Life is Life

Randy Dyer R & D Productions, Box 60072, Oakville, Ont. L6M 2S0

Life is Life is a recently released compact disc with an obvious and admirable aim to promote the sanctity of human life.

Randy Dyer’s strong pro-life and Christian convictions come through clearly in his lyrics. We need more Christian musicians like him.

Life is Life is a mixture of contemporary and country music. Dyer’s voice is clear, perhaps a little weak, but nice to listen to. The melody of his music is pleasant. Some of the songs sound quite lively and some are slower. The guitar is the predominant instrument.

The lyrics in all of his songs except the last one are quite sombre—because he is singing about the senseless slaughter of preborn innocents. It’s not the kind of music that you would play to relax your guests at a tea party but these are songs which our society needs to listen to. They are very effective at touching the listeners’ emotions—like the anti-war songs of the late sixties and early seventies. The only difference is that more babies are killed by abortion in one year in the USA and Canada that combatants were killed in Vietnam in ten years of fighting.

I would strongly suggest that the Pro-Life community support this musician. It was popular the sing songs against the establishment during the Vietnam era. It is not so popular to sing against our establishment that promotes killing for convenience. Randy Dyer deserves our unqualified support as he undertakes this noble task.

Tim Crowley used music for pro-life efforts

Mike Mastromatteo

The Interim

Ontario’s pro-life community lost a talented and popular supporter with the death of teacher/musician Timothy Michael Crowley.

Crowley died at his Oshawa home January 20 after a one-year battle with cancer. He was 41.

A religion teacher at Denis O’Connor Secondary School in Whitby, Crowley used his musical talents in the service of his church, his students and the pro-life cause.

Crowley and musical collaborator Paul Coates produced a body of inspirational and Gospel-related recordings over their 18-year partnership. They performed at a number of concerts and pro-life rallies, and they prepared much of the music for the Canadian catechism program. In addition, the duo provided the music for The Sunday Mass television program Sundays at 9:30 a.m. on CFTO-TV.

During the January 28 broadcast of The Sunday Mass, executive producer Father Brad Massman described Crowley as a remarkable performer who gave freely of his gifts in service to the church.

Crowley, however, was much more than a singer and an artist, Paul Coates recalled. “Tim hungered for truth and searched for meaning,” he said. “He was passionately devoted to his faith and to his Lord. He found great solace in the sacraments, and celebrated every new insight and every new experience in friendship.”

Coates also described his long-time friend as a man who was not timid about living his faith and proclaiming the Gospel.

Crowley’s funeral Mass was held January 24 at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church in Oshawa.

He leaves his wife Phyllis and children Ciara, Sean and Michael.