You are receiving this email as an Easter gift from the National Association of Pastoral Musicians. Thank you for all you do in ministry!
The National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM) is a nonprofit association that supports the musical, ministerial, and spiritual formation of all pastoral musicians in the Catholic Church today. From cantors to choir members, organists to pianists, music directors and coordinators to ensemble members, you have a place at NPM!
Membership starts at just $49/year, and a 30-day free trial is also available. For more information, visit npm.org/join.
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This newsletter is distributed seven times a year, in advance of every upcoming liturgical season. While tailor-made for cantors at every skill level, its content can inspire all in music ministry as well as those who serve with them. In this free sharing of the Holy Week and Easter issue, we’ll highlight the purpose of certain sections so you may glean the same benefits that many longtime readers enjoy.
We encourage you to forward this to your cantors for the Easter season, and to anyone else who could benefit from it. Happy Easter!
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Jennifer Kluge
Executive Director
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Holy Week and Easter
May your music ministry be enhanced this season by:
● A reflection on Psalm 118;
● Readings links;
● Tips and Tools to grow in cantor skills;
● Formation opportunities;
● Convention news;
● Certificate news;
● Facebook link; and
● Musings on Music
Our “Growing in Skills, Conquering Challenges” series continues with Tracy Lake returning to share spiritual, ministerial, and musical insights and teachings about modeling fully conscious and active participation. Enjoy.
Calling all writers! Please reach out to me if you would like to author a psalm reflection or Tips and Tools article for the Cantor Newsletter.
Pope Benedict XVI again inspires in "Musings on Music"!
May your Triduum journey and Easter joy bless all you meet,
Alleluia!
Susan Groeschel Lovelette
NPM Cantor Colleague
NPM Cantor Newsletter Editor
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New Foundations
by Megan Willome
Easter Sunday, 2018. Before I go to church with my dad, I look at the psalm for this holy day, Psalm 118, with Verse 24 as the response: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.” I do not feel glad. When the service ends, I will move in with Dad for a month, help him empty his house of forty-seven years, and move him into a small house next door to my husband and me. Continue Reading …
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Readings for Holy Week & Easter
Below are links to the USCCB Readings for Holy Week, Easter Sunday, Divine Mercy Sunday, Ascension and Pentecost.
March 28
March 28
March 29
March 30
Don’t forget to practice the Sequence,
Victimae paschali laudes.
March 31
April 7
Thursday, May 9, or Sunday, May 12
The readings are the same.
There are three Masses for Pentecost Sunday:
May 19
Don’t forget to practice the Sequence,
Veni, Sancte Spiritus, for the Mass During the Day.
To pray your way through the 50 days of Easter, consider using the Book of the Psalms! Or click here to receive each day’s readings by email.
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Every issue includes three Tips and Tools articles that offer teachings and inspiration to grow in the spiritual, ministerial, and musical skills of a well-formed cantor. All of the authors are NPM members who share their expertise and love of fostering the art of musical liturgy, focusing on a topic that is often part of a year-long themed series. |
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Prayerful Preparation:
Modeling fully conscious and active participation
by Tracy Lake
Cantors have an integral role in bringing fully conscious and active participation of the Church to fruition. As cantors, we minister by paying attention to how we are leading the assembly in sung prayer. To do this well we must remember to begin with our own relationship with God. Continue Reading …
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Ministerial Mentoring:
Modeling fully conscious and active participation
by Tracy Lake
Mass is community. Mass is communication. The gestures and postures of the Mass can become rote; but for a cantor well prepared through scripture and lyrics, they become an authentic part of their ministry. Postures and gestures are a response to the words and actions of the Mass and have power to be ministerial toward the assembly. How do we assure that ours are effective? Continue Reading …
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Musicianship Matters:
Modeling fully conscious and active participation
by Tracy Lake
The music of the liturgy elevates the prayers of our hearts and provides expression to how our souls are receiving and responding to the Mass. Cantors have the privilege and responsibility to help those in the pews respond to the liturgy through “fully conscious, and active participation” (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 1963, no. 14). This will both facilitate more excellent liturgy and build the community as the Body of Christ. Cantors must be well prepared musically in order to inspire the assembly to take well its role as the primary choir of the liturgy. Continue Reading …
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Announcing NPM's Music Notation Software Series |
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NPM is excited to offer a 4-part series on music notation software. These four sessions will provide some basic information about each software, while digging more deeply into functionalities that pastoral musicians would use most in their ministries.
For more information about this series, click the link below.
Registration:
Free for NPM members;
$30 for non-members
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47th Annual NPM National Convention:
Fountains of Faith
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When:
July 8-11, 2024
Where:
Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center (Kansas City, Missouri)
Registration is now open! Check out the brochure and the NPM website to learn more. Early Bird pricing ends on April 3.
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What are NPM Cantor Certificates?
Through its Cantor Certificate Program, NPM offers a process to guide and recognize the achievement of skills expected of cantors. Each certificate presumes an understanding of the spirituality of ministry, and certificates are arranged in a required sequence to ensure an articulated learning and development experience. For more information on NPM's Cantor Certificates, visit www.npm.org/cantor-certificate-programs.
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Earn a Certificate this Easter Season!
Congratulations to Basic Cantor Certificate recipients Julie Carroll (North Olmstead, OH) and Stephanie Hopkins (Alvin, TX) who received her Basic Cantor Certificate, and to our newest recipient of the Cantor Colleague Certificate, Monica Hager (Jacksonville, FL), who shares her testimony below!
We welcome inquiries about all our NPM Certificates. Perhaps the Easter season is the right time to celebrate your commitment to your ministry by applying for a cantor, piano, or organ certificate. More information is available at NPM Certificate Programs.
Cantor Certificate Committee Chair
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Certificate Program Testimonial:
A transformative period of growth!
by Monica Hager
Jacksonville, FL
“I have been serving as a cantor for 32 years and am so glad I participated in the Cantor Colleague Certificate program! It offered a special way to continue developing my skills as a cantor and to deepen my understanding of the liturgy. This time was a rich period of growth and development beyond what I could have imagined, Continue Reading …
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Find Certificate recipient news, prayer resources, and the Newsletter preview! Respond to our polls about the latest trends in the ministry of cantors around the country. |
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Musings on Music
“The liturgy is not the memory of past events but is the living presence of the paschal mystery of Christ, who transcends and unites times and places. … The conviction must grow within us every day that the liturgy is not our or my ‘doing’ but rather is an action of God in us and with us.”
— Pope Benedict XVI
(General audience, Oct. 3, 2012)
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Did you enjoy this issue? Want the next one? |
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Joining NPM is easy and will unlock the potential for musical, ministerial, spiritual, and professional growth. Memberships start at just $49/year. Learn more and join today!
Want to try out an NPM membership before joining? Use code NPMTRIAL for a free 30-day trial.
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Acknowledgements
Besides our member-writers for this edition, we gratefully acknowledge the NPM members and staff who have given generously of their time and talent to the production of this NPM Cantor Newsletter:
Editor: Susan Groeschel Lovelette
Managing Editor: Amanda Bruce
Content Editor: Emily Strand
Style Consultant: Nancy Douglass
Proofreader: Christian Cosas
Digital Producer: Keisna Sosa
FaceBook Page Editor: Joy Viceroy Geraghty
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