THE WEDNESDAY REPORT: September 28, 2022

Dear Partners in Ministry,

Before we get down to business, I'd ask that you take a moment to place our neighbors in your heart, particularly those in the path of Hurricane Ian, the people of Iran, and the people of Ukraine and Russia... many people in darkness searching for light right now.

NEW: THE MUSIC MINISTRY PAGE

The "landing page" for the "Music" tab on our parish website is now a central hub for all things music at St. Noel, including quick links to concert info and Music Ministry resources. Bookmark it now! https://www.stnoel.org/music

REMINDER: 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.

MASS ROLLOUT UPDATE: GLORIA DELAYED UNTIL OCT 30

When I first scheduled the rollout of the Mass of St. Mary Magdelene, Bishop Woost's visit wasn't a thing, nor did I take Confirmation Mass into account. So, let's hold off on introducing the Glory to God until October 23. Many of you (myself included!) are more than ready to shelve the Mass of Creation Gloria for a while, but I think it's best to sing a familiar setting for these two special weekends.

COMMUNION PLAN: A GOOD START!

Thanks everyone for kicking off our new Communion plan last weekend. On the whole, things went very well!

As a reminder, here's the outline I gave you last week.

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.

REHEARSAL NOTES: SEPTEMBER 29

New music:

Psalm 121: Our Help Is From the Lord
Gift of Finest Wheat (Do you have your copy already? Do you have someone else's?)
Vocal Warmups B

Turn in:

The Snow Lay on the Ground (cutting it from the concert)

REHEARSAL PLAN

NEW WARMUPS! Set B will be waiting for you tomorrow night. Hang on to A, however; we'll come back to it in the future.
OCT 2: Psalm, Hear Our Prayer, Celtic Alleluia: Sending Forth
MASS OF SMM: Lamb of God, Glory to God
GAUDETE:
- O Nata Lux: review 1–38
- Dancing Day: review 1–31, add 34–44
- Take Comfort: review melody; work 2-part sections at 62, 108 (4-part section next week)

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: MI 943 · 1.003 · Mass of St. Mary Magdelene (Hart)

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)