Ministry Monday

Today we’re turning back the clock and hearing part of a previous episode of Ministry Monday, called “Physical Health and the Pastoral Musician”. Played in February 2019, former Ministry Monday host Matt Reichert interviewed Dr. Paul Schafer, a doctor from the Minneapolis region. We hope it is a good reminder of the things we can do to take care of our bodies, now and once we’re back in our churches for ministry again.

Today is our 99th episode! We can barely believe it. As we prepare to bring you our 100th episode next week, we thought it would be fitting to look back at the beginning. Today we bring episode #1 back to you.

Today we hear from Mary Birmingham, a minister and speaker on catechesis. Mary brings her passion for the liturgy and the Rite of Christian Initiation and its power to transform hearts to this work of evangelization hoping it will assist catechists in their remarkable conversion centered ministries.

Today we talk about our individual baptismal call, especially in the midst of our self-isolating reality. In this particular holiest of weeks, Mary’s insights fortified me for the week ahead. We hope it helps you too.

Last week we interviewed Fr. Walt Rydzon, a retired priest from the Diocese of Pittsburgh who ministered to both hearing and deaf communities for his priesthood. If you haven’t listened to it, we encourage you to. This week we take the conversation one step further and talk about deaf ministry and music ministry working on a week-by-week basis together. We speak to Karen Shepherd, Director of the Deaf Choir at Saint Mary of the Mount Parish, the official home for the deaf community in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Karen has been the director of the deaf choir for almost 20 years.

Karen explores what is a deaf choir, as well as the subtleties of an “interpreted” Mass versus a “signed” Mass. Karen also spearheaded the installation of a “hearing loop” system in her church and shares what we need to know, as pastoral musicians, should we ever want to install one in our own churches.

The next two weeks of the podcast will discuss deaf culture & music ministry from a clergy member who devoted most of his priesthood to being their advocate, and a woman who is a “deaf choir” director, and yes, that’s a very real thing. This two-part series will help us, as a hearing people, explore the context of a deaf person, and see the ways they “hear” and experience music, which yes, they do! Now, just to be clear: I’ve worked with the deaf community for 7 years, and the terms “deaf person” and “deaf people” are not negative. But the term “disabled person” or “disability” hold more tension than the former, and we’ll get into that today. This week we begin by speaking to a priest who dedicated his priesthood to both a hearing and deaf community. We hear how he started in this ministry, and what we need to know about deaf culture, as a hearing people.  

Today’s episode hopes to give you some insight into the thoughts and hearts of pastoral musicians across the country right now. We’ll hear from different Dioceses, from publishers and copyright licensing companies, and lastly, we’ll hear from our NPM president, Steve Petrunak.

This is a hefty episode because we wanted to make it chock full of stories, perspectives, and practical tips for you to apply in your music ministry. And besides, we all have plenty of time right now anyway, so sit back, relax and listen to our special episode ahead.

Today we speak to Steven C. Warner, Associate Director for the Notre Dame Newman Center for Faith and Reason (Dublin, Ireland). We discuss the Catholic Church in Ireland today, especially on the cusp of the feast of St. Patrick. Not only that, Steve was gracious enough to provide two unreleased songs from his upcoming album, “Easter in Ireland”. Today’s episode will feature the world premieres of these two songs! We’ll play them both in their entirety, and for this reason, the episode will be a bit longer than the 20-minute episodes we’ve been doing lately. We think that it’s well worth it. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this week’s episode of song and reflection.

Today on the podcast we hear from Tom Kendzia, composer and chair of the Composers Interest Section. Tom is a liturgical musician whose music has been published since 1980. In 2020, he celebrates the 40th anniversary of the release of his first collection, “Light of the World.” Tom participated in the first NPM Convention in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and the first NPM Composers’ Forum Competition a year later. After 40 years of composing, Tom continues to write and publish his music, while also being the Chair of the Composers Interest Section at NPM…and, of course, still ministering to his church community of 35 years.