Oh, yeah. While Benedict XVI uses Latin and Gregorian Chant, solemnity, and ritual, here in Milwaukee things will continue to be....ah, ....different.
From the Archdiocesan Liturgy office:
...you will have many opportunities to grow in your ministry and to develop new relationships. [Wow. Grow!!! Develop!!! Relationships!!!]
From handbells to gospel music, from worship with children to welcoming young adults, from praying the psalms to walking the labyrinth, from being good stewards of God's creation to the use of audio-visuals in our church environments, from hymnody to daily prayer, a host of workshops will stimulate and encourage liturgists, committee members, musicians, choir members, lectors, pastors, laity and all those interested in liturgy, music and ecumenical fellowship.
unnhhhh...'walking the labrynth'? Is this sorta like 'developing consistent tone quality and enunciation from your choral singers?' Or maybe like 'Reading Gregorian Chant for beginners?' And that "audio-visual" stuff: you talkin' preaching while gesticulating? Or hearing musica sacra while watching the Elevation of the Sacred Host?
And they will get MONEY for this!!!
I recall the Religious Conference group grope that we had in LA a few years back. That was one of the last years that I was choir director at St. Andrew's. The choir at St. Andrew's had been requested to sing an Orthodox (or if you prefer, Eastern Catholic) liturgy at that Conference, so I got together a load of choir members and ringers, and I'm told that we did a good job (I was too busy directing and singing to notice). While there were three or four other liturgies going on at the same time, it was our liturgy that His Eminence, Roger Cardinal Mahony chose to attend. Go figure.
ReplyDeleteThe point is, though, that I had the opportunity to sit in on any number of seminars there. I couldn't find one which was worth the time to attend. I suspect the same was and is the case for the conference you are writing about. Pity.
I recall much more vaguely the last "liturgical conference" I attended up here.
ReplyDeleteFeaturing a speech from Weakland (on which I took copious notes--and then got a PHONE CALL from an anonymous individual about whether I had the notes, how many pages they ran...etc., etc.)---
At any rate, the people who were co-attendants at the event impressed me as singularly lacking ANY understanding of 1) music; 2) liturgy; and 3) history.
Other than that, they were fine people.