Dear Partners in Ministry,
Happy Post-Labor Day! Four items for you on this occasionally stormy afternoon:
Christmas Masses (Spoiler Alert: There's a Survey)
After reviewing the data collected in our recent survey, we came to the conclusion that we didn't need to completely re-invent our Christmas schedule. We did make two important changes, though:
The second Christmas Vigil Mass will move from 6:30 to 7:00. This little change will make a big difference in relieving the cross-traffic from the 4:30 Mass; it gives you and all our liturgical ministers time to settle in and prepare to celebrate well; and it allows our staff a little more time between Masses to regroup.
The Mass at Night will move from midnight to 10:00. While the "Midnight Mass" tradition is still near and dear to many families, the attendance and availability of ministers for this Mass has dwindled significantly. A 10:00 Mass allows for the celebration of the Night Mass while being a little fairer to all those working so hard to make it happen.
So, our Christmas Mass schedule this year will be 4:30 pm, 7:00 pm, and 10:00 pm on Christmas Eve, and 11:00 am on Christmas Day.
Please note that this year, the Fourth Sunday of Advent falls on Christmas Eve, so we're changing our Sunday schedule that day to a single 10:00 am Mass. The Saturday 5 pm Mass will be celebrated as usual.
To each of you who were among the over 300 respondents to our survey, thank you for helping us discern!
So which Mass will you be coming to? A question like that could only mean that I have a short survey for you... and I do. Sometime in the next 2-3 weeks, can each of you visit this form and tell me which Mass(es) you intend to serve—or if you're not spending Christmas with us at all. It helps me tremendously to get a clear picture of what our ministry looks like for each of these Masses as we plan. https://forms.gle/C9sv3qALjihkmqSf9
One last comment: I do have one item on my wish list for Christmas, in that I'd hope to have at least three members of each vocal section and/or a minimum of 12 singers for each Mass, if at all possible. That's not to say that I'd be kicking sopranos out if nine of you show up at the same time, but once I've heard from you all, I might ask if anyone would be willing to help fill in any lingering gaps.
Gaudete Update
Speaking of Christmastime: we start preparing for our second Gaudete! concert tomorrow night! If you haven't done so already, please take a look and use those Cantamus files to get a head start on this material, as that'll make our rehearsal move a little faster.
Music Turn-In Tomorrow Night!
A reminder to hunt down the nine pieces (see Rehearsal Agenda, below) we're turning in tomorrow night. We'll have a stack started for each of these pieces in the narthex (the bell tables will be occupied with, well, bells) so please make that the first thing you do when walking into rehearsal. At this time, do not turn in anything that is not on the list below.
Concert Series Volunteers
Our first Concert Series event is less than two weeks away, and I'm in need of maybe four volunteers to hand out programs, guide people to restrooms, and generally be welcoming and hospitable. If you're available and interested, let me know. Thanks!
REHEARSAL AGENDA: SEPTEMBER 7
Turn in:
- Handout · Psalm 45: The Queen Stands (Ward)
- Handout · Psalm 65: The Seed That Falls on Good Ground (Ward)
- Handout · Psalm 138: Your Love Is Eternal (Ward)
- 2.018 · Psalms, Volume I (Ward)
- 3.010 · Canticle of the Turning (Cooney)
- 3.033 · Gift of Finest Wheat (Kreutz, arr. Keil)
- 3.065 · Laudate Dominum (Taizé)
- 3.071 · Sent Forth as Light (Ward)
- 8.010 · Spirit of Our God (Ward)
Rehearsal Agenda:
7:00 pm · Weekend repertoire
- 1.004 · Mass of Encounter (Ward): Save Us, Savior; Lamb of God (SATB); Glory to God (melody)
- 3.069 · In the Lord I'll Be Ever Thankful (Taizé)
- 6.008 · Bless the Lord (NETTLETON/Ward/St. Noel)
- JS 71 · Ps 95: If Today You Hear His Voice (Soper)
- JS 741 · Holy Wisdom, Lamp of Learning (BEACH SPRING/Duck)
8:05 pm · Gaudete repertoire
- Blest Be the Star: sing through melody
- Jubilate Deo: NRW (Notes/Rhythms/Words), m. 1–9
- O Magnum Mysterium: NRW, m. 1–11
- The Angel Gabriel: Basque carol, arr. me: NRW, verses 1–2
THIS WEEK IN LITURGY
RITUAL AND SERVICE MUSIC · ORDINARY TIME (SUMMER)
Glory to God: BB 884 · 1.001 · Mass of Creation (Haugen)
Gospel Acclamation: BB 946 · JS 264 · Celtic Alleluia (O'Carroll/C. Walker)
Eucharistic Prayer Acclamations:
Holy/Mystery of Faith · Mass of Encounter (see below)
Amen · BB 886-887 · 1.001 · Mass of Creation (Haugen)
Lamb of God: BB 952 · JS 789 · Lamb of God/Taste and See (Kendzia)
RITUAL AND SERVICE MUSIC · ORDINARY TIME (FALL)
1.004 · Mass of Encounter. We'll transition from the summer acclamations one by one from September 3 to October 15.
Hear melody demos now at stnoel.org/massofencounter.
- Sep 3: Holy
- Sep 10: Save Us, Savior (Mystery of Faith)
- Sep 17: Amen I
- Sep 24: Lamb of God
- Oct 1: Gospel Acclamation
- Oct 8/15: Glory to God
LOOKING AHEAD
SEPTEMBER 10 · Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gathering: WA · 3.069 · In the Lord I'll Be Ever Thankful (Taizé)
Responsorial Psalm: BB 797 · JS 71 · Ps 95: If Today You Hear His Voice (Soper)
Preparation of the Gifts: BB 387 · 3.026 · The Summons (KELVINGROVE/Bell, arr. Fisher)
Communion: BB 328 · JS 776 · Ubi Caritas (Hurd)
Sending Forth: BB 529 · JS 741 · Holy Wisdom, Lamp of Learning (BEACH SPRING/Duck)
SEPTEMBER 17 · Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gathering: BB 568 · JS 593 · Lift Up Your Hearts (O’Connor)
Responsorial Psalm: BB 664 · JS 532 · Loving and Forgiving (Soper)
Preparation of the Gifts: WA · 6.008 · Bless the Lord (NETTLETON/Ward/St. Noel)
Communion: WA · 3.059 · I Received the Living God (French carol, arr. Ward)
Sending Forth: BB 601 · JS 824 · Christ, Be Our Light (Farrell)
SEPTEMBER 24 · Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gathering: BB 311 · JS 761 · Table of Plenty (Schutte)
Responsorial Psalm: BB 818 · JS 115 · Ps 145: I Will Praise Your Name/The Hand of the Lord Feeds Us (Soper)
Preparation of the Gifts: BB 505 · JS 732 · Only This I Want (Schutte)
Communion: BB 308 · JS 777 · Here At This Table (Whitaker)
Sending Forth: BB 410 · JS 647 · Lord of All Hopefulness (SLANE/Struther)
RESOURCES
MUSIC SELECTIONS: Ordinary Time III (Fall: September 3–November 26, 2023)