We have officially entered into the new church year, and with that, the beginning of the Advent season. Advent is, of course, a time of longing and expectation for the birth of our Lord, and yet it can be some of the challenging days of our year. From extra rehearsals to cold and flu season to preparing binders of music for Christmas musicians, Advent can be a very busy time for pastoral musicians.
At Ministry Monday, we know how you feel. That is why we are beginning the Advent season with one of the highest-rated “Key Changes” from this year’s NPM National Convention. What is a “Key Change”? A “Key Change” was a breakout option at the convention that was meant to refresh its attendees on a topic they may already know about, in a smaller time frame than a traditional breakout session.
Tony Alonso is a theologian and composer whose work is animated by the diverse needs of the contemporary church. A Cuban-American Roman Catholic, Tony’s compositions embrace multicultural musical expressions and reflect a commitment to strong ritual song. He is currently writing the theme song for the 2020 LA Religious Education Congress.
We want to thank Tony for re-visiting his Key Change from this year’s convention and giving us a supreme recording of his talk, “Be Still- Silence in Life and Liturgy”. In the convention booklet, Tony described it as such:
“Most of us struggle to take the time for silence, and not in a peripheral way, but in an intentional way that clears the clutter from within and opens a portal for the voice of God in our lives. We often hear about taking time for contemplation, but we rarely consider it, much less make it happen. Be inspired to build a stronger connection with God.”
Just so you know, we will allow for several moments of silence at the end of the episode for you to meditate and act upon what Tony discusses. We will end the episode after these moments of silence.
Show Notes
For more information about Tony Alonso, check out https://www.tonyalonso.com/.
For Dynamic Catholic’s “Best Advent Ever” resource, check out https://dynamiccatholic.com/best-advent-ever.
We invite NPM members to check out Visit NPM's digital resource library, which has valuable resources during this Advent season.
All content of this podcast is property of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians or its content suppliers and is protected by United States and international copyright laws. For information about the podcast and its use, please contact us.