‘Saving Song’

MADISON  Liturgical music serves as a powerful — and much-loved — form of evangelization that “equips parishioners, priests and ministers, including the choir, with the tools to become drawn to the faith during the Mass and then drawn to the faith again all week,” Preston Dibble, diocesan director of music, observed at a recent convocation for local parish music ministers, pastoral musicians and music lovers.

Also director of the Diocesan Choir, Dibble joined several prominent area music directors, pastoral musicians and liturgical ministers in leading the morning-long “Saving Song.” The gathering, held at St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization at Bayley-Ellard here, explored how liturgical music helps Catholics evangelize and grow as disciples. The event started with an optional Mass and sung morning prayer, followed by a lively panel discussion about music as discipleship, led by Father Manning, St. Paul’s executive director and diocesan vicar for evangelization. Participants, who included students of the diocesan Certificate in Catholic Evangelization as part of their coursework, were encouraged to attend two of a possible six elective sessions on a variety of topics.

“I hope that people who attended are able to make the connection that music is one of the Church’s largest tools for evangelization as it touches people in ways words alone sometimes cannot,” said Dibble, who also is music director and organist of St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish: Churches of Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Montclair. “All of us are called by our Baptism to be those evangelizers and music is a part of our Catholic identity and worship; whether in the loft or the pew or ordained or laypersons, we are all called to sing a new song unto the Lord!” he said.

Sponsoring the convocation were St. Paul’s in partnership with the chapters of the National Pastoral Musicians (NPM) in the Newark Archdiocese and Paterson Diocese. Dibble serves as chapter director of the newly reformed NPM chapter in Paterson, which seeks to increase its involvement significantly. For more than 20 years, Dibble has been involved in NPM, a professional organization, chartered by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) for church musicians in the U.S.

“Liturgical music is meant to do what the liturgy does — to engage people in the worship of God — and do what the Gospel does — to share the ‘Good News’ of our salvation in Christ,” said Father Manning in his introduction to “Saving Song,” held in St. Paul’s chapel and classrooms.

In one of the breakout sessions, “Creating a Parish Repertoire,” Father Manning said that the music must remain faithful to the text of the Mass and should support “the liturgical actions” of the people. In selecting musical repertoire, parishes need to consider if the material fits with their demographics of and cultures within; if it engages the music ministry and congregation or seems too difficult for the singers and worshippers to sing and the instrumentalists to play; and if the songs fit the various types of liturgies that are celebrated, said Father Manning who conducted the workshop with Dibble.

It was Father Manning, who led the panel discussion on music as discipleship earlier in the morning. The panelists were: Dibble; Lynn Trapp, director of liturgy and music at St. Joseph Parish in Baltimore; Jennifer Pascual, music director and organist of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City; and Father Matthew Ernest, director of the Office of Liturgy for the New York Archdiocese and a pastoral musician. Father Manning asked the panelists questions, such as “How does music help in evangelization?” and “How does music help make disciples?” as well as leading discussions about how a music minister is first a disciple and how a liturgical musician belongs to the assembly.

“Liturgical music is a way of delivering the text, which takes on another level of evangelization — unlike anything else — to the people in the pew and in the sanctuary and music ministers,” said Pascual — who led breakout sessions on “Making Music with the Popes” and “Choral Reading Session” with Trapp — in answering Father Manning’s questions.

In his responses, Lynn said that liturgical music could help inspire a religious conversion. He spoke about one of his choir members from the Assembly of God, who converted to Catholicism to develop a closer relationship with Jesus. Lynn, who also led a workshop on “Composing Music for the Liturgy,” also noted that music helps form community in parishes.

During the conversation, Father Ernest, who led a workshop on “A Pastor’s Perspective,” encouraged singers and instrumentalists to pray the music that they are singing and playing, noting, “If it’s not prayerful, there is no point.”

Dibble told Father Manning and the audience that singing the hymns and listening to the choir or ensemble both count as “active participation” in the Mass.

In his “Composing Music for Liturgy,” Lynn played many examples of hymns on the piano in St. Paul’s chapel. He urged composers to make a practice of improvising music to brainstorm ideas and study music theory. When creating music, a composer should decide on the characteristics of the piece — the tone, texture, tempo, key, arrangement, complexity and range; write music that illuminates the meaning and theology of the text; and determine whether the piece adheres to good compositional technique, Lynn said.

At the conclusion of the convocation, Claudia Nardi, music director of Assumption Parish, Morristown, for 31 years, said that she felt “refreshed and renewed” afterward.

“It’s important for music ministers to get together and get back to the basics of what we do. It’s about how we relate to people and help to create community,” Nardi said. “We as music ministers are able to be with people, during important parts of their lives — baptisms, funerals and other sacraments. It’s powerful to be of service to them at those times,” she said.