mass, Orin spied a deer across from the church.

Healing and Hope Novena

Orin coordinates the liturgies for this annual event at the Shrine, the Healing and Hope Novena.  Each night we celebrate mass at 7:30 with a specially-picked presider and homilist, good music ministry, meaningful ritual, and communal prayer.  Each night has a different focus, i.e. Finding Healing and Hope within... Physical Infirmities, The Loss of a Loved One, Spiritual Difficulties, etc.  The 9 nights of prayer lead up to August 5th, which is the Feast of Our Lady of the Snows.

Oddwalk and friends are providing music ministry the night of August 2, Finding Healing and Hope within Financial Stresses.  Please join Orin and many others in prayer at the Shrine July 28 to August 5, 7:30 each night, come for any or all.

A couple more YSP photos

It's all over now, but here are a couple more Oddwalk-type photos from the week.  To see more, click here.

UPDATE!

More pics and videos here!  An Australian Oblate, Fr. Fini, was a youth minister for the week, and sent some reports back home - enjoy!

Fun at YSP

In a previous post, we mentioned that Orin is part of the staff of Youth Sing Praise (YSP) this year. It should also be mentioned that Orin's wife Erin and frequent Oddblog-reader, Megan Cline, are also part of the YSP staff. In addition to that, Marianne Cline (Megan's sister), who also frequents our blog, is in her last year as a participant in the program. Here are a few pictures from the week:

Marianne attempts to spruce up her dining experience

The Helpers Team pulls a prank on Orin. That picture is of Orin from his college days.

Here, Megan swears to protect Erin, their fearless leader

If you have some time on your hands, head to the Shrine on Saturday night, June 23rd for the YSP performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The performance will be at the Shrine Ampitheatre, starting at 7:00pm. Admission is free!