Talents from across the community came together at St. Vincent Church for Americana 250 Celebration: Many Peoples, One Nation. More than 200 people gathered for the program presented by the Stephen Foster Music Club, Silver & Strings Ensemble, and the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. The evening featured beloved American songs, reflections, and community singing as voices of all ages joined together in celebration. Whether you were there or couldn’t attend, we invite you to enjoy the recording and relive this special evening.
Sister Kelly O’Mahony shares the following:
A Nation Still Becoming Celebrates America’s Story Through Music and Reflection
A crowd filled Saint Vincent de Paul Church on Thursday as Nazareth hosted A Nation Still Becoming, a musical program exploring the nation’s history, diversity, and shared future through readings, choral music, and instrumental performances.
Presented as part of the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary commemoration, the program invited participants to reflect on the many peoples, cultures, and traditions that have shaped the American experience.
The evening opened with a land acknowledgment honoring the Shawnee and other Indigenous Peoples, as well as the enslaved, immigrant, and working generations whose contributions helped shape both the nation and the Nazareth community.
Through narration and music spanning a variety of traditions, the program reflected on America’s journey—from its Indigenous roots through centuries of immigration, cultural exchange, challenge, and renewal. Readings emphasized that the nation’s story has been shaped by many peoples, cultures, and experiences.
A recurring theme was the transformation of newcomers into neighbors, citizens, leaders, and community builders. Throughout the evening, performers celebrated values such as liberty, justice, opportunity, responsibility, service, and civic participation.
The finale featured Our American Symphony, an original work by Carmel Bowman and Maggie Hettinger, creators of the program. The composition embodied the evening’s central message: that many histories, voices, and traditions can come together to create something larger than themselves.
The program featured the Silver & Strings Ensemble, the SCN Choir, the Stephen Foster Music Club, the Ukelalians, the Straight Up Quartet, and members of the Pascucci and Hettinger-Priddy families. Readings were presented by Rev. Jackie Summers and Michael Bickett, with a solo performance by Catherine Spalding. Sisters of Charity of Nazareth and SCN Associates participated in a choral reading and served in the honor guard and color guard during the civilian flag ceremony.
The program concluded with community singing and a reflection that the American story remains unfinished and that each generation has a role in shaping its future. Audience members lingered afterward to visit with performers and one another, extending the conversations and connections inspired by the evening.