Faith+Values: Family passion in three-part harmony

The group sing-along used to be a Christmas Eve tradition for the Phelps family. But this year, they did their singing separately.

Bruce, the patriarch of the family, sang at Christ the King Lutheran Church in New Brighton. Daughter Stephanie sang at St. Philip's Lutheran Church in Fridley. Son David sang at Anoka United Methodist Church.

Is there a family feud? Just the opposite, actually.

The family is so tight that they all have gone into the same profession: directing church choirs. They couldn't sing together on Christmas Eve because they were working at their respective churches.

Then again, maybe it still was a family sing-along, just one with a different definition.

"In one context, churches become your family," Stephanie said

Growing up in the choir

Bruce, 60, has been directing church choirs since 1970. Stephanie, 34, has been at it for eight years. David, 24, is the rookie; he just started in August. But he feels right at home at Anoka United Methodist because, in a way, he is.

"I grew up in that church," he said. "My dad was the choir director there for 10 years when I was a kid. I know those people, and they know me."

Of the two other Phelps offspring, Tom also got a degree in music education but isn't directing a church choir -- at least not yet. Then there's the "rebel" in the family, Tracy, who studied theater. Even their mother, Candi, has a degree in music education, although she works for Christ the King Lutheran in a different capacity.

Being a musical director is a part-time position except for extremely large churches. Bruce is the only one of the three without another job, because he retired after 34 years as a choir teacher, the last 28 of them at Anoka High School. Stephanie teaches choir at Westwood Middle School in Blaine. David is part of a professional a cappella group, Marcoux Corner.

"We do 100 to 130 shows a year, mostly in the Upper Midwest," he said. Many times, he'll leave a show Saturday night and drive all night to get to church on Sunday morning, where he works all three services.

"No, no, no," he insisted. "I really like the minister's sermons." Pause. "Make sure you say that in the article."

Family harmony - with sass

In addition to having a good ear, you need a thick skin to be a member of this family. When the three of them sat down for a conversation, the ribbing started immediately: Concordia College grads Bruce and David noted with mock disdain that Stephanie studied at St. Olaf.

But the love and pride showed, too.

"I look at both Stephanie and David as colleagues," Bruce said. "I have great respect for their opinions, tastes and backgrounds. It just so happens that they're my kids, too."

"My whole choir loved it," Stephanie reported.

Bruce added a quick jab: "My whole congregation loved it."

(Stephanie got her payback later when her father spoke of his kids "following in my footsteps." She chimed in: "And cleaning up all his messes.")

In praise of choir music

While it didn't run in the family yet, Bruce knew from a young age that he wanted to direct choirs.

Directing high school choirs was rewarding, but he felt that there was something more.

"In high school, you have to be careful about any sacred music you do," he said. "In church, you can also put the spiritual element into it. I love combining the spiritual and the aesthetic."

A church choir opens avenues that don't exist in schools, Stephanie agreed.

"In school, we teach about the academic side of music," she said. "In church, we can hit people at the core of who they are and what they believe."

Now that he's directing the choir his father used to lead, David is proud when members make comparisons between the two -- most of the time.

Stephanie doesn't escape comparison, either. Some members of her choir sang for her dad in high school and see a resemblance.

"They tell me that we have many of the same mannerisms," she said. "I wasn't even aware of it until they mentioned it."

All three of the Phelpses sing the praises, so to speak, of their choir members.

"Obviously, we're biased, but we feel that choir members are some of the most involved members of the church," Bruce said. "Two hours of rehearsal every Wednesday night and every Sunday morning for services -- that's a huge commitment."

Although the Christmas Eve sing-alongs are no longer possible, the family tradition is not entirely dead. It's just being reconfigured. On All Saints Sunday in November, Bruce and Stephanie brought their choirs together for a combined concert at Stephanie's church.