Dr. Elaine Rendler
We are past the half-way point of summer. In many parishes around the country, the pace of liturgical life slows a bit during these traditional vacation months. While we hope you are all enjoying some well-deserved vacation, or, at least, a lighter rehearsal schedule, we also hope you are able to take advantage of these months for some professional reflection and development.
Last week we gathered in Baltimore for the 41stNPM national convention. Almost two thousand participants spent five days learning, praying, and networking in the historical birthplace of American Catholicism. Like any convention, there were repertoire sessions to introduce new music, concerts, keynote presentations, and workshop sessions to both introduce new concepts and practices and to revisit the basics. Many of these sessions were recorded, and we look forward to bringing you some of this captured content in future Ministry Monday episodes and in the member’s only section of the NPM website.
Today, we’ll hear an archived presentation from one of this year’s NPM presenters, Dr. Elaine Rendler. Recorded at the twenty-fifth NPM national convention in 2001, Dr. Rendler breaks open the rite of gathering and the liturgy of the word. In doing so, Elaine reminds us of the structure of the liturgy, the theological and liturgical underpinnings, and challenges us to look closely at our own practice. For some of our listeners, this might be new information. For others, this will be familiar content. Regardless, we hope that today’s episode will encourage you to take some time to evaluate your community’s practice of gathering and welcoming, and that you will be able to take away some practical steps for when your full liturgical ministry returns at the end of the season.
SHOW NOTES
For more information about Dr. Elaine Rendler and her work, visit her composer page at OCP and her faculty page at George Mason University. You can find out more about Today's Liturgy, including how to subscribe, by visiting the OCP website.
The recording of "You Are My Shepherd" was produced by OCP. The recording of "Give Us Peace" was produced by GIA Publications.
Visit NPM's digital resource library, referenced at the end of the episode.
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