This is Her Song.

By Katherine Tria Kehoe

Rachel Di Fonzo has a melodic voice that melts like honey in tea. Her voice immediately makes me feel calm and centered. A song she leads, “I Wish That This Could Always Be” is perfect to listen to when you need to wind down and feel inspired to meditate. It speaks of a spring day, new beginnings, blue skies, and the moment of bliss in prayer when you feel completely connected to God and wish that the moment would never end. These lyrics about a moment forever, though written by someone else, is true for Rachel’s life and ministry. They describe the feeling she gets when fully connected and committed to her relationship with Christ. They also have the power to change and shape others by allowing us to experience how she feels about her faith through music. This is synchronicity in song that defies all borders and time, and brings you to a place where you experience the power of God’s love.

Rachel Di Fonzo

Now more than ever we need praise music to uplift our spirits and bring us closer to our inner peace and serenity with God. The world we live in in 2020 has asked us to sacrifice many freedoms including how we worship at church. Online praise has been a source of comfort for many and has proven that the power of music and prayer can exist outside the walls of a church. Though our current situation is causing churches to rethink how we operate our ministries, one thing that has remained the same is our love for music. As a form of meditation, it also allows us to be closer to our communities and loved ones.

A committed mother and talented singer, Rachel is allowing her God-given talents to shine in her community by sharing the gift of her voice. Rachel is a Roman Catholic with seven sons, ranging in age from 18-30 who are serious about their faith. For 12 years, she homeschooled her youngest sons all while balancing the demands of her church community. She comes from a musical family and has sung at church either in a choir or a cantor for more than forty years. Rachel’s preferred place to sing has always been church.

Hear Rachel in "I Wish That This Could Always Be": https://soundcloud.com/joyfullmedia

Women have a vital role to play in ministry and can make a difference by using their own God-given gifts to inspire others. Ministry work can be both challenging and rewarding, especially while balancing motherhood. A ministry thrives and survives on the passion of its members and their ability to give their time and efforts to growing together spiritually. Artists especially have a calling to showcase their talents in a positive way, along with the other roles that define our identity.

Rachel was born in England. She is half Welsh, half English, and Italian by marriage. She considers her home to be Canada, the country she loves, but calls England and Italy home as well. At home, Rachel and her family enjoy a nice blend of English/Italian cuisine and traditions.

When asked about singing challenges, Rachel said, “My biggest challenge has always been my nerves. If I am asked to sing at a place outside of my comfort zone—the particular time and congregation I always sing at—I become very nervous and look for ways to escape from this, such as having somebody sing with me.

“I have come to realize that this nervousness is actually caused by pride— my desire to have people think well of my singing. This is a humbling realization. I hope one day to be able to overcome this pride, but I haven’t done it yet.

“My other challenge is that I am not a trained singer. I have a natural voice and that can make some of the pieces I would like to sing out of my scope.”

Rachel’s daily routine begins with prayer, reading scripture, and having what she calls an “unstructured prayer conversation with God”. Although she has a busy schedule, she finds the time to offer her daily tasks and activities to God to receive grace.

While Rachel is at church, she makes sure that her performance is for God and not herself, that everything she does is for the glory of God.

“God is generous in his giving and we can be generous in return by using our gifts and talents to glorify him and benefit others. I believe also that it gives God pleasure when we do this,” said Rachel.

Rachel is still singing at church, although COVID-19 has impacted the process: “For the past few years, I have had the blessing of singing with a dear friend of mine every week at Mass.

She is a really fine singer and a wonderful person. Now, of course, due to the virus, we are restricted and I am back to singing alone. I was able to return to some singing in July, but not as much as I would normally be doing.

“My blessings have increased in other ways. I have three wonderful daughters in-law, one granddaughter, one grandson and a second granddaughter expected soon. My sons are working in good jobs, with just one still in medical school. The little ones are the joy of my husband's and my life. God is good.”

Rachel also shared her vision for the future: “I hope to keep singing for many years and I look forward to my middle son, a fine singer, taking over from me at church.”

Rachel is an inspiring mother and singer whose favourite scripture speaks a lot about her testimony and belief in keeping a strong faith and positive attitude: “For I am convinced that death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38 NIV)

Rachel Di Fonzo