Music

As Catholic Schools week winds down, I want to acknowledge some of the talented students at Our Lady of Refuge School. Last Sunday at the 9:30 a.m. mass Shiloh Brikho proclaimed the Responsorial Psalm. The Sunday before 4th grader, Annabelle Shina sang the Psalm. They both sang from memory and added much beauty and prayer to our liturgy. Thanks Shiloh and Annabelle! You both are an inspiration to us all to take a little risk and share our talents with our faith community at Our Lady of Refuge.

Speaking of sharing your talents with your parish, it’s last call for anyone who wants to join the choir in time for Lent and Holy Week. We will be preparing for all these great liturgies Wednesdays 7:30-9:00 p.m. in church. The window is still open to come this Wednesday.

A few weeks ago we had a Choir Open House and added three new members. It is a pleasure and an honor to sing, pray and worship with this family of musicians. Contact me anytime if you have any questions – or just show up Wednesday.

Tim Smith
Director, Music Ministry
C: 248.821.8443
O: 248.418.7240
music@olorcc.org

I want to thank all the musicians who contributed to our Christmas liturgies: The Adult Choir, the Contemporary Ensemble, the Youth Choir, our trumpet player, Dave Rajewski and our cello player at midnight mass, Irina Tikhonova. It is an honor to be with you all.

Maybe you would like to join us? We are having a Choir Open House Wednesday, January 11 at 7:00 PM. Join us for a meet and greet and a sample rehearsal. We’ll have snacks and conversation and then we’ll sing. Come and see if this might be the very thing you’ve been looking for in the new year.

Strike a blow for the Kingdom and stop by the church on Wednesday, January 11 at 7 PM!

Merry Christmas!

Tim Smith
Director, Music Ministry
C: 248.821.8443
O: 248.418.7240
music@olorcc.org

We now have Breaking Bread Sunday Missals in the pews and hymn number displays in the front corners and back wall of the church. We will continue to use slides, but we will also post hymn numbers for any of the pieces that are also in the books. Starting November 26th and 27th, the readings in the book will be applicable to Sunday Mass.

Screen projection has caught on in the Catholic Church, especially during the Covid years when books were often removed as a precaution. I like books because you can see the melody and the words are available for review after the song has been sung. I also like screens. In my experience, people participate in singing better with screens. The best part about screen projection is that someone can change their mind in the middle of the song and join in without having to open a book and look up the tune.

I think the best answer to the question of books vs. screens is all of the above. So all of the readings, responses, and most songs will be available both on the screens and in the books. Maybe 25% of what we sing is not in the books and in that case, we will only have it available on the screens.

Remember, the primary music minister of the Liturgy is the Assembly. Everything that the music leaders do is to facilitate the full and conscious participation of the assembly.

Peace,

Tim Smith
Director, Music Ministry
C: 248.821.8443
O: 248.418.7240
music@olorcc.org

In an earlier article we were discussing the US Bishops document called Sing to the Lord. It is a directive that details the roles for musicians and the assembly. Another passage:

The choir must not minimize the musical participation of the faithful. The congregation commonly sings unison melodies, which are more suitable for generally unrehearsed community singing. This is the primary song of the Liturgy. Choirs and ensembles, on the other hand, comprise persons drawn from the community who possess the requisite musical skills and a commitment to the established schedule of rehearsals and Liturgies. Thus, they are able to enrich the celebration by adding musical elements beyond the capabilities of the congregation alone.

The choir and all the musicians’ job is to enrich the celebration of the Liturgy without minimizing the participation of the assembly. So the success of the music ministry is not measured by how well we perform, but rather how well we are able to engage the full, active, conscious participation of the congregation. As stated above, the voice of the assembly is the primary song of the Liturgy.

To that end, we need more musical leaders by way of choir members, cantors and instrumentalists (last call for a bass player). Please contact me if you think you might be interested.

Tim Smith
Director, Music Ministry
C: 248.821.8443
O: 248.418.7240
music@olorcc.org