JANUARY 2024
FROM THE BOARD H
appy 2024, NPM family! As I anticipate my first Lenten season serving on the Board of Directors, I feel excited by the annual
Gospel message of Winter Ordinary Time, which is discipleship. All Christians are called to a life of action and service in the pattern of Christ Jesus. For pastoral musicians, our faith is publicly shared with those we are entrusted to lead, the co-workers with whom we collaborate, and the greater community to whom we minister.
Today, I invite you to look to the persons of the Holy Trinity for inspiration while we, as disciples, embrace the day-to-day challenges of this work we love.
In the person of God the Father, we see the generous hand of the One who led his people out of bondage into freedom. It is he who continues to show us what it means to lead relentlessly with love and patience. Our fellow music makers look to us for kind-hearted guidance. Of course, we also know there is much to do behind the scenes leading up to each rehearsal and liturgical celebration: in addition to prayer and reflection on the Scriptures, there is the discipline of daily practice and study. Everything we sing is born of reverent discernment. Take a deep breath, make a list, and do the best you can, always for the glory of God.
God the Son, who in Christ, was born as one of us and knows our humanity all too well. In our relationships with our pastors, parish co-workers, fellow liturgical ministers, and catechists, we have myriad opportunities to practice the compassion of Jesus. His presence is revealed whenever we engage in mindful
listening, patience, justice, and forgiveness. We will delve more deeply into these virtues during our Lenten observance. In these days, let us practice what the Lord Jesus has already taught us. Te music we make in liturgy must be a reflection of who we strive to be in the pattern of God’s beloved Son.
Te Holy Spirit fills us with all the gifts we need to make music that is beautiful, expressive, creative, energetic, and prophetic. As a composer, I believe that the marriage of music and text is itself a homiletic act, especially if the text is scriptural. Similarly, the act of choosing musical repertoire involves personally preaching the Good News. Te music of our great liturgy proclaims all that we believe and hope. Te Eucharist nourishes us for all we are meant to become. Our music helps us to sing these ancient truths and proclaim them to a world that is broken and in need of renewal. Preparing music for sacred worship is a tall order. With the help of the Holy Spirit, may our labors be lighter and less daunting.
In these days of invitation to discipleship, I hope we can all be inspired by the breadth and depth of what it means to belong to Jesus and let the work we do speak of our resounding “yes.”
Janèt Sullivan Whitaker Member, Board of Directors
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