Reunion Of Haskell Pastor, Old Boss In Advertising Leads To Booking At St. Francis Parish
PUBLISHED NOV 20, 2014
BY Michael Wojcik
HASKELL The syncopated beat of the drums kicks off “Praise the Lord, Oh My Soul.” Long piano chords frame the rhythm of the midtempo song. Father David Pickens stands near the altar of St. Francis of Assisi Church here, waiting to join the highpowered contemporary Christian pop group, Circle of Faith, in concert for his musical debut — playing tambourine.
“Oh, heavenly Father, how I worship You. So many times, You get me through,” TK Pry, vocalist of Circle of Faith of St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish, Sparta, sings in a verse of “Praise the Lord, Oh My Soul,” during the group’s first concert at St. Francis here on Nov. 1, All Saints Day, at the invitation of Father Pickens, its pastor.
Father Pickens shakes the tambourine as 130 concertgoers from St. Francis rise to their feet. They all not only got to listen to a large group of musicians, but also witnessed a very public reunion on the stage — that of Father Pickens and an old boss from his days in advertising: Art Suriano, who sang and played guitar. The musician also serves Circle of Faith’s leader, songwriter, arranger and producer.
“The audience went wild; they loved it. The concert gave St. Francis positive vibrations,” said Father Pickens, who called Circle of Faith “a serious band” that writes and plays songs in a broad range of styles. “When Art and I worked in advertising at Polyphonic Media Inc. [PMI] in Garfield 23 years ago, neither of us was going to church, even though we both went growing up. At PMI, we were just interested in doing what pleased our clients. I never thought that, all these years later, we would be working together to please God through music,” the priest said.
Music may have brought them together for the first time publicly during the concert, but it was the April 3 edition of The Beacon that helped them reconnect or the first time in a long time — and ultimately made the concert possible. In that issue, Father Pickens read a story about Circle of Faith and noticed a photo of one of the guitar players: Suriano, who cofounded PMI, where Father Pickens worked as a media buyer/production supervisor from 1987 to 1991.
Father Pickens called the Circle of Faith hotline number at the end of The Beacon’s story and left a voicemail for Suriano, saying, “This is Father David Pickens, although you don’t know me as Father David.” That’s because PMI, which produced and placed ads for print, radio and TV, closed in 1991. Over time, the two men lost touch.
“David is an unbelievably smart person. At PMI, he knew how to approach a project and get it done,” said Suriano. Father Pickens called his old boss a “super talented musician,” who played in a wedding band and wrote ad jingles for PMI in the studio that he built.
It was while working in alumni relations for his alma mater, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, that Father Pickens began to hear God’s call to the priesthood. He went through a difficult discernment process and finally answered “yes” in 2004, when he entered Theological College at Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. Bishop Seratelli ordained him as a priest of the diocese in 2009.
After closing PMI, Suriano took a different path. He worked as a consultant for the radio industry and now serves as chief executive officer of the TSI Company, a Teaneckbased firm. Six years ago, a serious health issue brought Suriano back to the Church. Then, he got involved in St. Kateri’s music ministry, which led him to forming Circle of Faith.
“These are pop songs with lyrics of faith. With the CD’s different styles [which cross many genres], it’s reaching people of all ages. If it helps only one person have a better connection with Jesus, we’ve done our job,” said Suriano, who noted that Circle of Faith has sold 500 copies of its compact disc, “Always,” netted airplay on Internet radio and hopes to secure more concert dates.
Since getting back together with Suriano, Father Pickens has taken on a new personal mission: to promote the faithfilled music of Circle of Faith. The pair met for dinner several times to hammer out plans for the Nov. 1 concert and plans to book another date at St. Francis sometime in the spring.
“When Circle of Faith played at St. Francis, I saw that David is a good pastor. He has a dry sense of humor, is down to earth and is comfortable with himself. David is so easy to be with,” said Suriano.
Janet Sanclemente, who attended the concert with her husband, Frank, enjoyed the friendly repartee between their pastor and his former boss. “The concert was terrific. Circle of Faith is so professional and its CD is very good. Modern — and good — music can bring out young people [to its concerts],” Janet Sanclementi said. “Singing to the Lord is a great way to express yourself to the Lord.”
The “Always” CD is on sale for $10 at St. Francis. The album also is available to download on iTunes for $7.92.
BY Michael Wojcik
HASKELL The syncopated beat of the drums kicks off “Praise the Lord, Oh My Soul.” Long piano chords frame the rhythm of the midtempo song. Father David Pickens stands near the altar of St. Francis of Assisi Church here, waiting to join the highpowered contemporary Christian pop group, Circle of Faith, in concert for his musical debut — playing tambourine.
“Oh, heavenly Father, how I worship You. So many times, You get me through,” TK Pry, vocalist of Circle of Faith of St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish, Sparta, sings in a verse of “Praise the Lord, Oh My Soul,” during the group’s first concert at St. Francis here on Nov. 1, All Saints Day, at the invitation of Father Pickens, its pastor.
Father Pickens shakes the tambourine as 130 concertgoers from St. Francis rise to their feet. They all not only got to listen to a large group of musicians, but also witnessed a very public reunion on the stage — that of Father Pickens and an old boss from his days in advertising: Art Suriano, who sang and played guitar. The musician also serves Circle of Faith’s leader, songwriter, arranger and producer.
“The audience went wild; they loved it. The concert gave St. Francis positive vibrations,” said Father Pickens, who called Circle of Faith “a serious band” that writes and plays songs in a broad range of styles. “When Art and I worked in advertising at Polyphonic Media Inc. [PMI] in Garfield 23 years ago, neither of us was going to church, even though we both went growing up. At PMI, we were just interested in doing what pleased our clients. I never thought that, all these years later, we would be working together to please God through music,” the priest said.
Music may have brought them together for the first time publicly during the concert, but it was the April 3 edition of The Beacon that helped them reconnect or the first time in a long time — and ultimately made the concert possible. In that issue, Father Pickens read a story about Circle of Faith and noticed a photo of one of the guitar players: Suriano, who cofounded PMI, where Father Pickens worked as a media buyer/production supervisor from 1987 to 1991.
Father Pickens called the Circle of Faith hotline number at the end of The Beacon’s story and left a voicemail for Suriano, saying, “This is Father David Pickens, although you don’t know me as Father David.” That’s because PMI, which produced and placed ads for print, radio and TV, closed in 1991. Over time, the two men lost touch.
“David is an unbelievably smart person. At PMI, he knew how to approach a project and get it done,” said Suriano. Father Pickens called his old boss a “super talented musician,” who played in a wedding band and wrote ad jingles for PMI in the studio that he built.
It was while working in alumni relations for his alma mater, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, that Father Pickens began to hear God’s call to the priesthood. He went through a difficult discernment process and finally answered “yes” in 2004, when he entered Theological College at Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. Bishop Seratelli ordained him as a priest of the diocese in 2009.
After closing PMI, Suriano took a different path. He worked as a consultant for the radio industry and now serves as chief executive officer of the TSI Company, a Teaneckbased firm. Six years ago, a serious health issue brought Suriano back to the Church. Then, he got involved in St. Kateri’s music ministry, which led him to forming Circle of Faith.
“These are pop songs with lyrics of faith. With the CD’s different styles [which cross many genres], it’s reaching people of all ages. If it helps only one person have a better connection with Jesus, we’ve done our job,” said Suriano, who noted that Circle of Faith has sold 500 copies of its compact disc, “Always,” netted airplay on Internet radio and hopes to secure more concert dates.
Since getting back together with Suriano, Father Pickens has taken on a new personal mission: to promote the faithfilled music of Circle of Faith. The pair met for dinner several times to hammer out plans for the Nov. 1 concert and plans to book another date at St. Francis sometime in the spring.
“When Circle of Faith played at St. Francis, I saw that David is a good pastor. He has a dry sense of humor, is down to earth and is comfortable with himself. David is so easy to be with,” said Suriano.
Janet Sanclemente, who attended the concert with her husband, Frank, enjoyed the friendly repartee between their pastor and his former boss. “The concert was terrific. Circle of Faith is so professional and its CD is very good. Modern — and good — music can bring out young people [to its concerts],” Janet Sanclementi said. “Singing to the Lord is a great way to express yourself to the Lord.”
The “Always” CD is on sale for $10 at St. Francis. The album also is available to download on iTunes for $7.92.