We Are Called!
St. Bernadette Church Music Ministry
Pastoral music serves —–
All aspects of parish life. We serve worshiping communities; we play a role in education, social ministry, and evangelization.
Pastoral music serves —
All the ritual functions of worship — Praise, Adoration, Thanksgiving, Intercession, Lamentation, Grieving, Entering the Holy, Invoking the Spirit, Storytelling.
Pastoral music celebrates —–
All cultures because the Body of Christ is diverse. Our repertoire should not sound or be shaped the same because this diversity is vital to the life of the body.
Pastoral music unites —–
Culture and the holy; it is about the glorification of God and the sanctification of the people. Keeping the balance is our life’s work!
St. Bernadette Music Ministry needs you and welcomes you!
Companions On the Journey | Sung Prayer Practicing for the Angel Choir
Saint Bernadette Parish Music Ministry Vision and Mission Statement
To sing means to sense and to affirm that the Spirit is real and its glory is present! In singing, we perceive what is otherwise beyond perceiving. Song, and particularly liturgical song, is not only an act of expression, but also a way of bringing down the Spirit from heaven to earth. --Abraham Herschel, “Cantor of the Universe”
Our Music Ministry, like other ministries at Saint Bernadette Parish, contributes to the mission of this Parish as it seeks to carry on the work of Jesus Christ.
We serve the Gospel and give praise to God as our highest priority. We have love and concern for people at our center. We contribute to the ongoing conversion of both the musicians and the congregation. We strive for the highest possible quality. Members of the Music Ministry are first disciples and then ministers. We belong to the assembly and are worshipers above all. Like all members of the assembly, pastoral musicians need to be believers,
need to experience conversion, need to hear the Gospel and live it, and so proclaim the love of God through our music. “There is a vital interest today in the Mass as prayer, and in this understanding of the Mass lies the principle of synthesis which is essential to good liturgical worship. When all strive with one accord to make the Mass a prayer, a sharing and celebration of Faith, the result is unity. Styles of music, choices of instruments, forms of celebration – all converge in a single purpose: that men and women of faith may proclaim and share that faith in prayer and Christ may grow among us all.” --from “Music in Catholic Worship”
The Music Ministry observes the following four principles, with the accompanying goals: Music shall deepen and intensify our experience of liturgical prayer. We shall support the singing of the liturgy, of psalmody, and of hymnody. Our congregational and choral music shall be selected according to appropriate musical, liturgical, and pastoral criteria. Our music shall proclaim the message of Jesus Christ and help form our Catholic identity as his disciples. Our music shall offer praise and thanksgiving and underscore social justice, mercy, life-affirming values, stewardship, and service. Our music will reflect the best of our Catholic tradition, past and present, in accordance with the biblical readings of the feast. Our music shall foster community within the parish and beyond. We shall have a core repertoire of music for parish use. We shall include music that challenges us to hear the voice of God in new ways, via our own faith traditions, other faith traditions, and through various cultural expressions. We shall strive to further ecumenism through music. We shall share our music with others as a gift from God. We shall provide opportunities and support for all to participate in our music programs, including our assembly, amateur singers, professional musicians, and instrumentalists. We shall work to ensure that the broader community is made aware of and invited to experience our music ministry.
Music can express the whole range of human emotions, speak to the heart and mind, and reach out to the Kingdom of God in ways that words alone cannot. Therefore, we believe that music is an integral part of not only the liturgical life of the parish, but also of its spiritual, catechizing, evangelizing, social, and outreach ministries. Our songs do not stop at the church doors. They can provide a vocabulary to make Eucharist thanksgiving all day long and all life long. Each gathering of our faith community is a gathering entitled to make the song stronger.
Come help us to worship in sung prayer. Come, help us to sing the liturgy. Come, be part join our Music Ministry Family. We are active members of the national and Diocesan National Pastoral Musicians Association (NPM). Please see our Vision Statement on the next pages of this brochure.
Join us in this ministry to our Parish and to one another.
Some of the celebrations and Music Ministry activities for this season are:
Sept. : Fall Welcome Barbecue/Fellowship NPM Arlington Chapter Mass
Oct.: Mass in honor of the Military Families of the parish NPM Liturgy Day participants and presenters
Nov.: Mass for Healing
Dec.: Special Christmas Celebrations and Music Carols at the Northern Virginia Training Institute Greenspring Outreach Annual Music Ministry Christmas Party
Feb: Projected Recording Concert at St. Dominic Church Celebrations of Confirmation
Apr: Palm Sunday, the Triduum, Easter liturgical celebrations Annual Contemporary Ensemble Easter Dinner/Fellowship Greenspring Spring/Easter Outreach
May/June: First Eucahrist celebrations Pentecost celebrations Annual Choir End of Year Party/Fellowship
Bimonthly: Cantor meetings and ongoing training
Summer: NPM Conventions
He Lives and we Sing for Joy!
Phone Numbers
Director of Music/ Director of St. Bernadette Choir (10:45 Mass): Tom Schafer
Office: 703.451.8576 ext. 40
Home: 540.635.3231
New Choir members are always welcome in all sections. Rehearsals Tuesday 8—10pm
Director of Contemporary Ensemble
(9:00 Mass): Sylvia Malinowski 703.569.4092
New Contemporary Ensemble Members are always welcome in all sections. Rehearsals
Wednesday 7:30—9:30pm
Other Music Volunteer Needs — Please contact the Music Office by phone or email if you can help us. We invite your membership and help in the following needs:
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Organists/Pianists/Youth and Children’s Choirs Volunteer Directors, Accompanists and Substitute Accompanists
Additional volunteer Cantors—Cantor training program provided (auditions required.)
Instrumentalists for special celebrations
Strings/winds/brass/percussion players able to sightread medium to difficult We especially need instrumentalists for the Christmas and Easter seasons but also for some regular Sunday liturgies.
Additional Choir members for the Choir which sings the Mass in Spanish each Sunday (3:00 p.m.)
Additional Choir members for the Choir which sings the Mass in Vietnamese (7:30 p.m. on 1st Saturday of the month.)
Looking for volunteers to help organize, direct, and accompany Children’s Choirs (new, not yet formed until we can find volunteers to direct for grades 3 thru 5 and grades 6 thru 8.)