February 25, 2019

#053: Celebrating Black Sacred Music

February 25, 2019

In place of our customary interview, today we are bringing you an audio program from the Open Your Hymnal podcast. Open Your Hymnal, cohosted by Zack Stachowski and by me, is an independent project aimed at exploring liturgical music in the Catholic repertoire through interviews with composers and special guests.

Today, we’re focusing on the rich heritage of the Black sacred music tradition, and we’re blessed to be joined by two important voices: Leon Roberts (recorded in a presentation from 1985), and Lynne Gray. Leon and Lynne provide an exploration of the treasury of hymns, spirituals, and gospel songs. You’ll hear lots of standard and familiar music, and you’ll also hear selections from several contemporary composers.

Episode links

You can find out more about the work of Leon Roberts by visiting his composer pages at OCP and GIA Publications. You can find out more about Lynne Gray and her work by visiting St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church and the Duke Ellington School of the Arts.

You can listen to more episodes of the Open Your Hymnal podcast at www.openyourhymnal.com.

You can purchase the song recordings you heard in this episode: “We’ve Come This Far By Faith” (Goodson), “With Hands Lifted Up” (traditional), “Traditional Prayer with Moans” (anonymous), “Deep River” (anonymous), “Great is Thy Faithfulness” (traditional), “The Solid Rock (My Hope is Built on Nothing Less)” (Mote), “Father, I Stretch My Hands to Thee” (Wesley), “Lead Me, Guide Me” (Akers), “We Shall Walk Through the Valley in Peace” (Hatter), “The Lord is Blessing Me Right Now” (traditional), “Taste and See” (Moore), “Psalm 27: The Lord is My Light” (Harbor), “Lord, I Love You (God is So Good)” (Jansen), “Hail, Queen of Heaven” (Holland), “Holy, Holy, Holy” from the Mass of New Beginnings (Petty), “You’re the One” (Roberts).

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February 18, 2019

#052: Of Womb and Tomb (with Kate Williams)

February 18, 2019

In the book of Ecclesiastes, we hear that “there is a season for everything: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to laugh, and a time to mourn.” As pastoral ministers, we know that there is a need for pastoral ministry in all seasons of life. Our work calls us to be attentive and present in times of great joy and celebration as well as in times of great sadness and mourning. Sometimes we do better with the celebrating than the mourning.

Today, we’re discussing ministry to those who know the pain of loss. Specifically, we are talking about ministry to those who have struggled with the inability to conceive, who know the pain of losing a child before birth, and those who have faced their child’s death at the time of birth. How are we present to them? How do we minister in this time of deep and, often, isolated sadness? How can we accompany them on their grief journey? To explore these questions and more, we’ll speak with author and editor Kate Williams.

SHOW NOTES

You can learn more about Kate Williams by visiting the GIA Publications staff page.

You can order the book, “Of Womb and Tomb,” by visiting the GIA Publications website. Here you can also order the accompanying music collection, both in print and audio recording.

The music you heard in today’s episode: “Turn My Heart, O God” (Marty Haugen), and “I Have Been Anointed” (Steve Warner).

Visit NPM's digital resource library, referenced at the end of the episode.

February 11, 2019

#051: Maintaining Unity in Good Times and In Bad (with Bishop Mark Seitz)

February 11, 2019

When we started publishing this podcast, our first guest was Steve Petrunak, the president of NPM. Now, we are ending our first year of weekly programs with another leader in our organization, our episcopal moderator.

What’s an episcopal moderator do, you ask? Great question. We discussed the role with Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, the current liaison between NPM and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. We also discussed the current credibility crisis facing the Church, sex abuse, and the role pastoral musicians can play in bringing forth healing. We’ll hear all of this in today’s interview, and we’ll also hear from author Bill Huebsch about teaching grace to others in this week’s “Ministry Moment.”

SHOW NOTES

For more information about Bishop Mark Seitz and his work, visit the Diocese of El Paso website.

You can read Bishop Seitz’ letter to NPM members on the NPM website. You can access the 2019 Foley Lecture, given by Kim Daniels, on crisis and communication in the Church here.

You can find the book “Grace: God’s Greatest Gift” by author Bill Huebsch at Twenty-Third Publications.

The music you heard in today’s episode: “O How Blessed” (Dan Schutte), instrumental arrangement of “Blest Are They” (arr. David Feily), and “I Have Been Anointed” (Steve Warner).

Visit NPM's digital resource library, referenced at the end of the episode.