May the angels lead her to paradise, and may she rejoice with her King and Savior.
And may God have mercy on those who failed to hear His voice in this tragedy.
John Schultz: March 2005 Archives
Here's your cheese hat trick for the week. In fact, we've mentioned cheese so much this week it wouldn't surprise me if we start getting hits from Google searches like "cheese+balanced+diet."
RC got me thinking earlier this week. He said even at his indult Mass they have a little cheese. And if you can have Spaghetti commercial music at the indult Mass, what's wrong with a little English Nationalist music at your suburban High Mass? What's wrong with foot-stomping Irish favorites like "Canticle of the Turning?"
Are sentimental or "worldly" musical styles like eating a Big Mac once a month - enjoyed sparingly they can be good for the body and soul?
Leave thoughts below...
Did someone hide a camera in my cheese drawer?
Virginia's collective waistband increasing fastest in nation
Better late than never, right? Here are some thoughts on the situation described in this post.
First - there were great comments and great advice. An unhappy pastor is never easy to deal with. It strikes me that he hasn't made a move yet, and may not be inclined to make wholesale changes or may just be waiting for the best time. While you still have the time - here's what I would recommend.
Recruiting
The fastest way to add men to the group is to try to recruit husband/wife teams. We have always had at least two or three in my thirty person choir and they help a great deal. This would help recruit men and make the membership base of the choir more stable.
How do you recruit husband/wife teams? You have to ask for them. Try to get two minutes during your standard announcement time to make a pitch. Thank people for singing, and ask to see a show of hands of people who have sung in choirs in the past, from elementary school and on up. You'll be surprised how many hands you see. Some of those people, if reminded that they had a good time in the past, would be inclined to get the choir a try. Mention husband and wife teams specifically. Mention that you are trying to recruit another X number of people, including Y men. Mention that a bigger choir can do a better job and help fulfill the mission of parish music programs - give glory to God and support congregational singing.
When recruiting, you need to make sure you get the name, phone and e-mail of the people who express interest. Don't just give them the info and hope they come to rehearsal. Get their info and tell them you'll call or e-mail them with a little reminder.
Hymnal
Not Gather. Not Gather Comprehensive (a larger block of cheese.) Ritual Song is an excellent hymnal with the exception of the psalm texts. It has something for everyone and leans to the traditional. It's big and red, not flimsy and brown. There's no confusion when you ask people to grab the red hymnal and turn to #559. The OCP hymnals have improved over the last several years but still have loads of cheese, fewer options for acclamations and psalms and look and feel cheap.
If you can't replace Gather, then you need to do your best. There are some good selections, but you need to look hard, and some of the music may be repetitive from week to week. Even Ritual Song doesn't have a great selection of Lenten hymns... I imagine Gather is worse.
Sound System
Try to resist changes to the sound system that would make the organ and choir super loud. On congregational pieces, the organ should be loud enough that it makes self-critical people hear more organ than their own voice. Choir mics are like bad lighting - they amplify any flaws and may make people run for the exits if the end up amplifying the wrong people. (When I first arrived at my parish the first thing I did was remove the choir mics. I told the choir I'd teach them to sing so that they didn't need mics. It's worked out fine.)
Someone mentioned Thomas Day in the comments boxes. He had a good point about sound systems, which was if you flood the congregation with vocal sound they don't think you need any more assistance. He called the classically trained singer blasted thru the mic "Mr. Caruso" - it's all about the cantor, not about the congregation. Sound systems, like anything else, can be abused - sounds like the pastor has some misconceptions about them.
Tempo and Organ
The tempo of hymns and songs can cause major problems for a congregation. Hymns that are too slow make everyone feel out of breath. Songs that are too fast can be much harder to sing. Hopefully your organist breathes with the choir so he understands how much time is needed between verses and where there are breaks in the music. I can always tell if an organist sings or not: Singing organists always make it easier for the congregation to sing. Organists who don't help the congregation breath end up causing major problems.
Organ registrations also need to be reviewed. If the pastor thinks the organ is too soft, the problem might not be volume but registrations. The organ shouldn't sound light and sweet all the time. Big hymns demand big registrations, and varying registrations with each verse can build momentum through the piece.
That's all for now. If you give me more detail, I may be able to provide more advice.
God bless, and thanks again for all the great comments in the original post.
