If you are someone who uses social media, it doesn’t take long to discover that the so-called liturgical “culture wars” are alive and well. Post after post on page after page reveal the ugly and unhelpful reality of the conflict. Authentic, thoughtful conversation and dialogue rarely happen, which is both unfortunate and unproductive. What is left, at least on social media and in the blogosphere, is often hyperbole, entrenchment, and judgement. So, what is a pastoral musician to do? How do we navigate these conflicts and make sense of them? How do we see through the judgement, and how do we take steps forward in our pastoral ministry?

Today, we’ll hear a special workshop presentation from Dan Schutte. Offered at the 2018 NPM convention in Baltimore, Dan presented a workshop titled “Honoring Our Musical Diversity: Navigating the Culture Wars.” In this session, Dan led participants through an exploration of ways to integrate a variety of genres, including chant, contemporary, and traditional hymnody, to celebrate the richness of our sacred music heritage in the liturgy.

We will be back with new, original interviews next week.