Friday, August 11, 2006 Music ministers urged to emphasize unity, not agendas

Building bridges, creating unity, and recognizing that all are one in the body of the Lord --- regardless of cultural, ideological, musical and liturgical differences --- were themes stressed by speakers at the National Pastoral Musicians' Western Regional Convention in Sacramento Aug. 1-4.

"We need to resist going down the black hole of anger regarding how we translate our texts, what we will sing, or which musical styles are most appropriate for our Masses," said liturgical composer David Haas in his convention-opening keynote Aug. 1. "Because we still have something wonderful to sing about: God is still here, calling all of us to receive what we have been given from God as gift and give it back lavishly in service to the Lord and one another."

The convention at the Sacramento Radisson Hotel was attended by 600 people --- mostly church musicians but also liturgists and clergy --- from 33 states (principally California), the District of Columbia and from Canada, Australia, Ireland and Korea. They participated in 44 workshops, several prayer services and a Eucharistic liturgy at the recently renovated Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in downtown Sacramento, with host Bishop William Weigand presiding.

The Sacramento convention was one of three regional events held this year by NPM, the country's largest religious-affiliated music association with 9,000 members. The attendees were welcomed by Sacramento Auxiliary Bishop Richard Garcia who referred to the convention theme --- "What You Receive, Give As Gift " --- in his welcoming remarks.

"God has given us the gift of temperatures that are not 115 degrees," he smiled, referring to the lengthy heat wave that blanketed the state for much of July. "You breathe in life-giving air and transform it into song. God blesses this whole community through the work you do, sharing your God given gifts in the service of his people."

Minnesota-based Haas --- one of the country's most noted liturgical composers of the last 25 years ("Blest Are They," "You Are Mine") --- observed that many liturgists and musicians strive, and rightly so, to encourage assemblies to sing better or to provide quality music for their Sunday celebrations. Yet, he pointed out, the often-neglected role of the pastoral musician in fostering "true full, active and conscious participation" --- the oft-cited phrase from Vatican II's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy --- involves something much deeper.

"The primary focus of all liturgical and catechetical mission-based service is Jesus Christ, who never wrote a document himself but who did call us to love one another," said Haas. "That is the common ground we should look for. Everything we do as musicians must point to Christ, must deepen our relationship with him. But do our efforts, our deeds and behaviors, actually do that? Are we in this ministry together as one in Christ, or are we trying to pull down and sabotage one another?"

Haas lamented the tendency in some parishes to develop "red state/blue state" mentalities where, he noted, the attitude is often, "You not only cannot disagree with me, but there is something wrong with you and I have to stop you."

"We have to stop fighting, put down our swords, truly love one another --- intentionally and unconditionally --- and listen to one another in love," he said. "Because these debates are tearing us apart."

Haas urged music leaders to reject "musical snobbery of any kind"; to expand their parishes' musical repertoire beyond "what you like"; and to learn from their assemblies and "listen to their voices," for the liturgical celebration is not about how well one sings or plays music. "As pastoral musicians, we must decrease and our assemblies must increase," he said.

A principal difficulty in building bridges and unifying parish communities can be language and culture, a challenge addressed in a workshop led by composers Pedro Rubalcava and Peter Kolar. They invited their audience to reflect on terminologies used in planning celebrations --- multicultural, mulilingual, cross-cultural, intercultural --- and to reflect on how the composition of the parish community compares with that of the parish leadership.

The music and liturgical leaders present at the workshop noted that their challenges ranged from choir members who absolutely refused to sing in language that wasn't English, to saying "no" to liturgical requests by members of another culture, even for good, sound liturgical reasons.

True intercultural liturgical celebrations, the presenters said, cannot happen by simply using a song or reading from another language, but rather must begin by connecting with parishioners outside of liturgy and genuinely learning to know and appreciate the ethnic communities apart from their own.

"Seek first to understand, then to be understood," added Msgr. Ray East of Washington D.C., who gave the conference's closing keynote talk Aug. 4. In his Aug. 3 workshop, Msgr. East stressed the "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" (the book by Stephen R. Covey) as a starting point for building a stronger community and tearing down "walls of style, culture, our own comfort zones" that often divide.

The effort, he said, includes both enabling and allowing all --- especially those who have not traditionally held influence --- to have a voice. "Ask yourself, who in your parish community is not being heard? Who is being misunderstood?" And he urged music ministers to reject the "my way/your way, win/lose" methodology of decision-making. "Synergize," he suggested. "It isn't about my way or your way, it's about our way. It's about solving problems, celebrating the other, honoring the other."

Auxiliary Bishop Jaime Soto of Orange, in a workshop following his keynote talk Aug. 2, noted that different ethnic cultures --- especially those newer to a particular parish where another culture has been dominant --- often develop their own structures for becoming involved in parish ministry, and over time may become more intertwined in the life of the parish. But he pointed out that in any parish, those interested in promoting genuine unity and participation by all should not underestimate the importance of hospitality.

"If you want good musicians and talented people of any kind to emerge, you have to create that space where they feel welcome and invited to step forward to share their gifts," he said.

Bishop Soto added that, in dealing with issues and challenges rooted in a parish's cultural diversity, pastors must be both interested and active as part of the unity-building process. At the same time, because pastors' assignments "are not forever," it is imperative that parishes have structures and processes in place --- like parish councils --- that can address such issues long-term.

"Pastors, and bishops for that matter, need to invest in lay leadership," Bishop Soto said. "The pastor can be a bridge, but after a while it is unfair to expect him to always be the moderator."

The music minister's spirituality was addressed by Sister of Mercy Suzanne Toolan in her Aug. 3 keynote talk. The composer of one of the church's most popular post-Vatican II hymns ("I Am the Bread of Life"), Sister Toolan --- now ministering at Mercy Center in Burlingame, Calif. --- urged music ministers to "stay in touch" with their spiritual selves in order to best perform their ministry.

"To be a Christian minister of any kind means, first of all, to be a believing person," said Sister Toolan. "That means to be continually developing a deeper relationship with God, and doing so in the community, in the world and for the world, at liturgy and in personal prayer."

Being a music minister, Sister Toolan continued, means wanting to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ, and "to use our skills and gifts, our insights and imaginations, to touch people's hearts.

And to do that, she said, music ministers must connect themselves to the Word of God so that it may be proclaimed and communicated through music in a way that simply speaking the word cannot.

"As music ministers, we are servants of prayer," she said. "We are people of the Word, guided by the Gospel of Jesus. We need to let the energy of the Word be integrated into every part of our lives. We need to be people of prayer."

Finally, Sister Toolan urged her audience to continually remind themselves of why they became music ministers. "Give attention to why, as well as how, we do our ministry," she said. "Jesus has risen, and we are here to proclaim that Good News. We have many challenges, but if we can be a truly Christian community we can be the hope for the world Jesus asks us to be."

Gee, considering the audience, I guess Mr. Haas thinks musicians, liturgists and clergy need a big ol' attitude adjustment.

Those brought back memories.

How was liturgy at your church today?

Were it not for the Eucharist and the homily which was brilliant, today's was especially trying for me. Opening song: Gather Your People (Bob the Other Hurd); Psalm: Here I Am (Cooney); Mass setting: St. Louis Jesuits; Presentation: Look Beyond (Ducotte); Communion: Taste and See; Closing: I am the Bread of Life.

Hardly anyone sang. The choir and cantor, sensing that no one was singing, sang ever louder and louder into the mics. I actually had to cover my ears, that's how painful the sound was. To top it off, the music director forgot that he was in church and his accompaniment improv was more fit for a barroom. Really depressing.

I'm thinking of having a Sunday after-liturgy thread...how was liturgy at your church today. Maybe those of you with better experiences can help cheer those of us who have no other choice.

I have sung in my church choir for 11 years. I never knew there was such disdain for what we are singing! I have to say that our director does a good mix of the old and the new. We sing a lot of "Panis Agelicus", "Ave Verum", and "Veni Jesu". Not to mention during Lent, much of the Mass itself is done in latin. We use chants during Holy Saturday mass. But everything is mixed with the new as well. I will have to keep my ears open, to see if anyone is complaining at our church!

There's an overarching and misguided emphasis on "active participation". The former music director at our parish used a LOT, and I mean a lot, of "praise" music. Stuff like "Shout to the Lord"; "Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary"; stuff like that and introduced a band. Certain choir members are relieved to sing this genre of music. They believe that the church is finally where they are...finally after all these years, they can "worship" and "feel". When I ask them about what they think the Mass is all about, they get mad at me and tell me that I think too much about theology. Don't you know, Vatican II opened the doors and allowed us to now experience Jesus.

Currently, the bishops are working on a compendium of liturgical songs. They have actually asked some very good questions about the state of our liturgical songs. If you're interested, here's the Powerpoint Report by the Subcommittee on Liturgy and Music. They actually studied some of the most popular songs to see where they are on the theological spectrum. With the new mass translations and the pastoral letter that the Pope has written about liturgy and music (it's in the translation stage), people like Haugen/Haas/Schutte/Foley et al are trying to head off being supplanted.

I don't think I would like to hear this at a mass, but for good listening with an even better message ...

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Memo to Music Convention:

Stop with the boom-shaka-la-ka-boom-shaka-la-ka shake-your-boootie happy-clappy hootenany shlock and use music proper for a Mass! Dust off pre-1960s hymnals and open them for further instructions and examples. And quit with 95% of the "cantoresses" being Sopranos that either sing off key, use the cantor slot to show off their "talent", or sing so loud and shrill that dogs in a five mile radius start howling. To say nothing of said "cantoresses" (and a few "cantors" I've endured) waving their arms like the batmen on the USS Lexington trying to land an F6F in 1944. Take away all guitars, tabourines, etc. from all musicians upon entering the building and return them to the owners AFTER the Mass is ended.

I don't think it's necessarily disdain.

The problem is that much of the contemporary church music is in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is not a performance event.

The music is to accompany and support the Mass, not to entertain or to show off the vocal abilities of the choir.

The singers are not performers.

Unfortunately, much popular music is written with entertainment in mind. It redirects the congregation from the altar to the choir and the singers. And many of the "modern" hymns redirect the singer from God to self -- look at how many times "I, me, mine" appear in things like "Here I Am, Lord."

Aside from that, much of the modern stuff is banal musical dreck. As our music director says, "the first time I heard the Haugen Mass of Creation, I knew it was AWFUL and everybody was going to LOVE it . . . "

I'm not anti-modern music, some of it is very good. Almost anything by the serious modern English composers is going to be o.k. - Tavener, Rutter, and going back a little further Vaughn Williams, Howells, S.S. Wesley, etc. Some of the Americans like Ned Rorem, Gerald Near, etc. are also splendid. This is all serious liturgical music - composed with an eye to setting the text and integrating with the Mass. (You can tell I'm an ex-Anglican, but there's nothing to touch English choral music except German chorales and the old Italian polyphony.)

Exactly what kind of music are you singing?

And quit with 95% of the "cantoresses" being Sopranos that either sing off key, use the cantor slot to show off their "talent", or sing so loud and shrill that dogs in a five mile radius start howling. To say nothing of said "cantoresses" (and a few "cantors" I've endured) waving their arms like the batmen on the USS Lexington trying to land an F6F in 1944.

My children were perturbed when they saw their first cantor in the Catholic Church. "Why is she waving her arms? Did someone score a goal? And why is she blasting our ears?" They were used to cantors being in the choir loft, unseen, unmiked, singing straight tone. The congregation knew that after a big pause, they were supposed to come in and respond. I want to know if that arm-waving thing is in the GIRM somewhere and I missed it?

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