This week, across the country, thousands of parish communities are celebrating Catholic Schools Week. My connections to Catholic school are many – an educator, administrator, graduate, current parent, and more. I know many of you have connections to Catholic schools, too, and at various levels. But what I’d like to focus on today is how our work as pastoral musicians and liturgists intersects with the work of Catholic education. In some communities, the connection between parish and school is close and cooperative. In others, the parish and school operate so independently of one another that, save for physical proximity, you’d never know they were connected.

I’m hoping to explore these complex realities directly and in depth in future episodes. Today, however, we’re starting with something more basic. How do we engage the children of our parish in worship? How do we invite youth to appreciate a variety of traditional and contemporary liturgical music styles? To address these questions, we’ll begin with some thoughts from Dr. Elaine Rendler. We’ll also hear from the Congregation on Catholic Education in this week’s Ministry Moment.