Songs & Updates for Saturday, January 3, 2015

Songs & Updates for Saturday, December 27, 2014

This Saturday is the Feast of the Holy Family.

First, HUGE THANK YOU for such a successful Christmas Eve mass earlier this week!! I was a bit nervous after our chaotic rehearsal on Tuesday, but it all came together quite nicely!

Songs & Updates for Wednesday, December 24, 2014

**MERRY CHRISTMAS, ALL!**

This is a special post for Christmas Eve Mass in the Parish Hall.

This post will be updated as the final plan comes together in these last few days before Christmas. Please check back for the latest information.

First, this season has been a major experiment for me in planning and leadership, so I really appreciate your bearing with me and all your hard work over the past few weeks! I'm looking forward to seeing things come together on Wednesday!

Songs & Updates for Saturday, December 20, 2014

This Saturday is the Fourth Sunday of Advent.

Nice job last week, folks -- things seemed to go pretty smoothly across the board.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, December 13, 2014

This Saturday is the Third Sunday of Advent.

Thanks to everyone who was at mass last week! We ended up having quite a bit of new(-ish) material to pull together, so I appreciate you guys bearing with us in getting through all that.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, December 6, 2014

This Saturday is the Second Sunday of Advent.

Nice job last week, folks -- there were a few issues with the mass parts, but everything else turned out quite nicely! Also, special thanks to Zach for joining us on bass guitar!

Songs & Updates for Saturday, November 29, 2014

This Saturday is the First Sunday of Advent. Welcome to Year B on the liturgical calendar!

I was not able to make it to mass last week due to the bad conditions, so I don't have too many updates.

In light of what happened over the weekend with weather, please keep an eye on your email and the website on Saturday afternoons for any changes to the plan.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, November 22, 2014

Songs & Updates For Saturday, November 15, 2014

This Saturday is the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

I don't have much in the way of updates since I wasn't at mass, but from what I've been told, we were pretty well staffed and things went fairly smoothly even with a visiting priest. However, there was no practice as not enough people were able to stay.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, November 8, 2014

This Saturday is the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, and also a Baptism.

Before mass last week, Jonathan and I met to plan rehearsal/mass and discuss choir affairs.

We had a fairly small crowd, and despite a rushed rehearsal, things came together very nicely. Great work, all!

Songs & Updates for Saturday, November 1, 2014

This Saturday is All Souls Day.

Last Saturday, despite some concerns at practice, mass ended up coming together fairly well. We did not stick around to practice afterward, though.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, October 25, 2014

This Saturday is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Last Saturday, Jonathan and I met from 3-4 PM to plan mass/rehearsal and discuss Music Ministry affairs. Most notably, we discussed ways to keep us moving forward as an ensemble now that things have more-or-less normalized again.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, October 18, 2014

This Saturday is the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

First of all, to everyone who was at mass last week, outstanding job!! We've gotten several compliments on how strong our entrances were and how tight and well-rehearsed everything was :-)

Songs & Updates for Saturday, October 11, 2014

This Saturday is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Before mass last week, Jonathan and I met to plan rehearsal, discuss Choir affairs, and look over the songs selected for the next three weeks. Specifically, we reviewed several pieces for two weeks out, 'God Has Chosen Me' and 'Proclaim to All the Nations'. We also discussed taking 'Go Light Your World' up a half-step to make it easier to sing.

UPDATE (10/7): several pieces that we started work on/discussed last week (namely, 'God Has Chosen Me', 'Go Light Your World', 'Bring Forth the Kingdom', and 'City of God') were nixed per Father's request. I'll try to reprogram these for a later date.

Mass seemed to go pretty smoothly considering we only had a handful of people. Nice job, all!

We ended up making some changes to the arrangement of 'Pan de Vida' after accidentally hitting on the idea of slowing down the extended intro considerably and then speeding the tempo back up before the voices come in. In light of this and how long Communion has taken the past few weeks, we will likely not need to go into 'Lord, When You Came' as a second Communion song.

Songs & Updates for for Saturday, October 4, 2014

This Saturday is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Once again, Jonathan and I met before mass to plan rehearsal, learn two new songs, and discuss music ministry affairs.

Despite a pretty good rehearsal, things didn't quite go according to plan on several pieces during mass (including 'We Will Serve the Lord', 'Pan de Vida/Lord, When You Came' and the Alleluia), but we made it through.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, September 27, 2014

This Saturday is the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Despite the craziness before mass last week, nice job all! It's looking like 'Canticle of the Turning' is one to do again at some point :-)

Songs & Updates for Saturday, September 20, 2014

This Saturday is the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

We had a full crew last week, including 'guest members' Luke and Dawn, and Lisa L. Also, please welcome to the group Joe P., who is joining us on soprano saxophone :-)

Songs & Updates for Saturday, September 13, 2014

This Saturday is the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

We were thin on people last weekend, but still managed to pull everything off.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, September 6, 2014

This Saturday is the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

I hope everyone had a chance to enjoy the holiday weekend!

The music for mass last week was exceptionally strong -- really nice job, all! I was especially impressed with how well 'We Are One Body' went, considering we've only worked on it at rehearsal once so far. We're well on our way to creating a solid, new arrangement of this piece :-)

Songs & Updates for Saturday, August 30, 2014

This Saturday is the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, and also a Baptism.

We were pretty light on people last week, but still managed to pull everything off. There were a few changes to the program that I wasn't aware of, but nothing that caused any problems.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, August 23, 2014

This Saturday is the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time.

We ended up not sticking around after mass last week to practice.

This week, we begin our 'new approach' to music with a common Gathering and Sending song each week, as well as one common Communion song for the month.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, August 16, 2014

This Saturday is the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Last Saturday, Jonathan, Lisa P., Maggie, Karina and I stuck around to practice. We worked on selections for next week, most notably our Communion song, 'In the Lord I'll Be Ever Thankful'.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, August 9, 2014

This Saturday is the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, and also a Baptism.

After mass last week, we briefly ran through a few songs, but we spent most of the hour discussing some problems that have arisen, and some potential changes to the way we do things. The relevant parts of that discussion are outlined below:

Songs & Updates for Saturday, August 2, 2014

This Saturday is the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Nice job last Saturday, all! We had plenty of singers to help balance out the instruments.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, July 26, 2014

This Saturday is the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

There are some people that got cut off or hidden in this shot, but just to give you an idea.

Huge thanks to all who were able to make it for mass and the dedication service this past weekend! The dedication service was one of those rare occasions where the three Choirs came together for rehearsals and really pulled something special off. Despite all the (sometimes) utter craziness between VBS prep, Picnic prep, and rehearsals, everything really did come together nicely in the end.

Songs & Updates for Dedication Service - July 20, 2014

** THIS POST TO BE UPDATED AS NEW INFO BECOMES AVAILABLE **

With all the emails floating around, this is a special post for the three Choirs regarding the music and plan for the Building Dedication on July 20th. 5:30 has taken point on organizing and coordinating this effort.

Some of this content will be redundant to emails, but I'm mainly adding it here to to keep it all straight and for record-keeping purposes.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, July 19, 2014

This Saturday is the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Last week, we had a nearly-perfect mass with strong guitar and percussion sections, one lead melodic instrument, and a fair number of singers (including a few new folks). Really nice job, all!

Songs & Updates for Saturday, July 12, 2014

This Saturday is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Thanks to all who were able to be at mass last week (welcome back, Mr. Jim!), and nice job on 'Weary Traveler'!

Songs & Updates for Saturday, July 5, 2014

This Saturday is the 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time.

Mass was a little rocky in places last week, between reintroducing Mass of Creation and a Baptism, but we made it through. Thanks to all who were able to be there!

Songs & Updates for Saturday, June 28, 2014

This Saturday is the Solemnity of Saints Peter & Paul, and the 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time.

Mass seemed to go exceptionally well last week with a very strong instrument section and a fair number of singers. Nice job to all involved!

Songs & Updates for Saturday, June 21, 2014

This Saturday is Corpus Christi, and the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Last week, we had a pretty small group, but still managed to have some fun with choral pieces 'Shepherd of My Heart' and 'Eat This Bread'. I also had fun harmonizing on the Psalm and Alleluia with Lisa K..

After mass, Jonathan, Lisa P. and I began reviewing Mass of Creation (Note we'll begin using this again next Saturday) and worked the songs for this week. These included forgotten favorites like 'Song of the Body of Christ', 'I Am the Bread of Life', and 'Lord, I Lift Your Name on High'. We also spent some time on learning the choir parts, wrapping up around 7:30.

For planning purposes, please let me know if you're going to be at mass this week. I think I'm going to make this a regular request for the duration of the summer, to avoid surprises like no one showing up :-)

Songs & Updates for Saturday, June 14, 2014

Welcome back to Ordinary Time! This Saturday is Trinity Sunday.

Last week went very well. We were a bit light on singers, but had a very strong instrument section (the exact opposite of what happened the week before). We were able to pull off a pretty good rendition of 'Veni Sancte' (although we didn't exactly follow the original plan) and had some fun with 'Holy Spirit'. Father also put in a good word for us during his homily about Time & Talent.

The sound system was (nearly) fully operational with the exception of one of the guitar mics. The sound mixer had to be plugged in and turned on, and there was also some feedback through the main speakers. The system still isn't balanced properly, though, since some of us are having trouble hearing others.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, June 7, 2014

This Saturday is the Eighth Sunday of Easter and also Pentecost Sunday.

Last week, things went very well despite concerns over the entire guitar section being out. It ended up that it wasn't necessary for Father to lead music, since we had more than enough singers and two melodic instruments. I was a bit concerned that the music would feel too 'empty' without guitar, but the simplicity of it all worked quite well. Huge thanks to all who were able to be there, especially my partner-in-crime Maggie. I didn't realize sax and violin sounded so good together, and enjoyed the chance to play director for the night :-)

Songs & Updates for Saturday, May 31, 2014

This Saturday is the Seventh Sunday of Easter.

Sorry for the lack of updates this week -- to put it mildly, it's been a very eventful week for me. We also weren't at mass last week.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, May 24, 2014

This Saturday is the Sixth Sunday of Easter.

After mass last week, we worked on 'I Have Been Anointed'. We seem to be in a pretty good place with the parts, and have a tentative form sketched out for next time.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, May 17, 2014

This Saturday is the Fifth Sunday of Easter.

Last week, we were very short-staffed, but still managed to do quite well. Huge thanks to all who were able to make it!

Songs & Updates for Saturday, May 10, 2014

This Saturday is the Fourth Sunday of Easter, and Good Shepherd Sunday.

Sorry for the lack of updates last week -- I wasn't feeling well.

Last weekend after mass, we went over several pieces for upcoming Easter season masses.

First, we took a look at 'Shepherd of My Heart', our Communion song this week. It looks like I'll be the only melodic instrument on this.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, May 3, 2014

This Saturday is the Third Sunday of Easter.

Karina and I were out last week, so I don't really have any updates.

As per Jonathan's last email, don't forget to sign up to cover dinner for upcoming Saturdays through early June. The same goes for section leaders.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, April 26, 2014

This Saturday is the Second Sunday of Easter.

A huge thanks to all of you who were involved in Easter masses this past week!! We did it -- we survived the big week! The Holy Thursday and Easter Vigil masses covered by Barb's group also went quite well. It was great to see the combined forces of our three groups come together to make that happen.

Songs & Updates for Holy Week 2014

This week is Triduum/Holy Week!

 There's quite a bit going on, so please bear with me.

Last week after mass, we started reviewing songs for the two masses we'll be covering: 2 PM Good Friday and 9 AM Easter Sunday (Parish Hall). We made a few changes to our programs along the way.

We'll be practicing again on Tuesday, April 15 (tomorrow) to work on pieces we didn't get to on Saturday. This extra practice was also scheduled for anyone from the other groups who are planning to join us, but it looks like that won't be a big concern.

There's also a mass rehearsal in the Church starting at 5:30 PM that night that Jonathan will be attending. Depending on when that lets out, we'll either practice in the Church or in the new Parish Hall starting around 7 PM.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, April 12, 2014

This Saturday is Palm Sunday.

Things went fairly well at mass last week. There were a few minor issues since we had Father Christian filling in for Charlie, but nothing too serious.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, April 5, 2014

This Saturday is the Fifth Sunday of Lent.

Last week, mass went pretty well. We had some minor issues with the sound system at the very beginning, but got it sorted out shortly thereafter. Special thanks to Maggie for joining us on violin -- it's been a very long time since we've had a violin to compliment the flute :-)

After mass, we had brief sectionals for this week's Communion song and threw together the voice parts. Since we haven't done this song in ages, don't forget to look over your parts and individual verses (I'll plan to cover verse 3).


We also reviewed the Psalm, the Mass of Remembrance Gloria (which we'll need for Easter), and discussed the masses we'll be covering for Holy Week.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, March 29, 2014

This Saturday is the Fourth Sunday of Lent.

Karina and I were both out last week, so I don't have many updates.

According to Paul, the issues we've been having with the sound system have finally been resolved. The system should now be working as well as it was the very first week it was brought online.

I'll be attending the Triduum Planning Meeting on Thursday evening to see what the plan is for Easter (Christina: can you please confirm that this is still on?). I'll let you guys know what shakes out.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, March 22, 2014

This Saturday is the Third Sunday of Lent.

Mass last week was a little rough in places, but we made it through. Special thanks once again to Erin for her percussion work on several pieces. Nice job!

Songs & Updates for Saturday, March 15, 2014

This Saturday is the Second Sunday of Lent.

Nice job to all who were at mass last week -- despite having under-rehearsed new materials and being short-staffed, things went exceptionally smoothly. Also, nice job to one of our newest members, Erin, on percussion both before and after mass :-)

Songs & Updates for Saturday, March 8, 2014

This Saturday is the First Sunday of Lent.

Once again, sorry for the long post. It was another busy Saturday last weekend, so bear with me.

We pulled off a reasonably good rendition of 'Shout to the Lord' as a prelude. Nice job, all! Also, special thanks to the Davis family for filling in some gaps in our ranks, and welcome back Maggie to our group! We'll continue to work on this piece in the coming months for possible use at Easter Sunday mass.

After mass, several of us spoke with two kids who would be interested in working with us, Erin (percussion), and Garrett (sax/piano), as well as their mom Marion.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, March 1, 2014

This Saturday is the 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time, and also a Baptism.

We were out last week, so I don't have much in the way of updates.

We'll be switching to revised Mass of Remembrance starting Ash Wednesday. To borrow a line from Jonathan, this is an old Good Shepherd chestnut, but we'll definitely have to take time to 'relearn' it with the 2010 changes. See the new Mass of Remembrance page above for practice materials.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, February 22, 2014

This Saturday is the 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Last Saturday was quite eventful, so please bear with me.

We were all surprised to find out that the new sound system had been installed. A guy from the company (Tom) was there throughout mass and rehearsals to get everything configured and balanced properly. I have limited experience with audio systems, so I won't go into the details, but rest assured that we now have a state-of-the-art system at our disposal. Besides individual audio mixers and headsets for each string instrument, we also have new mics, new speakers, and an iPad for a sound board :-)

In addition to all that, our music sheets have been redesigned. They now include more detailed info for visitors (the entire front inside page) as well as listing the Readings. The headers for each song have also been revised and the whole document is in a different font. Ours now more closely resemble the programs used by other churches.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, February 15, 2014

This Saturday is the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

We practiced after mass last week, continuing work on 'Shout to the Lord' and Mass of Joy and Peace.

We also reviewed this week's gathering song, 'Lead Me, Lord', since Jonathan was unfamiliar with it.

We considered doing 'Shout' this Saturday (since we now have a solid core group of people who know the parts), but decided to hold off since several of us will be out.


We'll be using the Joy and Peace choir parts at mass this week, so please look them over if you missed practice (we'll also review them before mass).

Songs & Updates for Saturday, February 8, 2014

This Saturday is the Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time.

Karina and I are finally back this week. Karina has a District Band concert in Lewistown on Saturday, but we should get home in plenty of time for practice/mass.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, February 1, 2014

This Saturday is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.

No major updates once again, since we've been out-of-the-loop for the past few Saturdays. Karina and I are gone again this week but will be back on the 8th.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, January 25, 2014

This Saturday is the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time.

I really don't have any updates since we weren't at mass last week and no Bulletin was published.

Songs & Updates for Saturday, January 18, 2014

This Saturday is the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time.

We finally returned to our normal practice routine last week with rehearsal after mass. We went over choir parts for the Mass of Joy & Peace Gloria. We'll be using this setting through the end of Lent.

In addition, we started working with 'Shout to the Lord' once more. 'Shout' is a piece we started shortly before Jonathan's summer tour last year. We'll most likely use it as a prelude or meditation song sometime in the near future (no date set yet).

Songs & Updates for Saturday, January 11, 2014

This Saturday is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

We weren't at mass last week, so I don't have many updates.

Jim once again has music covered for this week.

There will be a Rite of Dismissal for RCIA candidates during mass -- we'll sing 'A Lamp for Our Feet'.

We will be practicing after mass -- any volunteers to cover dinner? Jonathan we bring dinner.

Finally, just a quick note that Karina and I will be out quite a bit over the next several months due to other concert and drama commitments. I hate to do that, but that's just how the schedule worked out. All the details will be put up on the group calendar.