This week on Ministry Monday we are excited to speak to leadership from the NPM Saginaw Chapter. The Saginaw Chapter is NPM's 2023 Chapter of the Year. Today they share the chapter's origins, some of the chapter's most-loved programming, and some of the reasons they find inspiration and motivation through NPM, both locally and nationally.
Today on Ministry Monday we are thrilled to offer an episode from Meet Father Rivers, a podcast celebrating the life and legacy of Father Clarence Joseph Rivers. Father Rivers - a little-known but essential figure in American Catholic history - was a composer of liturgical music as well as an author on music and spirituality. Today we hear from the hosts of Meet Father Rivers, Emily Strand and Eric Styles. They interview pianist, pastoral musician, liturgist, workshop presenter and composer Mr. ...
This week's episode of Ministry Monday features composer and NPM member Luke Rosen. Luke shares his reflections on the many things a pastoral musician can consider as they compose music, whether it's for a parish music ministry or just for personal enjoyment.
Today we go to the Ministry Monday archives and re-discover one of the most popular episodes. We speak to Brother John Glasenapp, a Benedictine monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey in southern Indiana, where he currently serves as the Director of the newly-formed Saint Meinrad Institute for Sacred Music.
Today we speak to Irish Catholic singer DANA. Her story begins in Northern Ireland, representing Ireland in the world-famous Eurovision contest. After winning this prestigious competition, her career carried her through both pop music and Catholic music, listening to the Lord's voice throughout each step. Her story is a decades-long testament to her spirituality and openness, and the music she has created to guide and inspire so many others.
Ministry Monday is happy to offer a 2-part series on Lessons and Carols! Today's episode features NPM member Timothy Lewicki, Director of Music at All Saints Catholic Church in Manassas, Virginia. Timothy shares his best practices for Lessons and Carols at his parish and provides some takeaways for recruitment, engagement, and musicality, whether it's your parish's tenth Lessons and Carols or your first time offering the service. It's a great conversation to round out our discussion on Lessons a...
Ministry Monday is happy to offer a 2-part series on Lessons and Carols! Our first part of the series features Jennifer Runge, NPM member and Director of Sacred Music at Parish of the Holy Eucharist (Diocese of Portland, Maine). On this episode, Jennifer shares her best practices and suggestions on how to offer Lessons and Carols, both musically and considering the needs of a merged/clustered parish.
Choir season is quickly approaching. We know that you’re planning which choir anthems to use, the rehearsal schedule and the plans for each rehearsal, but in this episode, we encourage you to pause and think about the needs of a choir a little bit differently this fall. Today’s guest is Steven C. Warner. Steven Warner is the founder of the Notre Dame Folk Choir and, until recently, worked for the Notre Dame Newman Center for Faith and Reason in Dublin, Ireland. One of Steve’s many gifts lies in ...
I’m happy to be back after a brief summer hiatus from Ministry Monday. It was great to meet many of you at the convention, both in person and virtually! And now we’re back. Today on Ministry Monday we speak to Daniel Ladner and Beth Shaver, two pastoral musicians, NPM members, and father and daughter. While both have served in music ministry for decades, Daniel himself has served in music ministry for 72 years- at the same church! Today we get the chance to hear both Beth and Dan’s stories in mu...
We are ramping up our summer schedules here in the Ministry Monday studio! This means plenty of preparation for our summer Ordinary Time liturgies, planning our summer formation opportunities, and of course, carving out some time to enjoy the summer sunshine as well. We found ourselves gravitating to an episode from the Ministry Monday archives, which was also a reflection from the 2021 National Convention by Kate Basi. Her Key Change presentation, named, “How to Pray While I’m Working,” reflect...
Today's episode of Ministry Monday celebrates Taizé in both the small village and the music it offers in contemplation and prayer. Today we speak to David Anderson, Editor-at-Large for GIA Publications and Director of Music and Liturgy at Ascension Catholic Church in Oak Park, Illinois. David has visited Taizé, France, several times, and has led monthly Taizé services for years in his parish. He reflects about the depth and beauty of Taizé and how you can implement its music and spirituality in ...
There are so many ways to involve a parish community in its music ministry, and not all of them, of course, include singing. Haven’t we all heard the parishioner who says, “I can’t join the music ministry - I can’t sing!” Luckily for us, music ministry today can include instrumental assistance, including a handbell choir. In many instances, handbell choirs were the only choirs allowed in a parish setting during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a choir setting that can be accomplished wit...
Today we speak to Jose Gallardo, Ariel Mayormita, and Maria Nieva, members of the NPM Asian Pacific community. They share their devotional practices to the Blessed Virgin Mary and how they are inextricably woven into Filipino culture. We also speak about the importance of Saint Pedro Calungsod and his importance in Filipino spirituality as well. We encourage you to check out the show notes of this episode, as well as the video version of this episode, at ministrymonday.org.
Today’s episode explores the world of pipe organ repertoire. I so often hear discussions of high-level performance pieces fit for excellent organ concerts, but so often we may not take the time to discuss an organ repertoire that’s manageable and attainable for all levels of skill, and on a pastoral musician’s available time frame for learning. Organists who may have started as pianists and are learning how to play organ, or maybe organists who are, quite frankly, overcommitted to other tasks, c...
This episode of Ministry Monday is brought to you by Ministry Scheduler Pro. Take the pain out of volunteer scheduling with powerful, easy-to-use software designed especially for scheduling liturgical ministries. Get started with a free trial at MinistrySchedulerPro.com. Happy Easter! We hope your Holy Week and Easter Sunday celebrations were filled with music, prayer and joy at the Resurrection of our Lord. We know this episode comes to you on Easter Monday, a day where pastoral musicians are h...
The marriage of melody to text is the essence of hymnody at its core. Both play a critical part in a hymn’s efficacy, both in conveying a message and encouraging a full participation by the worshipping assembly singing it. Today we focus on the text of a hymn: what is the genesis of a hymn text? How important is the relationship to text and a common hymn tune? What are some of the things we, as composers, or we as pastoral ministers need to listen for? Alan Hommerding shares his reflections on t...
Today on the podcast we revisit the most-listened-to episode of 2022, which was also part 1 of Ministry Monday’s Exsultet series. We speak to Fr. Paul Turner about the historical context of the Exsultet, the sacred chant sung at the start of the Easter Vigil. The Exsultet is such a distinct moment in the Triduum journey: covered in darkness, punctuated by candlelight, the Exsultet is a 9-minute chant prefacing what is about to happen in the Easter Vigil liturgy: Christ, returning "from death's d...
This episode is co-produced by Emily Strand. For more information about Emily and the podcasts she hosts, visit https://emilystrand.liturgyandlife.com/.
The music we choose speaks volumes about us as musicians, whether we realize it or not. It expresses our personal tastes in terms of style, genre, modality, and more. Not only that, our musical choices have the power to amplify the people behind them: from gender to culture, race to religion, the composers themselves are just as much a part of the music we choose as the notes on the page. It’s a topic we’ve discussed on the podcast before, but during Black History Month, I return to one of my fa...
Today Ministry Monday host Amanda Bruce speaks to Marilyn Santos, Associate Director of the Secretariat of Evangelization and Catechesis at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). They discuss the National Eucharistic Revival Musical Competition and the opportunity to compose the music that will be used at the 2024 Eucharistic Congress and across the country, sharing the love of the Eucharist. For more information, visit https://www.eucharisticcongress.org/musicalcompetition. T...
This is our first new episode back for the podcast in quite some time! The podcast was on a brief hiatus as I enjoyed the first weeks of parenthood. I was blessed to welcome a son this past fall, but I’ll admit to you listeners that his arrival into the world did not come as planned. He came seven weeks early and had to be in the NICU for a month in order to facilitate more growth. As I made my maternity leave schedule – including the list of wonderful episodes I was going to record for the podc...
Today we replay an episode from last summer, featuring Katie Deaver from ONE LICENSE. Katie breaks down the many ways that we can use copyright licensing to our advantage, and helps us realize that reporting our usage supports the composers who wrote the beautiful music we use every week. In more ways than one, copyright licensing is more important than ever.
Subscribe to Ministry Monday on Spotify Subscribe to ministry monday on itunes This episode discusses topics of infertility, miscarriage and child loss, and could be triggering for some. Today’s episode faces the indescribable pain of miscarriage, stillbirth and the loss of a child. October 15 is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, and offers a chance for parishes to minister to families who carry a grief that no one ever should. We speak to Leeanne Schweiger, a woman who has started the ...
This episode of Ministry Monday is sponsored by GIA Publications. Rooted in tradition with a clear focus on the future, Gather—Fourth Edition from GIA Publications features a diverse roster of composers and a wide breadth of musical styles in a worthy hardbound hymnal. Gather—Fourth Edition. Learn more at giamusic.com/hymnals. September is Deaf Awareness Month in the United States. To a Deaf person, being deaf is not a disability! In fact, it is a subculture of its own that provides new, beautif...
Choir season is quickly approaching. We know that you’re planning which choir anthems to use, the rehearsal schedule and the plans for each rehearsal, but in this episode, we encourage you to pause and think about the needs of a choir a little bit differently this fall. Steven Warner is the founder of the Notre Dame Folk Choir and, until recently, worked for the Notre Dame Newman Center for Faith and Reason in Dublin, Ireland. One of Steve’s many gifts lies in his ability to foster true inclusio...
Today we speak to Timothy Johnston about the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, or the GIRM: what are its origins? How can we navigate this document for our ministries, both as a tool for learning and a liturgical reference? Stay tuned to NPM’s future programming for more educational support on how to best use the liturgical documents to guide our efforts in pastoral ministry. For more information about The Essentials of Catholic Liturgy, mentioned in this episode, visit teocl.org....
Many of our listeners are pastoral ministers, whether that’s in music, liturgy, religious education, or other facets of the parish life at large. But today’s focus is religious education. The early days of our faith formation are so critical, and are an absolutely vital part of our Church, its legacy and its future, all at once. Not unlike the needs of other ministries, religious education continues to change and evolve in hopes to meet youth where they are and gain a sense of belonging and pres...
Today's Ministry Monday episode features NPM's 2021 Jubilate Deo Award recipient, John Baldovin, SJ. Fr. Baldovin reflects on Pope Francis's new Apostolic Letter on the Liturgy, "Desiderio Desideravi". Fr. Baldovin’s reflections focus on four main points, of which you will hear identified through interlude music: Was this document expected? What is the message of Desiderio Desideravi ? Liturgy and Theology of the Church What does it mean for regular Catholics? In addition, we’d like to thank the...
Today Ministry Monday replays part two its focus on making the most out of the public domain. With music-buying budgets being squeezed tighter than ever, making the public domain work for you can be a huge asset as you spend the summer planning for fall repertoire.
Before we begin, we want to hear some feedback from you, our listeners. This summer Ministry Monday will be focusing on parish mergers and its impact on music ministry. We want to know: are you working at a parish that has recently merged? Or are you about to merge with another parish? Is your diocese undergoing a consolidation? What were some of the things that best unified your parishes' music programs? Or what advice would you wish you had when you were consolidating a music program? Email us...
