This month on the podcast we are putting a focus on education. NPM is a continuing education opportunity for all pastoral musicians. It’s what we do. We offer formation so that we can form others.
Picture this: you are new to the pastoral music ministry scene. Maybe you’ve been volunteering all of your life, but went to college for something entirely different, music-related or not. Music has always been a passion for you, but not something you did full-time. And while you’ve been Catholic for all of your life, you may not understand the depth and logic behind the Rites of the Catholic Church.
And then, before you know it, your music director quits, and you’re now the interim music director. People begin to email you and ask you what your plans for Triduum are. “When is the choir singing?” “What will you use during the washing of the feet?” “Have you spoken to the Deacon about the Exsultet?” “Do you understand the changes to the Rite for Weddings for next month’s wedding?”
…and you’re just trying to get a grasp on this weekend’s liturgical music.
How do you start?
Now, let’s try another scenario. Imagine you’re a very well-seasoned pastoral musician. You’ve been an organist off and on for most of your life, but you didn’t go to school for liturgics or sacred music. You might want to dig in a little deeper, but don’t know where to begin, other than a national convention.
How can we devote bite-sized pieces of time on a regular basis to our own formation, despite the context and level of ability we possess?
That’s where our conversation begins today.
Today we’re going to hear from two voices in the pastoral music field who came to music ministry in a circuitous route. Formation has been critical for both themselves and their music ministers. In fact, formation – both in person and digitally- has become something they value and continue to improve upon, because of their experiences with it.
SHOW NOTES
Michael Ruzicki serves as the Training and Events Manager for Liturgy Training Publications and the Director of Music Ministry for St. John Berchmans Parish in Chicago. Before arriving at LTP, Michael served as a team member of the North American Forum on the Catechumenate and as a parish Pastoral Associate for Liturgy and at the Archdiocese of Baltimore as Coordinator of Adult and Sacramental Formation and the Director of the Archdiocesan Music Ministry. Michael is a graduate of The Catholic University of America (religion, art and theatre) and the Washington Theological Union (theological and pastoral studies) in Washington, DC and is the author of “Guide for Training Initiation Ministers: An Introduction to the RCIA” (LTP, 2018) and “A Light for My Path: Praying the Psalms on the Way of the Cross” (LTP, 2015).
Michael can be reached via email at training@ltp.org.
Berta Sabrio is the Vice President of Programming and Planning for the National Association of Pastoral Musicians. Prior to this position she served for 21 years as the Pastoral Associate for Worship and Adult Faith at St. Francis of Assisi in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. She is also a certified cantor trainer and serves as both clinician and educator.
She is a graduate of Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana where she studied voice with baritone Philip Frohnmayer and keyboard with Dr. John Murphy. She lives in the Baltimore area with her husband and has three children.
Check out Visit NPM's digital resource library, referenced at the end of the episode.
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