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If you’re an avid Spotify listener, you know that the end of every year brings the much anticipated “Spotify Wrapped” playlist.

If you don’t know this magical playlist, I’ve got you covered. Spotify (a platform for listening to music, podcasts, audiobooks, etc.) will track the top songs you’ve played over the year and in December make a playlist of your most listened tunes. It’s a fun way to look back on your favorite music or remember songs from seasons of the year, like when I went on an ABBA craze in the summer and played nothing but “Lay All Your Love On Me” for five days straight. (Don’t judge, we’ve all done it.)

Fittingly enough, one of my top songs from this year was also a funny remind­er for my own “Evangelist Wrapped” of stories from 2023. An oldie but a goodie, I was obsessed with Elaine Stritch’s cover of “Are You Having Any Fun?” off her 1956 album “Stritch.” Jazzy and upbeat, the song is exactly like the title: Stritch sings about whether anybody is taking time out of their day to have some silly fun, despite the lack of practicality around it.

It’s a note that stuck with me — and while it hasn’t been an easy year (the Albany Diocese declaring bankruptcy, rising inflation across New York State, and horrible violence in the Middle East and Ukraine) — sometimes a way to get through the darkness is by trying to find a little bit of light.

This handful of stories, from people I’ve talked with, to places I’ve seen, all carried a little bit of fun with them. And if we’re going into the new year with a fresh mind-set, I think it couldn’t hurt to remind ourselves that, along with taking the necessary time to grind and work at our goals, we shouldn’t forget to carve out some room for having a bit of fun.

DOGS OF THE DIOCESE

Nobody knows joyful fun quite like a dog, and the dogs of the Albany Diocese are experts at spreading it. It’s what made this “pet tour” of various priests’ and sisters’ pups a story hard to beat in terms of organic fun. 

For priests like Father Tony Childs, pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Church in South Glens Falls, his pets have always felt like family — and subsequently, members of his parishioners’ lives. This story was a sweet look at the “Mass-cots” (as Father Childs calls them) that keep priests and sisters company, and fill the local churches with a little bit of extra love. 

PASCHAL CANDLE

Rich Nagengast has got candles on his mind. The sexton and head of maintenance at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Albany has been handcrafting designs from wax for the parish’s Paschal Candle for 30 years. And what started as a fun hobby has turned into a beloved tradition at the church. 

Apart from his artistic talents, Nagengast is an organically kind person. Humble of his works but proud of his parish (he joined St. Vincent’s with his family when he was 7), the parishioner is joyful about serving the people of his church. To him, making candles and working for St. Vincent’s isn’t a job, it’s a fun ministry that he’s proud to serve in.

AI IN THE CLASSROOM 

At first glance, a story surrounding the depths of AI’s impacts on students and the classroom doesn’t seem like fun. And while true to a point, I also found writing and researching this piece a wonderfully fun experience. 

Some of my most rewarding moments as a writer are when I get to seek out experts for a piece. It’s a chance to learn about a subject I would never have otherwise dived into, and after getting to talk with Sharon Small, the director of the Institute for Artificial Intelligence at Siena College, I was over the moon for this story. Not only is Small an incredible woman (she founded the institute at Siena and still finds time to teach) but is a great conversationalist who could explain computer science to me like a gentle parent. 

She put my mind at ease about AI going “Terminator” on us (no, it’s not going to happen) but also opened my eyes to a powerful and fun topic that I’m sure we’ll continue to discuss in the new year. 

CHOIR

There are few things I find more fun than a good concert and the Immaculate Conception Cathedral choir is serving up some great sounds.

Part of the Albany Cathedral’s School of Music, the Cathedral’s adult choir was one of the most fun stories I got to explore. Combining praise and faith with music and singing has a history as old as the Catholic Church itself, and getting to see how that relationship remains today, by means of some immeasurably talented singers, was a fun and breathtaking experience

I hope we all strive to find some fun as we enter the next chapter of our lives. From our homes to yours, have a happy and healthy new year!

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