Ben Strik

Ben Strik (1924), or Father Ben Strik, was known in Dutch as "De Zingende Pater" ("The Singing Father"). In the 70s he started with church services in Beverwijk in the North of Holland and eventually he went all over The Netherlands with it under the name "Die Aaghten Cantorij". The money made from donations and the release of records went to the "Brasil op Weg" foundation that funded projects for water wells, to volunteers that went to help in areas with leprosy and to agricultural co-operations in Brazil. More choirs joined Strik's initiatives to support these projects. He worked with choirs in Dutch villages and cities like Wognum, Utrecht and Tilburg. In his sermons he was always very straight forward against injustice and poverty in the world. Against all rules, Ben Strik was married to Vera Strik, and Strik was always firmly against celibacy. In a newspaper interview, Strik once said, quote: "The church looks at a married priest as a male prostitute". He died on Wednesday, the 12th of March 2014 at the age of 91.