UPCOMING NPM EVENTS:

April 2009 newsletter

Grand Rapids Diocesan Chapter c/o Office for Worship 360 Division Ave. S Grand Rapids, Mi 49503

•

OCP Reading Session Saturday, April 25, 10am-Noon. See information inside.

•

Our annual Banquet is scheduled for Friday, May 15. Our speaker will be the National NPM president, Michael McMahon. See information inside.

•

The next GR Chapter Board Meeting: is 8:30 AM, Saturday, April 18. Plans are rolling for next year’s programs. If you have any suggestions, please contact our chapter director Aline Snoeyink ([email protected]).

•

David Haas in concert Sunday, June 21, 7pm. See information inside.

•

National NPM Convention July 6-10, 2009 in Chicago, Il. See information inside.

•

Friday Fellowship and Breakfasts. Join your peers on Friday mornings, 9:00 at Cherie Inn, 969 Cherry SE (just west of Diamond) in Grand Rapids. It's a great way to touch base, and share wisdom & conversation.

•

Taizé Prayer - A mixture of song, silence and scripture. An Ecumenical Prayer for Peace is held on the second Monday of each month at St. Mary's Church at 7:30 PM. Musicians are always welcome - see information inside.

•

Michael Prendergast will be in Grand Rapids in early August for “Beginnings and Beyond.” Stay tuned for more information to be coming from the Office for Worship.

e

have you looked at the

NPM-Grand Rapids chapter web site? www.npm-gr.org

Diocese of Grand Rapids NPM 2008-2009 Board Members Director: Aline Snoeyink [email protected] Treasurer: Brian Pouget [email protected] Programs: Dan Daller [email protected] Publicity: Michelle Ogren [email protected] Recording Secretary: Nancy Kadzban [email protected] Hospitality: Joe Houdek [email protected] Newsletter Editor: Rick Wykoski [email protected] Membership/web site: Larry Barton [email protected] Prayer: Sr. Catherine Williams, OP [email protected] and Gordon Proulx [email protected] Yearbook Editor: Mary Harwood [email protected] At-Large: Anna Colby [email protected] At-Large: Sheri Proulx [email protected] Student At-Large: James Trares [email protected] Ex-Officio representatives: Immediate Past Director: Barbara Witham McCargar [email protected] Diocesan Office for Worship: Patty Hughes [email protected] Diocesan Director of Music/Music Education Liaison: Dennis Rybicki [email protected] Cathedral Musician: Nick Palmer [email protected] American Guild of Organists (AGO) Liaison: Dick Hoogterp [email protected] School of Cantor Training Liaison: Carol McAndrew [email protected] Please feel free to email any of us with your questions, comments or concerns!

Annual Chapter Banquet Friday, May 15, 2009 at Dominican Center, Marywood Sing to the Lord, Music in Divine Worship, Food For the Journey We are pleased to welcome Dr. J. Michael McMahon, the President of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, as our speaker for this year's banquet! Your official invitation will be arriving in your mailbox soon.

NPM-GR Board of Directors Are you interested in sitting on the board of directors for our Grand Rapids chapter of NPM? Do you know someone you feel would be a good candidate? Our annual elections will be at our banquet on May 15th. Our nominating committee is formed. If you, or you know of someone who may be interested, please contact one of the following members of the nominating committee: Barbara Witham McCargar [email protected] (616) 632-2417 Anna Colby [email protected] (616) 241-6489, ext. 17 Susan Rositch [email protected] (231) 722-2793 Positions for re-election are: Director (currently Aline Snoeyink) Newsletter (currently Rick Wykoski) Hospitality (currently Joe Houdek) Membership (currently Larry Barton) Student at Large (currently James Trares ___

OCP Reading Session Plan to attend a reading session from OCP, led by Rory Cooney on Saturday, April 25, 10am-12noon, at Dominican Chapel/Marywood. See the OCP website (www.ocp.org) for more information and to register. The $25 registration fee ($20 for NPM members - national or local members) includes 25 octavos, discounted merchandise and Q&A time with Rory as he teaches at least 15 of the octavos in detail. AND… you can register 4 people for the price of 3! Your local chapter is pleased to host this event as we welcome musicians from throughout our region to Grand Rapids. You may contact Anna Colby for more information (616/241-6489, ext. 17 or [email protected] ).

NATIONAL CONVENTION - CHICAGO, HERE WE COME!

July 6-10, 2009 Make your plans now -- get it in your parish budget for the next fiscal year! The convention brochure can be viewed from the NPM national website http://www.npm.org/EducationEvents/convention/index.htm If you are a national NPM member, you should have received your registration information in the mail. Did you know you can save money by registering with our local chapter - even if you missed the early bird registration deadline? By submitting 10-19 registration forms together, we can get a registration rate of $248, and the deadline will be May 10. If we can get 20-29 members registering together, the fee goes down to $234. So, the more chapter members we can send to convention, the more we each save. Anna Colby is willing to coordinate this chapter registration process, and so far only 3 have been received. We need at least 7 more for our group rate! Here’s how you can get this discounted rate: Complete your registration form as usual, and send it to Anna along with the full advance registration fee of $275 each (just in case we don’t meet the minimum requirement of 10). When we are able to determine what our discount will be, we will send you a refund of the difference, so you can use it to pay for parking or buy goodies in the exhibit hall. Make your checks payable to “NPM- GR” and mail your registration forms to Anna Colby, c/o Holy Name of Jesus Parish, 1630 Godfrey SW, Wyoming, MI 49509. We need to receive your form by May 10, 2009. Questions? Call Anna at 241-6489, ext. 17, or email [email protected] . You still need to make your own hotel reservations, so go ahead & do that so you can get your first choice hotel. Begin to talk to your fellow NPM-ers and make plans for sharing motel rooms, rides, etc. Let’s make a real Grand Rapids diocesan presence in Chicago this summer!

Prayer in the Style of Taizé Co-sponsored by NPM-Grand Rapids

Instrumentalists and Singers Needed! Second Monday of Each Month (May 11, June 8, July 13, etc.) Music Practice: 6:30 PM

Prayer: 7:30 PM

If you would like to participate as a musician or choir member, please contact us at [email protected] or call Larry at tel. 616.459.7390. Musical ability not required to attend and participate. This is an ecumenical prayer — Christians of all backgrounds are welcome. For more information, visit www.npm-gr.org/taize.htm and www.prayerofpeacegr.org. Help spread the word! Flyers and posters are available at: www.prayerofpeacegr.org/spreadtheword.html

Greetings from St. Stephen Parish, I’m Todd Wilkie, a member of the Music Ministry Team here at St. Stephen. As my wording ‘Music Ministry Team,’ might indicate, the position of Director of Music is defined much differently here than in most other churches of our diocese. As this team has formed, there has been much curiosity in regards to how it came about and how it works. I was asked to compose this article in order to shed some light on any inquiries people may have. In the summer of 2008, St. Stephen was without a Music Director and preparing to advertise the position. Before this position would be filled, Barbara Witham McCargar, a devoted parishioner of St. Stephen as well as the Chair of the Aquinas College Music Department, was devising a novel proposal. Always looking for opportunities to promote education, Barbara considered what possibilities were created by this situation. There are so many talented and capable students just down the street at Aquinas College thirsting for opportunity, so why not fabricate a symbiotic relationship that benefits all parties? At this time, I was contacted by Barbara, and she asked what my interest might be in accompanying the weekend liturgies at St. Stephen as well as undertaking and collaborating on all the planning and other responsibilities of a Music Director. Being a recent graduate of Aquinas College and without a job, I was very enthusiastic about the offer. This enthusiasm was further heightened as the rest of the plan was unveiled. Elizabeth Christian, a current student at Aquinas College pursuing a Liturgical Music degree, was hired to form and direct a Children’s Choir. Similarly, Roberta Trahan-Grabiel, another Aquinas Student pursuing a Liturgical Music degree, was hired to form and direct a Handbell Choir. In addition to acting as the director of this Music Ministry Team, Barbara would direct the Adult Choir, conduct periodic cantor inservices for cantor formation, and mentor myself and the other team members as we find our way and mature into our ministry. She conferred with St. Stephen choir members and cantors to take into account their numerous perspectives in order to arrive at a solution that best satisfies the needs of the parish. So, the proposal was drafted and presented to our priest, Father Paul Milanowski, who approved. On reflection of the past eight months, I would say the plan has been a great success. There is so much talent, enthusiasm, encouragement, and excitement among both our team and our parish. Each team member brings unique ideas and perspectives to the Music Ministry. We can draw on each other’s wisdom, strengths, and abilities to ensure that the best decisions musical decisions are made. I hope that this article has provided some insight into the Music Ministry at St. Stephen Parish. Yours in Christ, Todd Wilkie

www.dioceseofgrandrapids.org

[email protected]

Are you on the email list to receive the “Allegro” newsletter from the Diocesan Office for Worship? You may get yourself included on this mailing list by contacting [email protected] .

"Let Us Sing to the Lord" With One Voice On Sunday afternoon, March 22nd, the Grand Rapids Chapter of National Pastoral Musicians sponsored a hymn fest, hosted by St. Francis De Sales, in Holland Michigan. This event was led and narrated by former senior editor of GIA, Mr. Robert Batastini, and accompanied by the accomplished keyboardist, Kelly Dobbs-Mickus, current senior music editor of GIA. Many fine instrumentalists, as well as the talented choir of St. Francis DeSales, under the direction of Phil Konczyk brought these hymns to life. An array of people, young and old, from a variety of faith communities gathered to join their voices in song. Mr. Batastini led us through the ages with many familiar and beloved hymn tunes, with texts to address the pertinent issues and emotions of our time. He spoke of the roots of these tunes, and he talked about the different forms and meters of these tunes. The crowd was captivated by our presenter, and left energized and excited. This year our chapter has been focusing on the new document: "Sing to the Lord, Music in Divine Worship." In the fall, in collaboration with the diocese, we brought Dr. Steve Janco to walk us through and explain the document, and how it applies to us, and the music in our liturgies, at a parish level. In October Fr. Paul Colloton came with catechesis on the use of praise music in the liturgy, according to the document. This hymn fest is a fine example of hymnody, and proper texts for liturgy. On Saturday morning, April 25th, we are sponsoring Rory Cooney in a reading session of psalms and hymns for the liturgy. This event will be hosted by the Dominican Center at Marywood. On May 15th, at Dominican Chapel, Our annual banquet this year will feature a talk by our National NPM director, Michael McMahon. He will talk on putting it all together, "Sing to the Lord, Music in Divine Worship, Food For the Journey." On Father's Day, June 21st at 7:00pm, at St. Mary Magdalene church, our local chapter will sponsor David Haas in concert, raising funds for the "Music Ministry Alive" program. This will enable the legacy of music and sung prayer to continue in our liturgies, by empowering our young people to follow the voice that stirs in their souls, and giving them the tools they need, "Food For the Journey." Please join us. Respectfully submitted by Aline Snoeyink, chapter director

Do you have concerts that we could help you advertise or news about your ministry programs that you would like to share? A newsletter isn’t a newsletter without news! Anna Colby is currently assisting Rick with the newsletter; so, send your news to Anna: [email protected] or snail mail c/o Holy Name of Jesus Parish, 1630 Godfrey SW, Wyoming, MI 49509

WANTED Gather Comprehensive (green) CHOIR EDITIONS used or new needed at Holy Name of Jesus Parish contact Anna Colby ([email protected]) at (616)241-6489, ext. 17.