Worship and Music

Andrew J. Macirowski, B. M. E.

Pastoral Coordinator for Worship & Music

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This article deals mainly with the Mass attendance, ministry involvement, and the needs for the future of our worshiping community.

MASS ATTENDANCE, WORSHIP PRACTICES, AND STEWARDSHIP

The reception of the Holy Eucharist and active participation in the liturgy remain the hallmarks of our Catholic identity when we gather for worship.

The first half of this is straight forward, while the second half takes some explaining. What is “active” participation? Actively participating in the liturgy entails joining in the responses and other parts of the Mass that are prayed by the assembly. This begins with singing the entrance antiphon or hymn, continues with the reverent sign of the cross and heartfelt Amen. Continuing through the Mass, every time there is a dialogue, a spoken or sung response (think of the Liturgy of the Eucharist: the Sanctus, Memorial Acclamation etc), a communal prayer (The Lord’s Prayer) or a musical refrain (such as during the psalm), all should participate fully. During the proclamation of the readings, the homily, the singing of hymns or chants by the choir, etc where verbal participation is not occurring, one focuses their mind and heart and what they are hearing and seeing. Another way of describing active participation is with the phrase “full engagement”. Weekday Masses in the chapel are very similar. We are fortunate to have a cantor at each Mass to aid in the participation of the assembly; on certain feasts and solemnities we add instrumental accompaniment as well, utilizing the upright piano that was stored for many years, unused, in the theater. We have also restored the altar that was used in years prior. It now serves as a devotional altar in front of the icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary (which rotates between liturgical seasons and months). This altar also serves as a place to write personal prayer intentions, in the binder provided for that purpose.

At the end of fiscal year 2021, that had dropped to 92, As of June 2022, that Prior to our temporary closure in 2020, we had 162 active number is now 88. There volunteers who give of their time to serve in our various are several reasons for this great decrease. Some liturgical ministries at weekend Masses. volunteers have not returned since the reopening of our church nor since the ending of the dispensation. Others have retired from their ministries due to health, or have downsized and moved from Colts Neck. We also took the initiative to clean up our database, removing those volunteers who were still listed as “active”, but were no longer participating. Many of our volunteers work hard and often. While this is certainly commendable, some individuals end up serving with much

Our Ministries and Members

The most deadly poison of our times is indifference. And this happens, although the praise of God should know no limits. Let us strive, therefore, to praise him to

the greatest extent of our powers.” - St. Maximillian Kolbe

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greater frequency than others; sometimes by choice, but more often by necessity. At each weekend Mass, it should be expected that the following positions are filled:

Altar Servers - At least one for most Masses, two are preferable. For Solemnities, two are required and four are desirable.

Ushers - At least two ushers should attend each Mass to assist both visitors and regular congregants, especially during special occasions such as First Holy Communion, Baptisms, and the like. Ushers also monitor the collection, and make sure the nave is properly set for the following Mass.

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion - Three ministers are preferred for most

Masses, with an additional person to serve as an alternate should someone be unable to fulfill their position. Christmas and Easter Masses usually require additional ministers in order to best accommodate our increased numbers on those days.

Children’s Liturgy of the Word - Having recently restarted after the restrictions of the pandemic have been lifted, we have one Mass (10AM Sunday) with one catechist and one assistant volunteer. We would like to see the number of offerings expand in the near future.

Music - We have one staff cantor and three volunteers who aid the assembly in their musical participation. More volunteers are desired in order to make scheduling more equitable. We also have a choir of about eight regular members and we would like to see that number double.

Sacristans - At least one per Mass. At the moment, this role is filled by a combination of staff, clergy, and some volunteers; it is desirable that dedicated persons will fulfill these duties.

A secondary issue compounds the first is the preference of volunteers to only attend certain Masses. The Saturday anticipatory and 10AM Sunday Masses are generally the most well-attended, but that is not an accurate indicator of volunteer availability. In the past few years, the following trends have emerged:  The same extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion often attend the same Masses week after week, resulting in difficulty to find coverage if one attends a different Mass, is on vacation, etc.  The 8AM Mass was often the most difficult to schedule altar servers, but now we have several families who prefer that time. More weeks than not, there are none scheduled for the Noon Mass.  Many of our older servers have gone off to college, without a large number of younger children to fill their spots.  We previously had a large team of ushers; but we have seen a steep drop in the number of ushers available per Mass

In order to alleviate these concerns, it is recommended that volunteers consider attending different Mass times and signing up to do so with our scheduling software. At certain times of the year, volunteering for more than one Mass per weekend is encouraged. The parish is also in need of more volunteers in ALL ministries, in order to best serve our worship community. Finally, at certain points of the year, ministerial volunteers become more important than ever, and it is not a coincidence that these

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times are always busy times with family and out-of church activities. The preparations of the campus for Christmas and Easter require a great deal of labor, not all of it physical, but volunteers are severely lacking during those times. The making of commitments to serve on Holy Days is also proving difficult. To use the same feasts and Solemnities as examples, there are 5 Christmas Masses, 5 Masses for the Triduum and Easter, plus the Good Friday service, each requiring many hands to function efficiently, and we often go with empty positions for many of those Masses. At these times, when Mass attendance is great as family, friends and visitors join us for worship, it is ever more critical to fully staff our ministries.

Our current worship resource for the pews, The Book of Sacred Liturgy, has been generally well received by parishioners. Many who attend weekday Mass have found it especially useful as it contains the readings and propers for every single day of the liturgical year, aiding in participation and prayer. For the weekend liturgies, the more concise format of this resource has enabled us to focus our musical prayers toward the Holy Trinity with carefully chosen texts and well-written music. As with all of our ministries, we saw a decrease in music ministry. Calling attention to our congregation size, our music ministry should have double the amount of members that it currently does, especially where the choir and handbell ensemble are concerned. As music is an integral part of the liturgical experience, we should strive to always offer our best to the Lord, and make music to his name. Our annual summer concert series which began in 2018 had to pause for 2020-2022 due to the pandemic, but dates are already being planned for 2023. We are also exploring other opportunities for the sharing of music outside of Mass. Earlier this year, we also welcomed Dr. Carly York to our music and worship team, who brings over twenty-five years of liturgical music experience and expertise and is both and enthusiastic and humble member of our community. As always, the music ministry thrives with larger numbers and all who are inclined are encouraged to join. Cooperation We have begun cooperating with the community of Saint Catharine Parish in Holmdel, sharing clergy on weekends, coordinating music ministers, and running a joint RCIA program. This kind of cooperation allows us to bring the best of both communities together to help each other, not because we have to, rather because we want to and the results are nothing but beneficial. Final Thoughts We are a strong, prayerful, and active faith community. The challenge remains that a smaller than average percentage of active parishioners are engaged in ministry. I greatly encourage all of our members to prayerfully consider giving some of their time and talent to the community. Whether it be singing in the choir or ringing with the handbells, acting as a substitute usher on Holy Days, giving up a few hours to assist with the Christmas decorations, or wherever the Spirt directs you, the community is always grateful for the contributions of its members.

May God bless.

ALL THINGS MUSICAL

Our music ministry continues to evolve as we strive to be more in line with the Universal Church, using guiding documents such as the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, with a focus on solid theology, well-written hymns and songs, liturgically accurate texts and the occasional challenge piece for the choir.