“Parish collaboratives support the unity and identity of each parish, while at the same time encouraging the parish communities to work together for the common good and the mission of the new evangelization. Each parish retains its identity and integrity as a distinct canonical entity…” – Disciples in Mission
“Why do we have hymnals at one parish and worship aids at another?” I get asked this question a lot, and to be honest, occasionally ask myself that question as well. There are benefits and drawbacks to each approach. Worship aids are significantly more labor-intensive to design, print, and distribute on a regular basis, but allow for a vast repertoire of selections from every major Catholic publisher of English-language liturgical music. Annual hymnals (such as Breaking Bread) have a more limited range, but provide a more stable resource for selections throughout the liturgical year. Worship aids are customized to the parish community, drawing heavily on what the congregation has become familiar with over the parish’s history, while a mass-published hymnal introduces new material with every year’s printing, giving us fresh, new compositions in addition to the standards most communities across the country have come to expect. The real reason we have both is in the mission statement of Disciples in Mission, the archdiocese’s blueprint for parish collaboratives. We strive to honor and respect the identity of each parish. This includes musical, cultural, and historical norms that have been established independently for both. There is value in each process and product, and while maintaining both is a heavy task at times, the rewards to both parishes is worth it!
Please accept this invitation to participate more fully, more actively, in our parish’s music ministry. If you are interested in singing in the choir, leading the congregation as a cantor, or enriching our liturgy as an instrumentalist, email Shawn Gelzleichter at sgelzleichter@gmail.com or call the rectory at 781-662-8844.