Music Ministers Share Friendship And Advice
Music ministers from across the diocese gathered at the Catholic Center on Aug. 27 to share lunch, and friendship and advice from one parish to another.
Several music ministers attended the National Association of Pastoral Musicians’ Conference in St. Louis during July, and shared their experiences with the group. “NPM reminded me of the importance of community,” Jenny Gorman of Evansville’s Saints Mary and John the Apostle Parish reflected. “It reminded me that I’m not alone in planning for the large-scale goals of music ministry.”
Another perk of NPM is its pool of resources. “We were surrounded by wonderful talented people,” added Tom Scheller of St. Matthew Parish in Mount Vernon. “Some pieces we can’t do back home, but there are some other really great ones we can.”
NPM attendees also discussed how to make choirs more inclusive. For example, some parishes also know the challenge of integrating a bilingual community. “We need to learn more bilingual music. It will help us learn the language,” explained Father Bob Nemergut, a retired priest of the diocese now living in Bloomfield, Ind. “It shows that we are doing our best to incorporate them as fellow Catholics.”
Paula Alles of Jasper’s St. Joseph Parish spoke on the topic of choir-member recruitment. “Our choir takes a break during July, and we’re thinking about making cards that say, ‘You have a wonderful voice.’ When choir members overhear good singers, they can hand them out, and it’s an easy way to get the word out without pushing too hard.” She added wryly, “I know of a choir director who promised a steak dinner to any current member who recruited someone new. And they got two steak dinners if the new member was a tenor.”
It would not be a music ministry meeting if the topic of selecting music was not discussed. “They say it takes 100 years for changes in the Church to be implemented,” Bernie Heitzman of St. John Daylight Parish commented. “We’ve seen everything from the 3-chord guitar Mass to 4-part polyphonic chant stuff. And it’s only been 50 years since Vatican II.”
Many music ministers also are attuned to parish mergers, as our diocese goes through the Strategic Planning process. “Things will change,” Diane Sammet of Evansville’s Corpus Christi Parish acknowledged. “Our parishes are our families, but even our families change. Our choirs are just a small community within the larger parish community.”
“Merging parishes will affect the music we select,” Justin Clements of Evansville’s new St. Boniface Parish added. “We need to focus on hospitality, which is something Catholics aren’t always good at.”
“Maybe it’s more of a marriage than a merger,” Carolyn Thorpe of St. Bernard Parish in Rockport pointed out. “The focus is on family, and remaining God-centered. When our parishes join, it’s like a marriage. Not only do we gain a daughter-in-law, but we also gain another family, with a unique perspective.”
Thorpe explained how a group from her parish traveled from church to church in the area, praying a decade of the rosary at each destination and observing the different portrayals of Mary: each one is undeniably an image of Mary, but each bears unique differences. So, too, she observed, can it be said of merging churches. “We’re all the same, but we all have differences, too,” Thorpe explained. “We have to learn to embrace those differences."
