THE WEDNESDAY REPORT: September 21, 2022

Dear Partners in Ministry,

Let's talk about Communion, next season's music, our busy October, and more!

REMINDER: EXTENDED REHEARSALS BEGIN TOMORROW

Between the concert and Christmas, we're going to need as much quality rehearsal time as we can get, so: starting tomorrow, rehearsals will run 7:00-9:00, extending by 30 minutes. We'll rehearse weekend music first, then pivot to concert pieces; anyone not taking part in the concert will be able to leave at that time.

TWO ALL-CHOIR MASSES IN OCTOBER

We have two special occasions in our weekend worship this October, and I'd like to have as full a complement of our Music Ministers as possible! If you're able, please join us for:

CONFIRMATION MASS: OCTOBER 9, 11:00 AM
It's time to welcome a new class of our young parishioners into the fullness of the Holy Spirit! Fr. Terry will preside this year. We've made some changes to the repertoire for this Mass, and a separate sheet for it is now included in the song sheets for Ordinary Time III.

PARISH FEAST DAY WITH BISHOP WOOST: OCTOBER 16, 11:00 AM
Our newly-minted Auxilliary Bishop, Michael Woost, will be joining us as presider for the 11:00 Mass on October 16, the weekend our parish celebrates the feast day of our namesake. The music is mostly the same as the other Masses, with two exceptions:

At the end of the Gospel reading, we'll sing one additional refrain of the Alleluia.
We'll sing "O God, Hear Us" during the Prayer of the Faithful.

OUR COMMUNION CONUNDRUM: THE NEW PLAN

As a staff, we took a multi-faceted look at our Communion Rite and how Music Ministry needs to work within it. As several of you have told me, we've tried a lot of things here over the years, each with their plusses and minuses; we've discovered that the way we're doing it now is causing some unintended hiccups and delays which we need to fix. We also discussed the confusion we've all witnessed over when the assembly should sit at the conclusion of the rite, so we're going to revise what we do to try and resolve all these issues together.

PLEASE READ THIS OVER CAREFULLY... WE BEGIN THIS WEEKEND!

We've decided that the only people who should stay behind in the choir area going forward are:
- The cantor
- The director, accompanist, and instrumentalists
- Anyone who needs to remain in place due to physical challenges
It will be easier all around if everyone else joins the Communion procession. From now on, please do so.
At the Sign of Peace, the cantor moves to the Cantor Stand to lead the assembly in singing.
As soon as the Lamb of God ends, exit the choir area to your right, and make your way to the church doors along the side/back walls to join the procession in the center aisle. Please don't move through the pews ahead of the choir area, as this causes traffic jams in that spot.
While making your way up the aisle, keep singing! We've heard a lot of positive feedback from the pews about the sound of the choir so close by, and it's a great way to encourage participation.
Let's make a habit of coming back to the choir area along the sacristy/music room wall, and then re-entering the risers from behind the pianist. Using the center aisle ahead of us just creates too much commotion in the front of our area.
From now on, our Eucharistic Ministers will be instructed to wait behind the accompanist.
The Communion Song will continue as the cantor and those who remained in the choir risers receive.
As soon as all singers have received, the Communion Song ends, which will now serve as the cue for the assembly to sit. The accompanist receives Communion (or, if not receiving, allows 10-15 seconds of silence), then begins our usual instrumentals for the conclusion and purification.
At this point, anyone else who has not yet received may do so.

ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS MUSIC NOW AVAILABLE

After a fantastic scripture session with Fr. Terry, and revisiting all 12 years of Advents and Christmases you spent with Aga, I'm happy to say that we're ready to go! Check the end of this post for the link to our selections for Advent and Christmas. We will return to the Gokelman Mass of Renewal for the season, and begin each liturgy with Steve Angrisano's uplifting "Emmanuel," switching verses each week.

I still have some Psalms to pick and there's more to discuss, so I'll return to this topic next week.

REHEARSAL NOTES: SEPTEMBER 22

Be sure to check your folder for new music: "Hear Our Prayer," "Gift of Finest Wheat"

Each week, we'll warm up with the handout I gave you earlier. If you need a copy, let me know.
SEP 25: Psalm 146: Praise the Lord, My Soul! and all the rest of our Sunday rep
OCT 2: Hear Our Prayer,
MASS OF SMM: Harmonizing Holy, Mystery of Faith, and Amen; Sing through Lamb of God.
GAUDETE: Continue your good work on "O Nata Lux;" Continue "Dancing Day," "Take Comfort"

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: MI 938 · 1.003 · Mass of St. Mary Magdelene (Hart)
- Mystery of Faith: MI 939 · 1.003 · Mass of St. Mary Magdelene (Hart)
- Amen: MI 942 · 1.003 · Mass of St. Mary Magdelene (Hart)

Lamb of God:

- SEP 18-25: MI 952 · JS 789 · Lamb of God (Kendzia)
- OCT 2: MI 943 · 1.003 · Mass of St. Mary Magdelene (Hart)

SEPTEMBER 25 · Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gathering Song: MI 429 · JS 620 · All the Earth (Deiss)

Responsorial Psalm: WA · 2.009 · Ps 146: Praise the Lord, My Soul! (Cosas) This is from the concert that Christian, Luke, and I did at SPB in 2017. It's really echo-ey but it's a good performance nonetheless! Christian is the cantor here.

Preparation of the Gifts: WA · 3.060 · In Your Dwelling Place (Ward)

NEW! Amen: MI 942 · 1.003 · Mass of St. Mary Magdelene (Hart)

Communion: MI 312 · JS 777/3.056 · Here at This Table (Whitaker)

Sending Forth: MI 598 · JS 824 · Christ, Be Our Light (Farrell), v. 1, 4, 5

OCTOBER 2 · Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gathering Song: MI 552 · JS 574 · Glory and Praise to Our God (Schutte)

Responsorial Psalm: WA · JS 72 · Ps 95: If Today You Hear God’s Voice (Farrell)

Preparation of the Gifts: NEW! WA · 3.063 · Hear Our Prayer (Ward) A not-great-but-it'll-do demo for you. We used the refrain of this piece as our response to the Universal Prayers this Lent.

NEW! Lamb of God: MI 943 · 1.003 · Mass of St. Mary Magdelene (Hart)

Communion: MI 329 · 3.033 · Gift of Finest Wheat (Kreutz, arr. Keil)

Sending Forth: MI 390 · JS 821 · Celtic Alleluia: Sending Forth (O’Carroll/C. Walker)

OCTOBER 9 · Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Sat 5:00, Sun 9:00)

Gathering Song: MI 550 · JS 598 · Sing a New Song (Schutte)

Responsorial Psalm: WA · JS 80 · Ps 98: The Lord Has Revealed (Smith)

Preparation of the Gifts: MI 611 · JS 609 · For the Beauty of the Earth (Kocher/Dix) No link for this one, but if you want a little practice, come to tonight's GIFT session!

Communion: MI 498 · JS 725 · Unless a Grain of Wheat (Farrell)

Sending Forth: TM 21 · JS 603 · Now Thank We All Our God (NUN DANKET)