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 allo ..read more

Today’s episode explores the world of pipe organ repertoire. I so often hear discussions of high-level performance pieces fit for excellent organ concerts, but so often we may not take the time to discuss an organ repertoire that’s manageable and attainable for all levels of skill, and on a pastoral musician’s available time frame for learning. Organists who may have started as pianists and are learning how to play organ, or maybe organists who are, quite frankly, overcommitted to other tasks, can find beautiful, accessible organ music that supports the Mass each week. That is the starting poi ..read more

Subscribe to Ministry Monday on Spotify Subscribe to ministry monday on itunes This episode of Ministry Monday is brought to you by Ministry Scheduler Pro. Take the pain out of volunteer scheduling with powerful, easy-to-use software designed especially for scheduling liturgical ministries. Get started with a free trial at MinistrySchedulerPro.com. Happy Easter! We hope your Holy Week and Easter Sunday celebrations were filled with music, prayer and joy at the Resurrection of our Lord. We know this episode comes to you on Easter Monday, a day where pastoral musicians are hopefully resting aft ..read more

The marriage of melody to text is the essence of hymnody at its core. Both play a critical part in a hymn’s efficacy, both in conveying a message and encouraging a full participation by the worshipping assembly singing it. Today we focus on the text of a hymn: what is the genesis of a hymn text? How important is the relationship to text and a common hymn tune? What are some of the things we, as composers, or we as pastoral ministers need to listen for? Alan Hommerding shares his reflections on text-writing and the power of words we can utilize by simply singing a hymn ..read more

Today on the podcast we revisit the most-listened-to episode of 2022, which was also part 1 of Ministry Monday’s Exsultet series. We speak to Fr. Paul Turner about the historical context of the Exsultet, the sacred chant sung at the start of the Easter Vigil. The Exsultet 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 p ..read more

This episode is co-produced by Emily Strand. For more information about Emily and the podcasts she hosts, visit https://emilystrand.liturgyandlife.com ..read more

The music we choose speaks volumes about us as musicians, whether we realize it or not. It expresses our personal tastes in terms of style, genre, modality, and more. Not only that, our musical choices have the power to amplify the people behind them: from gender to culture, race to religion, the composers themselves are just as much a part of the music we choose as the notes on the page. It’s a topic we’ve discussed on the podcast before, but during Black History Month, I return to one of my favorite interviews of the history of the podcast. I spoke with Dr. Mickey Thomas Terry, organist and ..read more

Today Ministry Monday host Amanda Bruce speaks to Marilyn Santos, Associate Director of the Secretariat of Evangelization and Catechesis at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). They discuss the National Eucharistic Revival Musical Competition and the opportunity to compose the music that will be used at the 2024 Eucharistic Congress and across the country, sharing the love of the Eucharist. For more information, visit https://www.eucharisticcongress.org/musicalcompetition. The audio version of this episode as well as the show notes can be found at ministrymonday.org ..read more

This is our first new episode back for the podcast in quite some time! The podcast was on a brief hiatus as I enjoyed the first weeks of parenthood. I was blessed to welcome a son this past fall, but I’ll admit to you listeners that his arrival into the world did not come as planned. He came seven weeks early and had to be in the NICU for a month in order to facilitate more growth. As I made my maternity leave schedule – including the list of wonderful episodes I was going to record for the podcast – I didn’t anticipate such an early delivery! And so I am thankful for your understanding for th ..read more

This episode of Ministry Monday is sponsored by GIA Publications. Rooted in tradition with a clear focus on the future, Gather—Fourth Edition from GIA Publications features a diverse roster of composers and a wide breadth of musical styles in a worthy hardbound hymnal. Gather—Fourth Edition. Learn more at giamusic.com/hymnals. Subscribe to Ministry Monday on Spotify Subscribe to ministry monday on itunes September is Deaf Awareness Month in the United States. To a Deaf person, being deaf is not a disability! In fact, it is a subculture of its own that provides new, beautiful ways for worship ..read more