Dear Partners in Ministry,

First things first: hello from most of the musical history of St. Noel! Monday night, NPM Cleveland held its first gathering since COVID (and my first opportunity to gather with them as well!) at Our Lady of Grace in Hinckley. As it turned out, three previous directors— Aga, Mark (who co-directs music at OLG now), and Richard— were present, so we took the opportunity to get a pic in.

Next up: THANK YOU for what was a really wonderful weekend of music. Some very good energy among you and in the congregation, which had a lot to do with our numbers (12 singers at the 5? Amazing!). Thank you all.

The obvious good that having more voices does is something I'd like to discuss with you this week. I'd like to hear your ideas about how to balance our three weekend liturgies out. Is some form of a signup system the way to go? Is there a different configuration for 5 and 11 we'd want to consider? If you have any thoughts, ideas, or concerns, I'd be grateful.

Fall (in the liturgical sense) is here! Our last major section of Ordinary Time begins this weekend, and so does our preparation for the Gaudete concert on December 11 and our Christmas celebrations to follow. Rehearsals will be vital for all of you going forward, so please make every effort you can to join us each week. 

The Bell Choir will be ringing a lot more going forward. I'm happy to say that our ringers will be joining the Parish Choir every other week (Saturday once a month and Sunday once a month) to accompany our liturgical music. We're so blessed to have such a robust bell program— and, in Elke, a terrific leader— and I'm so happy that our parish will experience their presence so often.

A reminder that we're kicking off our new Mass setting this month. Our first portion of the Mass of St. Mary Magdalene, the Alleluia, arrives this weekend; on the 11th, we'll follow with the Holy; the 18th will bring the Mystery of Faith and Amen. We'll add the Lamb of God on the 25th and round it out with the Gloria on October 2.

Our next concert is coming on September 10. We could use some volunteers to greet, hand out programs, answer questions, check the pews afterward, etc. If you'd be interested, just let me know.

REHEARSAL NOTES: SEPTEMBER 1 (September!?)

Be sure to check your folder for new music!

• Each week, we'll warm up with the handout I gave you earlier. If you need a copy, let me know.
• We'll look through the two new pieces for our Christmas Concert, "Gaudete" and "Take Comfort, My People"), and one from the library, "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day."
• We'll review and prepare our music for Sep 4 (see below).
• We'll make sure we're ready for the new Alleluia, and continue learning the Holy, Mystery of Faith, and Amen.

THIS WEEK IN LITURGY

RITUAL AND SERVICE MUSIC FOR THE SEASON:

Glory to God: MI 884 · [score] · Mass of Creation (Haugen)

Children’s Dismissal (Sundays): WA · [score] · The Word of God (Ward)

Gospel Acclamation: MI 936 · 1.003 · Mass of St. Mary Magdelene (Hart)

Prayer of the Faithful: spoken response

Eucharistic Acclamations: 

• • Holy:
    • SEP 4: MI 901 · JS 248 · Mass of Glory (Canedo/Hurd)
    • SEP 11: MI 938 · 1.003 · Mass of St. Mary Magdelene (Hart)
  • Mystery of Faith:
    • SEP 4/11: MI 902 · JS 249 · Mass of Glory (Canedo/Hurd)
    • SEP 18: MI 938 · 1.003 · Mass of St. Mary Magdelene (Hart)
  • Amen:
    • SEP 4/11: MI 905 · JS 252 · Mass of Glory (Canedo/Hurd)
    • SEP 18: MI 938 · 1.003 · Mass of St. Mary Magdelene (Hart)

Lamb of God: MI 952 · JS 789 · Lamb of God (Kendzia)

SEPTEMBER 4 · Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Note: We begin “Ordinary Time III” this Sunday.

Gathering Song: MI 385 · 3.026 · The Summons (Bell, arr. Fisher) No recording for this one yet.

Responsorial Psalm: MI 794 · JS 67 · Ps 90: In Every Age (Smith) Verses 1, 3, 4. Lyrics are altered in this recording; we'll use what we have.

NEW! Gospel Acclamation: MI 936 · 1.003 · Mass of St. Mary Magdelene: Alleluia (Hart)

Preparation of the Gifts: MI 499 · JS 732 · Only This I Want (Schutte)

Communion: MI 354 · JS 788 · Bread of Life (Farrell)

Sending Forth: MI 407 · JS 647 · Lord of All Hopefulness (SLANE/Struther)

SEPTEMBER 11 · Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gathering Song: MI 563 · JS 593 · Lift Up Your Hearts (O’Connor) Original lyrics here; we'll use revised text in JS.

Responsorial Psalm: WA · handout · Psalm 51: I Will Rise (Ward) No recording yet, hopefully by next week.

Preparation of the Gifts: MI 664 · JS 532 · Loving and Forgiving (Soper)

NEW! Holy: MI 938 · 1.003 · Mass of St. Mary Magdelene (Hart)

Communion: MI 302 · JS 766 · Gather the People (Schutte)

Sending Forth: MI 446 · JS 680 · Amazing Grace (NEW BRITAIN)

SEPTEMBER 18 · Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gathering Song: MI 753 · JS 644 · Your Words Are Spirit and Life (B. Farrell) This is lovely, but our version is faster...

Responsorial Psalm: WA · JS 92 · Ps 113: Blessed Be the Name of the Lord (Mayernik)

Preparation of the Gifts: MI 623 · JS 829 · The Cry of the Poor (Foley)

NEW! Mystery of Faith/Amen: MI 938 · 1.003 · Mass of St. Mary Magdelene (Hart)

Communion: MI 337 · JS 793 · One Bread, One Body (Foley)

Sending Forth: MI 443 · JS 686 · How Can I Keep from Singing (Lowry) Not this arrangement, though...

MORE SELECTIONS

Ordinary Time III (Sep 4–Nov 24, 2022)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sniNwOhTKh74W04hg5mfgKulNdw--Jket99g7cWmBzo/edit#gid=2046170587

Advent and Christmas (Nov 27, 2022–Jan 8, 2023) Coming September 21...