One Step Closer to Pope Francis!

Pope Francis is in the United States!  It's an exciting time for Catholics (and all Americans) to see him in our home.  PCSBC is even more excited because we are one step closer to seeing him in his home - Rome!

In only three short months, we will be on our way to the Vatican to sing for Pope Francis' New Year's Day Mass of Peace in Rome.  We are part of the International Congress of Pueri Cantores, the official youth choir of the Catholic Church.  With all the excitement of the Holy Father's visit to the United States, we realize we will be even closer to him on New Year's Day.  We will be joined by 5,000 children from all over the world singing in the Church's language - Latin.

We still have so much to do!  Our final payment for our 46 singers is due to the travel agency one month from now.  The cost for each child is $3,500 and we have raised enough money to make the payments so far.  However, we do not have enough money to make the last payment.  NOW is the time to get the word out about our trip.  We are the only choir from Arizona invited to sing at the International Congress and one of about 20 from the United States.  It is a chance of a lifetime.

Please help support our mission to Rome!  Go to our YouCaring page and donate whatever you can! All amounts are appreciated.  Click on the link to the right to get to our YouCaring page or just search for "Pueri Cantores".  People are already starting to notice!  Check out our rehearsal today with special guests from Fox10 Phoenix!

At the Car Wash??

If you are visiting this site while waiting for your car to be washed, we thank you!  If you aren't at the car wash but are still visiting our website, welcome!  Let us tell you a little about Pueri Cantores St. Bernard of Clairvaux (PCSBC).

PCSBC is the combined youth choirs of St. Bernard of Clairvaux Catholic Church in Scottsdale, Arizona.  PCSBC members range in age from preschool through high school in three groups:  Cherubs, Choristers and Teen Schola.  (The kids washing your car are in Choristers or Schola.)  We are members of Pueri Cantores, the official youth choir organization of the Catholic Church.   Here is a little sample of us:

We have been invited to sing at a mass with Pope Francis on New Year's Day 2016, and are raising money to take 46 of our members.  We appreciate your support!  If you would like to donate or know someone who might be interested in supporting our mission, please visit our YouCaring site:

If you're still waiting or just want to hear a little more of us, check out our videos on the right ===>

Thanks!

Poker Anyone?

Are you a poker player? Love watching it on TV but afraid of playing in a casino? This is the weekend for you!

This Sunday, March 29 at 3:00 pm, our very own Music Director/Card Shark Kent Campbell will be your host for our second Texas Hold'em Tournament. The tournament will be held in the parish hall at St. Bernard of Clairvaux, 10755 North 124th Street in Scottsdale.  The buy-in is $50 per person with unlimited $20 buy backs during the first hour. For those of you less familiar with the terminology, you enter the tournament by purchasing $50 in chips. If you lose all of your chips in the first hour, you can buy $20 more (and keep buying in $20 increments if you are very unlucky but game for more).

Half of the money raised will go to Pueri Cantores and the other half to cash prizes. Snacks and water will be provided and the basketball games will be on the big screen in the hall.

If you would like to come, just give us a little shout out on Facebook or show up at the door. If we have a good idea of how many are coming, we can have the right number of tables set up which gets us started on time.

Ladies, this is not a "Men Only" event, so come on out and win some of the prize money! Invite your friends - the more players the bigger the prizes!

Come on out on Sunday and enjoy a fun afternoon of poker and March Madness without the loud, smoky and crowded "madness" of a casino. If you have any questions, please contact Kent at stbernardmusic@gmail.com.

Don't Forget Easter Dinner!

Once again Honeybaked Ham is working with Pueri Cantores St. Bernard of Clairvaux to make your Easter dinner more convenient while raising some money for PCSBC. You can order your Honeybaked Ham from the comfort of your home, pay online and pick it up at SBC the day before Easter! It doesn't get easier than that, and for those of you who have waited in the line at the Honeybaked Ham store in Paradise Valley, you know what a great convenience this is!

But here's the important part - you only have 6 more days to order online. The deadline is March 30. So count up the number of people who will be at your Easter table and order your delicious ham TODAY! You have never had a Honeybaked Ham? Then this is the year to treat yourself and give PCSBC 15% of the sales!

Visit www.honeybakedfundraiser.com and click on the "Support Your Fundraiser" tab at the top. It will take you to a search field. Enter "Pueri" and our name will appear just below the search box (in small print). Select us and start shopping! Information about pick up will be provided. If you have any questions or problems, contact Kim Skemp at kskemp90@gmail.com.

Have a Happy Easter!

We Are Out There!!

Last weekend some of our PC SBC youth (Choristers) participated in "Voices of the Valley," sponsored by Phoenix Children's Chorus.  It was a full day of fun activities and rehearsals, which culminated in a short concert.  It was a great opportunity for our PC SBC members to work with different directors and experience different teaching techniques.  It was also awesome to sing with a choir of over one hundred children.  Here's the combined group of all participants singing in the concert (PC SBC singers are in light blue shirts):

Also last weekend, a small group of PC SBC singers, mostly from Teen Schola, auditioned to sing the National Anthem for an Arizona Diamondbacks baseball game at Chase Field.  Auditioning experience is vital to every musician and whether we are chosen or not, we succeed every time we get an opportunity to sing in a new forum.  Keep your fingers crossed!

It's great to get our members out in the community to fulfill the part of our mission to enhance musical opportunities for youth.  We are having lots of fun too!

We still need your support for our Mission to Rome in December.  We have been invited to sing for Pope Francis at the New Year's Day Papal mass, along with over 2,000 other youth of Pueri Cantores from around the world!  If you would like to support us, please see the YouCaring link on the right side of this page.  Donating by credit card is very easy and we are happy to accept any size donation to support the expenses of traveling to Europe with 47 youth of Pueri Cantores St. Bernard of Clairvaux.

Happy Birthday and Happy Winners!

Kent's Big Birthday Bash was February 15 and what a great time we had!

There was fun and games for kids and adults!

Best of all, we drew winners for our baskets!

                                         

And the winner of our Rome Raffle??

Jocelyn Natalicio

Jocelyn has a daughter who is a member of our Choristers.  They weren't planning on going to Rome, but now they can!  Congratulations!

Thanks to everyone who worked so hard on the basket raffles and Kent's Birthday Bash.  Our parents are the best!

Kent's Birthday Celebration

On February 15th, we are throwing a very special party. We are going to celebrate Kent's, our choir directors, birthday! If you know him, you know how special he is. You know that he has poured his life into the music ministry at St. Bernard's of Clairvaux. 

When I first moved to Arizona, five years ago, I shyly asked the choir director if I could join the Parish Choir. Little did I know that the Sunday I approached him, was the Sunday he began as our Music Director. It seemed as if he had been there for years already.

He wrapped our family in welcoming arms and made sure we felt like we belonged here in Arizona.

In those five years, my children have been involved in Cherubs, Choristers, Teen Schola, and Music Camp. I've been involved in the Parish Choir,Taize, Kent and Friends, and Veritas 124 (the 11am Mass choir). 

I've watched friendships bloom and flourish. I've watched the choir grow and welcome people to our church. I've watched Kent pour hours into searching for the perfect music to go with Sunday's scriptures. I've watched thousands of copies of music be filed and sorted. I've watched Kent handle four year olds with unlimited energy. I've watched Kent play beautiful music for friends who have passed away.

February 15th is a time to stop and say thank you for the gift he is to our Parish.

We promise a great time and lots of laughs! Be sure and join us for this very special day! 

Do You Have a Fry's Card?

Did you know if you have a Fry's VIP Shopping Card (or use your phone number when you shop), you can earn $$$ for Pueri Cantores St. Bernard of Clairvaux?  Through the Community Rewards program we can earn money through August 30.  Here's how:

Visit the Community Rewards Page on the Fry's website.

If you have never used your Fry's VIP Card online, there are instructions to create the online account.  It takes 2 minutes and the link is on the Community Rewards Page.

Once you have created the online account, enroll in the Community Rewards Program.  (If you don't see a link after you create your online account, go back to the Community Rewards Page and click the "Enroll Now" button near the bottom.)

You will be directed to "Find Your Organization."  Type in "Bernard" or "Pueri Cantores" or our organization number 56480.  Any of those search terms will take you to "St. Bernard of Clairvaux Pueri Cantores Choir."  Choose that and that's it!

Every time you shop at Fry's, you still get the benefit of your VIP Shopping Card, including gas points, AND you earn money for us!

PLEASE pass a link to this post to your Facebook friends and email list.  Find the little Facebook icon right after this post, click on it and it will create a post to your FB wall with a link to our website and this information.  Lots of people shop at Frys and do not currently have a Community Rewards partner - why not Pueri Cantores St. Bernard of Clairvaux??

Every little bit counts.  We will continue to post our ongoing shopping fundraisers so you and your friends are reminded just how easy it is to help us on our mission to Rome.

Keep On Shopping!

Even though the Christmas holidays are over, you can still shop to benefit Pueri Cantores St. Bernard of Clairvaux. Check out the "PC Mall" above to register for Dublii for all your online shopping. We also have specific items available under the Shopping tab above and new items are coming soon!

We have so many activities coming soon! Be sure to keep checking back here for more information and thank you for continuing to support us.