Other Events

Diocesan Choir

Rehearsals for the Diocesan Choir are scheduled to resume on Monday, September 20, at 7:00 pm.

News, Notes & Key Changes
 

Best Wishes

We give our best wishes and blessings to Dick Hoogterp, who has retired from his position as the Director of Music and Liturgy for St. Pius X Parish, Grandville, for health reasons. Fr. Chris wrote a great column thanking Dick for his ministry. It is hard to estimate the great influence Dick has had on the music ministry in our diocese (so far!) through his quiet and competent efforts. May God's blessings continue to shower on him!

Welcome

• Dominican Center, Marywood - Sister Joan Thomas, op, has completed eleven years on the staff of World Library Publications and is now returning to Grand Rapids, where she will be a liturgical minister at the Dominican Motherhouse. Welcome back, Joan!
• St. Patrick, Parnell - Michelle Ogren is now the music director
• St. Charles, Greenville - Jenna Fowle is now music director

Open Music Leadership Positions

• Our Lady of Sorrows, Grand Rapids (part time)
• Basilica of St. Adalbert, Grand Rapids
• St. Mary Magdalen, Kentwood
• St. Pius X, Grandville

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine

• Robert Witham (July, 2010), husband of Audrey Witham and father of Barbara McCargar (Grand Rapids)
• Bob Rositch (February 2010), husband of Sue Rositch (Muskegon)

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Keep in Mind

Megan Provost is available this summer as an accompanist (piano) or cantor. Tel. 616.457.1812. (per Dick Hoogterp's recommendation)

Welcoming the New Edition of the Roman Missal / Order of Mass

It is generally anticipated that the first use of the new Roman Missal texts may coincide with the beginning of the 2012 liturgical year, which begins with the First Sunday of Advent on November 27, 2011.

Roman Missal Information Web Page from the USCCB

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is offering a number of helpful catechetical resources, including answers to frequently asked questions, explanations, examples of changes to the assembly's parts and the history of the Roman Missal.

Roman Missal Formation from the FDLC!

The Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions has prepared a web page of resources and workshop information for diocesan leaders to assist with welcoming the new edition of the Roman Missal.

Recording Available for February 11 NPM Webinar

How should pastors, musicians, and other pastoral leaders prepare themselves, their communities, and their liturgical ministers for implementation of the new English language edition of the Roman Missal?

You may order a CD of the recent NPM webinar on preparing for the new Roman Missal. This webinar was originally presented on February 11, 2010. The CD includes both the audio and video (PowerPoint) components. You will need to have Windows Media installed to your computer to play it.

OCP Publications Offers: Looking Ahead to the New Roman Missal

As you prepare to introduce the new Roman Missal in your parish, campus or religious center, you may have many questions about the transition. OCP is providing a web page designed to serve as a planning guide for the many things related to the New Order of Mass. The page will be updated as new information becomes available, so feel free to visit and check back regularly.

OCP is publishing short catechetical pieces in each issue of Today’s Liturgy that address the new translation. As they become available, you can download those articles from their web site as they are made available. (Gloria/Preface Dialogue/Sanctus; The Creed)

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Are You Certifiable?

NPM offers certification programs for organists, cantors, and professional directors of music ministries. NPM certification programs are designed to assist pastoral musicians in their continuing formation for music ministry. Visit the NPM website and click on “certification” to see if you are certifiable and ready to take the challenge to grow in your knowledge and skill.

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Singing the Name of God

In August 2009, the Vatican issued directives that the Hebrew name of God, usually rendered as "Yahweh", is not to be pronounced in the prayers, readings, or songs of the liturgy. The new norms are based on long-standing Jewish and Christian traditions of not pronouncing the divine name and of substituting "the Lord" wherever it occurs in the biblical text. Publishers will be removing or changing song texts making use of the name, but pastoral musicians should immediately refrain from using these texts until appropriate changes have been made.

Dan Schutte, composer of the popular songs You Are Near and Sing a New Song, gives guidelines for how to adjust the texts from his songs gracefully at http://danschutte.com/revisions.html

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Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship

USCCB Publishing has made Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship available in book form. Don't have one? Every pastoral musician, priest, deacon, liturgist, and worship leader should have a copy of these official U.S. guidelines for music in the liturgy. You may order this very important document from the NPM website or by phoning the NPM office at tel. 240.247.3000. You can also view the document online (PDF).

Sing to the Lord echoes the call to full, active, and conscious participation in the Liturgy through its sung elements. It addresses the practical concerns of pastoral leaders-appropriate ministers, cultural diversity, instrumentation, formation, acoustics, and copyrights. It also outlines considerations for preparing and judging music for worship with an in-depth review of the musical structure of Liturgy.

Sing to the Lord is longer (more than 250 paragraphs) and more comprehensive than its predecessors. It addresses some topics not covered in earlier documents, treats other areas more expansively, incorporates the norms of recent official liturgical documents, and draws on the experience of celebrating the current “ordinary” form of the Mass for the past thirty-seven years.

Use Sing to the Lord to
   •  evaluate your parish's current musical repertoire
   •  better understand your role in sung worship
   •  prepare particular sacramental liturgies
   •  train parish music ministers

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