Ministry Monday

Today begins our second episode focusing on the Exsultet. Last week we featured a conversation with Fr. Paul Turner about the historical context of this sacred chant. If you missed it, it can be found wherever you listen to podcasts and at ministrymonday.org. This week we speak to Nicholas Will,  Director of Liturgical Music, Organist & Lecturer at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. 

This episode is unique in its truly didactic approach. As a result, it is perfect for the priest, deacon, cantor or other elected layperson who is preparing to sing this Exsultet this year. Nicholas takes us through learning the Exsultet, step by step, even if you don’t have a musical background. 

This episode in particular is most beneficial in its video podcast version! We recommend watching it, especially if you are learning the Exsultet this Lenten season. The video version of this episode can be found on NPM’s YouTube channel, NPM livestream, and in the show notes of the episode at ministrymonday.org. 

This week begins a 3-part series on the Exsultet. The Exsultet, the sacred chant sung at the start of the Easter Vigil, 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 domain", grants us all eternal life through His resurrection. It is to begin. Today Fr. Paul Turner provides a historical, biblical and liturgical context from which to prepare the Exsultet this Lent. When was the Exsultet first sung? How did it find its place at the start of the Easter Vigil? Why are deacons so often chosen for the role? And what about the role of bees in the newest translation? This episode comes with additional resources. We strongly encourage you to find them in the show notes at ministrymonday.org.

Today we feature a replay of an episode that was one of our most-watched and listened-to episodes in 2021. Today on the podcast I have the pleasure of speaking to Dr. Mickey Thomas Terry. 

Dr. Terry is a lecturer at Howard University in Washington, D.C. and Dr. Terry has also taught on the faculty of Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Dr. Terry speaks about the presence - and, until recently, the absence - of classical organ music by Black composers, particularly among published works for organ.

Today on the podcast I have the pleasure of speaking to Dr. Mickey Thomas Terry. Dr. Terry is a lecturer at Howard University in Washington, D.C. and Dr. Terry has also taught on the faculty of Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He is also Director of Music at Epiphany Catholic Church in Georgetown.  He is the recipient of the 2020-2021 Artist Fellowship awarded by the District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities.  A current biographical sketch of Dr. Terry also appears in Who’s Who in America.

Dr. Terry is the editor of a critically-acclaimed multi-volume (currently 8 vols) African-American Organ Music Anthology published by MorningStar Music Publishers (St. Louis, Missouri).

I met Dr. Terry in 2011 in a masterclass as I played from the African-American Organ Music Anthology. He was kind enough to discuss the Organ Music Anthology, as well as the struggles of African-American Organ composers and African-American classical composers.

As we look toward the spring, I can’t help but stop and think about the upcoming season in pastoral music: Lent, Easter, and of course followed by, wedding season. 

Now, prior to being a full-time staff member at NPM, I was the Director of Music at a church for 13 years that hosted 65-70 weddings per year. And during my time there, I met with every couple, helped them plan their music, and played for all of their ceremonies. 

I’ve often heard a dreadful saying by pastoral musicians that “I’d rather play three funerals versus one wedding.” While this has always bothered me, I think the roots lie in a mutual misunderstanding of young couples being married, and the pastoral musicians who serve them. The beauty of the Sacrament of Marriage can often be eclipsed by the secular aesthetic that couples mostly worry about, from the flowers to the bridal party to, of course, the bride and groom’s ensembles. But just because a couple may not fully grasp the Sacrament does not mean that they cannot enter into a paradigm of catechesis prior to their wedding day. And in fact, I think we shortchange many couples by assuming they do not grasp a general understanding of the liturgy and how it will relate to their wedding. Why not take it as an opportunity to bridge that gap of understanding, even if only to help them more deeply understand their wedding?

Today on Ministry Monday we speak to Paul Radkowski, Director of Music at the Church of St. Edward the Confessor in Granville, Ohio. Paul discusses the ways that pastoral musicians can support couples as they prepare for the Sacrament of Marriage: how can they best plan their ceremony music? what if a loved one wants to sing in the wedding? What if the couple wants to include secular music in the wedding? Paul addresses these questions and more.

Today we are happy to share an episode of "Meet Father Rivers" on the podcast today. Author and musician Emily Strand examines the life, legacy and her own brief, personal encounter with a little-known but essential figure in American Catholic history: Black liturgist and composer Fr. Clarence Joseph Rivers.

In this episode of “Meet Father Rivers”, podcast host Emily Strand tells the story of Fr. Rivers’ early career and the efforts toward liturgical inculturation that eventually brought him fame. She talks to Dr. Jessie Thomas who was a child at St. Joseph school in Cincinnati when Fr. Rivers was a young priest in the late 1950s. Emily recounts an early incident of liturgical disobedience by Fr. Rivers, effectively protesting the exclusion of Black forms of music in Catholic worship.

We’d like to thank Emily for allowing us to replay this episode, and hope you will subscribe to Meet Father Rivers as well. Without further ado, let’s begin!

You voted and we listened! The most listened-to and voted-for episode was "A Historical Intervention on the Basis of Chant" with Fr. John Glasenapp. Brother John’s viewpoint on chant in the Church is deeply rooted in a full historical context, which is what we’re to discuss today. Why can chant be challenging to today’s pastoral musicians? What are the roots from which chant was created? What are the roots of chant in the Catholic Church? How did we get here?

Brother John joins me from the archabbey in Saint Meinrad, Indiana.

Today continues our series on continuing education. There are many music degrees available across the country at respected colleges, but what about music ministry-specific degrees? How can we combine the experience of a college education with high-level musical, theological and liturgical educations as well? Today on the podcast I discuss the unveiling of a brand-new program available at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The program, built for an undergraduate program, seeks to provide a realistic education for today’s music minister.

Today I sit down with Dr. Stephen Benham to discuss this brand new program. Dr. Benham is a professor of Music Education at Duquesne University and a sacred musician himself. He joins us today from his office in Pittsburgh. 

Today continues our series on continuing education. Gail Hartin, chair of the Cantor Certificate Committee, talks with us about the benefits of achieving each level of the Cantor Certificate process. Why is it important? Why should a cantor commit to a Cantor Certificate? This is a great episode to send to your cantors who are considering working towards a certificate in 2022! 

Before we begin our first episode of 2022, we want to take a moment and ask for your vote on the best of Ministry Monday episode in 2021. From Gregorian chant to live streaming, the Exsultet to the liturgical prayers, improvisation to the public domain and everything in between, it’s been a busy year for Ministry Monday. This year we produced 47 episodes of topics on music, ministry and liturgy, and we’d love to hear your feedback. What did you like the most in last year’s Ministry Monday programming?

Vote for your favorite 2021 topics and/or episodes from Ministry Monday here. Deadline to vote is January 24, 2022. We will feature the “best of” episode in Ministry Monday on January 31, 2022!

Well, I hope this episode finds you rested and at least partially recovered from the joy and stress of the Christmas celebrations! We find these weeks in Winter Ordinary Time to be those of restoration and recovery when it comes to pastoral music. It’s a moment of breath before we pivot and, yes, start to think of Lent. But let’s not begin that journey just yet! Today starts a month-long focus on continuing education opportunities. As we begin this new calendar year, it's important for us to take time for renewal, education and formation. It's at the center of who we are and what we do at NPM. This year we are committing to learning and formation opportunities, and invite you to join us! 

The first opportunity of learning we’ll be featuring is The Essentials of Catholic Liturgy. Liturgy, Life and Discipleship, the third track of the Essentials of Catholic Liturgy, begins this month and is developed in partnership with NPM and LTP. These six weeks of courses emphasize the celebration of the Eucharist as our source and summit of Christian life, and will help pastoral ministers—musicians and liturgists, notably—discuss and break open how liturgy interacts with the modern world, evangelization, mystagogy, social justice, and spirituality. 

And so I sat down with Timothy Johnston to dig deeper. Until very recently, Timothy served as an Editor and Liturgical Training Consultant for Liturgy Training Publications. Timothy joins us today from the Archdiocese of Washington, DC. 

This week is the last week in our Advent series of episodes. We know that you have endured countless rehearsals, questions from your choir members about what time to show up for Midnight Mass, a few run-ins with sick volunteers, and maybe fighting a cold yourself. You’ve had concerts and prayer services, reconciliation services and extra staff meetings…the list goes on. This week’s episode is meant to give you a moment of reprieve before the big week ahead.

Today I speak to Laura Araujo (a-rah-hoe), a classically trained vocalist and founder of the Maps Institute, an organization dedicated to mindfulness and intention for all. Laura helps us ask, “how can we stop and find moments of rest amidst the chaos that lies ahead this week?” Allow me to give you a spoiler: Laura’s advice just takes minutes of your day, and can have a world of benefits.