“If chant is not there to make me pray, let the cantors be silent.
If chant is not there to appease my inner anxiety, let the cantors leave.
If chant is not as valuable as the silence it breaks, let me go back to silence”
– Justine Ward
First off, my apologies. Due to a number of factors including, among other things, shifting bulletin deadlines, minor illnesses, and the like, I neglected to get a column printed for the past two weeks. So for those who have told me they look forward to reading my insights and opinions on a regular basis, I’m sorry.
That said, after six months of what was originally going to be a summer bulletin-filler, the time has come not to end the “Musical Musings” feature, but at least take an intermission. The time required to build and maintain the music ministry of two parishes leading into the holiday seasons is substantial, and after twenty-six articles, my well of inspiring topics is running a bit drier, too. I hope to return to sharing more with our parish communities in 2026, but will be putting this feature on pause for now. (That said, if you have any questions or topics regarding music ministry you’d like to see addressed, I’d be more than happy to discuss them in person or put them on top of a “to-do” list when I eventually get back to writing here.) I have greatly enjoyed sharing my thoughts, history, and views on ministry over the past few months, and earnestly await the opportunity to do so in the future. But for now, it’s time for this musician to take a brief rest.
Before signing off, however, I would be remiss if I did not express my gratitude for Nancy Ingram, who has been assisting with the Incarnation website and has included a page dedicated to the “Musical Musings” column. So if you have missed any of the articles previously published, or would like to go back and revisit any of them, the weekly articles can all be found at on the Music Ministry page . Thank you, Nancy, for your help coordinating this and making these available online.
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.