August 27, 2019

#071: Ministering in a Time of Tragedy (with Peter Kolar)

August 27, 2019

Today’s episode is about ministering in times of tragedy. In the past year, too many communities have been torn apart by violence, injustice, natural disaster, or other devastating events. In these times, words fail. No matter how well our liturgy or Scripture classes have prepared us, we can feel like we don’t know what to do. Yet, it is at these times that music can be the most transformative.

Today, we’ll hear from Peter Kolar. An accomplished pastoral musician and composer, Peter shares with us today his experience ministering in the aftermath of the recent mass shooting in El Paso, Texas.

SHOW NOTES

For more information about Peter Kolar and his compositions, visit his biography pages at World Library Publications and GIA Publications.

You can access Peter’s full article by visiting the “Sing, Amen!” blog post from August 24, 2019.

The recordings of "The Cloud’s Veil" (Liam Lawton), instrumental piano “The Cloud’s Veil” (arr. Paul Tate), “Nada te Turbe” (arr. Marty Haugen), and “Go, Silent Friend/In Paradisum” (arr. Steve Petrunak) were produced by GIA Publications.

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

All content of this podcast is property of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians or its content suppliers and is protected by United States and international copyright laws. For information about the podcast and its use, please contact us.

August 12, 2019

#070: Understanding Liturgical Assessment (REPLAY)

August 12, 2019

This is a special rebroadcast of our episode from July, 2018.

In last week’s episode, we explored the concept of operational development with Kathy Bartlett. In that conversation, we examined how we in pastoral ministry should apply a strategic, organizational lens to the way we view our work in order to be both efficient and effective.

Today, we are continuing this thread of practical, strategic, and professional topics by discussing the concept of liturgical assessment. Now, before you hit the “skip” button or push “pause,” consider this question for a moment. How effective are your parish liturgies? If your response was negative, what high impact steps can your community take to address this ineffectiveness? If your response was positive, what objective evidence can you point to in order to back up your claim?

Liturgical assessment is NOT about imposing or challenging musical or aesthetic taste, it is NOT about evaluating the personal worth of you or your volunteer ministers, and it certainly isn’t about the style wars. It is about giving good, accurate, real information about the experience of those who participate in your liturgies so that you know what your community does well and so that you know exactly what to do about those things your community doesn’t do so well. To help us understand the process, we’ll speak with assessment expert Mike Novak.

SHOW NOTES

For more information about Mike Novak, visit his biography page at World Library Publications.

You can download the three resources mentioned in the conversation using the links below. NOTE: These were created by Mike Novak and are his intellectual property. The files are included here for your reference and your professional use. Please ensure that you properly credit the source of these resources.

Handout 1: Overview of the Parish Liturgy Assessment Process

Handout 2: Liturgy Assessment Tool

Handout 3: Sample Assessment Report

The recordings of "They'll Know We Are Christians" was produced by World Library Publications. "Give Us Peace" was produced by GIA Publications.

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

July 29, 2019

#069: Exploring NPM 2.0 (with Jeremy Helmes)

July 29, 2019

We’ve been enjoying a little summer break here at Ministry Monday. It’s been a few weeks since we released a new episode. In that time, lots has been happening. The annual Guitar and Ensemble Institute just wrapped up. The second annual One Call Institute was a wild success. And, of course, the national convention was held in Raleigh, North Carolina.

That’s where I want to begin, back in Raleigh. There has been much ongoing conversation about this convention and, specifically, the roll-out of a new strategic vision for the association, branded as “NPM 2.0.” To say it plain, reactions were mixed. Some elements of the new vision were warmly received while others caused many questions (or even pushback).

So, our conversation today will explore this NPM 2.0 proposal a little more. What is being proposed? What will the process look like? How will we as members be involved? Is it a “done deal,” or is the vision still being shaped and formed? To help us out, we’ll speak with Jeremy Helmes, the current Chair of the NPM Board of Directors.

SHOW NOTES

For more information about Jeremy Helmes and NPM’s leadership, visit the NPM website. You can also find his book, “Three Great Days: Preparing the Liturgies of the Paschal Triduum” from Liturgical Press.

You can read more about NPM 2.0 and access all of the documents associated with the process by visiting the NPM website.

The recordings of “O God, Our Help in Ages Past” (William Croft, Isaac Watts) was produced by OCP. The recording of “To the Poor a Lasting Treasure” (Fr. Francis Patrick O’Brien) is produced by GIA Publications. The recording of “Go Out” (W. Clifford Petty) is produced by World Library Publications.

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