NPM-Grand Rapids by Ed Maskevich
National Association of Pastoral Musicians
Grand Rapids Chapter

Supporting all music ministers as they seek to utilize their art to enhance worship and prayer throughout the Diocese of Grand Rapids

Upcoming Chapter Events:

Prayer of Peace

Taizé Prayer

Monday, June 8 | An Ecumenical Prayer of Peace

We gather together at St. Mary's Church for this rejuvenating prayer in the Taizé style.

  • Every month on the 2nd Monday (Jun. 8, Jul. 13, Aug. 10, Sep. 14, Oct. 12, Nov. 9, Dec. 14, etc.)
  • 7:30 PM
  • Ecumenical Taizé Prayer: a mixture of song, silence and scripture

[ Get a sheet promoting this event ] [8.5x11, PDF format]
[ Get a flyer promoting this event ] [5.5x8.5, PDF format]
[ Bilingual flyer | Hoja Bilingüe ] [5.5x8.5, PDF format]

[click here for more information about helping as a musician or in other roles!]

Do the PDF files look funny? In the current version of Adobe Reader, right-click on the page and choose 'Page Display Preferences', then uncheck the box next to 'Use local fonts'.

David Haas

Concert: David Haas and Lori True

7:00 PM | Sunday, June 21, 2009 | St. Mary Magdalen, Kentwood

Come and enjoy David Haas and Lori True in a concert to benefit Music Ministry Alive!, a national liturgical music formation program for youth and adult leaders.

David Haas resides in Eagan, Minnesota, where he is director of The Emmaus Center for Music, Prayer and Ministry and serves as campus minister / artist-in-residence at Benilde-St. Margaret’s High School in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, where he also teaches in the theology and music departments. Highly regarded as one of the preeminent liturgical music composers in the English-speaking world, he has produced more than 45 collections of original music. His liturgical works are sung and prayed throughout the world and appear in hymnals of many Christian denominations and in many languages. David is the founder and executive director of Music Ministry Alive!

Lori True Lori True is a Pastoral Associate for Liturgy and Music at the Church of St. Margaret Mary in Golden Valley, Minnesota, as well as the Associate Director of Music Ministry Alive! In addition, Lori is active as a cantor, workshop and conference speaker, composer, concert performer, and recording artist. She has presented workshops for various national and regional conventions for NPM, and has presented workshops and performed at conventions and conferences throughout the United States, Canada, and Ireland. A longtime vocalist and performer on the recordings of other artists, Lori recently released her debut collection of original liturgical music with GIA, entitled A Place at the Table.

Parish Choir Clinic

October 2009 | Mark Webb, clinician | Location TBA

Parish choirs are invited to prepare a piece to share, and then receive comments from an expert choral clinician. Watch for more details!

Practical Use of Praise Music in Liturgy

November 2009 | Gordon Proulx, facilitator | Location TBA

Taking an honest, practical look at music in the "praise and worship" style and how/when to use it (and NOT to use it) with your assembly.

Supporting the Song of the Assembly

February or March, 2010 | Location TBA

Skill sessions addressing the roles of the psalmist, keyboard/organist, and other instrumentalists.

Annual Chapter Banquet

April 2010 | Location TBA

Gather together once again to share camaraderie, good food, and food for thought1

More plans rolling for Chapter Events!

The chapter board is hard at work putting together the events and topics! If you have any suggestions, just drop a line to Aline Snoeyink (aksnoeyink@gmail.com), our chapter director.

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Other Events

National Convention

Want to know more? Click on the image below.

Discounts for convention registrants are available if a group of chapter members register together! Contact Anna Colby tel. 616.457.4415 ASAP for information.

2009 NPM Convention

Forum

Beginnings "Plus" Institute

August 5-8, 2009

Sponsored by the Diocese of Grand Rapids and the North American Forum on the Catechumenate

Beginnings Plus uses an adult formation method to help institute participants learn all the periods and stages of the initiation process.
Participants are invited to explore the dynamics of conversion through presentations, reflections, skill building experiences and adapted celebrations of the initiation rites.

Those who will benefit from this institute include:

  • ministers beginning the initiation process, as well as experienced initiation ministers
  • liturgists looking for good adaptations of the rites
  • initiation teams (pastors, catechists, teachers, liturgical musicians, etc.) involved with discernment of readiness of inquirers, catechumens and candidates
  • initiation teams looking for adaptations for candidates for full communion
  • initiation teams involved with the restored order of the initiation sacraments

Keep your eyes open for the registration brochure, or contact Patty Hughes, email phughes@dioceseofgrandrapids.org or tel. 616.475.1241.

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News, Notes & Key Changes
 

Catholic Choral Academy

Dennis Rybicki is actively recruiting new students for the Catholic Choral Academy. This is the only choir school in the diocese that is dedicated to the art of singing sacred music with children and young persons. For a brochure or more info., contact Dennis at amaestroden@aol.com. Rehearsals are beginning! Dennis "at the diocese" is at tel. 616.243.5590. Call for more info. (The brochures are spectacular!) Encourage your youthful ones to enroll (Mondays).

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Banners Used at Convention for Sale

The Banners used at the NPM regional convention in Grand Rapids are for sale. Interested? Know someone who is? Contact Aline at aksnoeyink@gmail.com.

Some photos of the banners:
[click the links]
Photo 1 | Photo 2 | Photo 3 | Photo 4 | Photo 5

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Singing the Name of God

In August, 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.

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Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship Now Available

Sing to the Lord

USCCB Publishing has now made Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship available in book form. 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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Chapter Newsletter

View our current chapter newsletter (PDF).

An archive of our chapter newsletters is found on our Links and Resources page.

The latest version of Adobe Reader (for PDF files) is available as a free download:
Get Acrobat

Receive Your NPM-GR News ElectronicallyWe would like to know your preference - would you like to receive information about the chapter by email, or postal mail? Here are the advantages of email-only notifications:

  • quick - no delay in receiving newsletters, updates, etc.
  • cost savings on postage reduces pressure on dues and allow the chapter to spend its limited funds where it counts - on serving our members and the Church
  • saves paper, too!
  • ability to reply with questions, comments, etc. - with just a click
  • links in the email can take you directly to web sites, sponsors, etc.

Please notify us:

  1. if you would like us to mark your preference either way, for post or email
  2. whether you would like to receive your emails in "HTML" format (with pretty colors, links etc.); or in plain, text-only format (faster if you have only dial-up access to the internet)

Do You Get It?Most chapter members should be receiving news, updates, flyers and newsletters by email! If you are not receiving news from us, here are some steps you can take:

  1. Confirm that we have your correct email address. Send us an email (contactus@npm-gr.org... put "Email" in the subject line) from the address at which you would like to receive email notices and ask us to update your member listing.
  2. Confirm that our emails are not being trapped by a spam filter. Add the following addresses to your address book:
        contactus@npm-gr.org
        taizeprayer@npm-gr.org
        info@cantorschool.org

Aquinas College Music Department EventsAre you aware of the event offerings from Aquinas College? Check out the calendar.

Always a Work in ProgressIf you have suggestions, questions, comments or corrections for this web site please contact us.

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