Ministry Monday

Even at a young age music was very important in our house. As my father was once a live and radio DJ, I spent many nights in my father’s game room, (gently) dropping the needle onto an album with him, discussing the historical and cultural importance of music from the 1960s and 1970s in particular. One of the most impactful albums in my memory was the Moody Blues’s “A Question of Balance”. Now, the Moody Blues were a mainstay in our musical repertoire. “Days of Future Passed” were on regular rotation. But there was something about “A Question of Balance” that has always stuck with me. The album discusses finding the balance within societal unrest, technological advances, and humanity in the late 1960s into 1970, but the phrase, “a question of balance,” is deeply etched in my guiding principles. I’m not necessarily good at it, but it’s something I try to improve on every day.

I’ll confess to you, listeners, that I think music ministry sometimes becomes a question of balance. The demands of music ministry and balance are sometimes, in my opinion, mutually incompatible. With parish mergers increasing nationally, we sometimes find ourselves doing more Masses across more church sites, sometimes with no discussion of pay increase despite the additional workload. (I know a pastoral minister who had 9 Masses across 4 locations each weekend, not mentioning funerals and weddings!) It is, of course, part of our ministry to be fully present on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, often with 3 hours of sleep in between. If a parish requests music for any additional occasion- a Mission Mass for Lent, Stations of the Cross, a Lenten penance service, you name it- music is very often requested, adding to the commitments, spiritual, and musical demands of a season. And yet in the midst of these challenging commitments, there are beautiful moments of God’s presence that we find in our music ministers, our parishioners, and the community at large. It’s a divine calling to be sure.

In the midst of this calling are the practical realities we face every day. We must make ends meet, which can at times be challenging on a parish musician’s salary. Furthermore, the National Office has seen a trend of job listings that ask for 4-6 Masses/weekend covered, 2 choirs to direct, covering all weddings and funerals, as a part-time position. These are the realities many ministers face. And while some work to re-establish a music ministry’s value with their clergy and church leadership, others seek another career path, leaving church ministry less and less covered than it used to be. This is not a new story to many of you listening, I’m sure.

But if we were open to this conversation, how would it go? If we cannot maintain a full-time status for our Directors of Music, how can we invite more music ministers to serve, knowing that they have jobs somewhere else? That, dear listeners, is a question of balance.

Today we chat with Sean Holland, a part-time music minister in Kansas City, Missouri, who also works full-time as a manager of the largest garden store in the city. Sean discusses the things he does in both his part-time and full-time jobs to balance the two, both prayerfully and practically.

Ministry Monday is back with new episodes, new topics, and a new video intro and outro! If you haven’t seen our podcast in its video form, check it out. The links are in the show notes of this episode at ministrymonday.org and at our YouTube page, youtube.com/npmlivestream. It’s been a true joy to take a few weeks off of the podcast to gather these new conversations for upcoming episodes. I think you’re going to like it. I’d also like to thank those who reached out asking why we hadn’t returned yet from our Christmas break! It shows that you listen and enjoy the podcast, which is great news to us. We hope you keep listening this spring.

Today we begin season 9 of the podcast. Our season begins with a conversation with Fr. Roc O’Connor, a Jesuit priest and founding member of the St. Louis Jesuits. Since October 2021, he has served as a staff member at the Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House in Barrington, Illinois. Our conversation today centers around the Word of God. Fr. Roc’s initial reflections to start our interview best reflect where we begin: "The Word is spoken. It can elicit feelings from attraction to aversion. These locate adults in relation to God, to Christ in the moment. It's how we become present to the Word." Fr. Roc joins us today from Barrington, Illinois.

Taken from the Ministry Monday archives in 2019, this episode features multiple pastoral musicians who share their reflections on preparing ourselves for Christmas- while preparing so many others. This episode features an article by Chris Titko (J.W. Pepper) as well as interviews with Matt Maus and Anna Betancourt.

I once had a cantor who recently had a baby. She wanted to minister quickly after her child was born, but balancing two children with varying work schedules was a constant challenge for her. I told her that we would welcome her back as a minister in any way that her schedule would allow.  

One morning, her husband had an unexpected work commitment, so she brought her toddler and infant with her to church. They were both incredibly well-behaved until the preparation of the gifts, but this didn’t stop my cantor. With her toddler next to her leg and her infant on her hip, she sang “How Great Thou Art”. She looked at her infant as she sang, “O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the works Thy hands have made….” There was not a dry eye in the house. She ministered to all of us in multiple ways that day, and she reminded me of the power of lay leadership.

You know, we are so quick to cling to the role of the clergy, I think we often forget the presence of God that lives within us and flows through us as we minister.

And that is the conversation we’re having today. I sat down with Brother Louis Canter to discuss the importance of Lay Ecclesial ministry, a term that is either fresh or incredibly well-worn in your local diocesan vocabulary. Brother Louis believes that the key to the church’s future lies within the lay ministers who serve the church with their time, talent and treasures, big and small:

Today on the podcast we feature the leadership team of the Jefferson City, Missouri, chapter. They are NPM's 2025 Chapter of the year! We discuss the ways the chapter has increased their membership, cultivated consistent programming, and some of the most important relationships that have strengthened the chapter.

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 without projecting the human voice. It can also be done with plenty of social distancing, if space allows. And more than anything, it provides the community of a choir without singing- a perfect option for those who want to use their musical gifts without singing.

Handbell choirs are a great option in a music ministry program, but some music ministers may not know where to start: how can I afford handbells? Who do I purchase them from? How do I teach (and direct) a handbell choir? These questions and many more are addressed in my conversation today.

Donna Kinsey has served for over 50 years as the pastoral musician for St. Francis De Sales Parish. She has taught music for public and Catholic schools in both Morgantown, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. She is also a handbell clinician and has spearheaded the National Catholic Handbell Festivals with the National Association of Pastoral Musicians.

This episode is truly a primer on starting a handbell choir. Not only that, Donna has provided a handout in the “show notes” of this episode for additional tips. If you’ve ever considered starting a handbell choir, this is the episode for you.

The musical world (both in music education, technology, and music ministry) has been adjusting to the reality of a world without Finale. It’s been a guiding post in music notation software for many musicians. It’s the software I learned on in music school. But sadly, after announcing last year that MakeMusic (Finale’s parent company) would no longer support new software updates, it was time to begin shopping for another option.

Today’s episode of Ministry Monday features the prelude to a 4-part series on music notation software that NPM offered in the spring of 2024. While we invite you to watch all sessions if you’re an NPM member (as it is a membership benefit), we offer a segment of the first episode which featured a discussion on copyright licensing within the paradigm of music notation software. To put it bluntly, we ask: are we allowed to re-engrave on music notation software, for the sake of a unified worship aid? If so, how do we report? And many more questions.

For more information on Dorico, a music notation software which has become the frontrunner for Finale’s replacement, check out the article written by Tony Ward in the July edition of Pastoral Music magazine. It’s a resource that’s yet another benefit of an NPM membership. (Have I sold you on renewing your membership yet?)

This week's episode of Ministry Monday features composer and NPM member Luke Rosen. In this replay episode from October 2023, 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.