Experiences of a Musical Minister

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I am at my best when I help others and enjoy engaging others, as they grow closer to Christ, through my work as a music minister. I minister to numerous people of different cultural background. Currently, I minister to two specific cultures. At Holy Family and St. Denis Catholic Churches of Versailles, Ohio, I minister to a predominantly rural community of Catholic farmers. Additionally, I minister to the Latino community of La Parroquia de San Gabriel here in Indianapolis. I began working in Versailles at the age of 13 and have continued to the present. Through this ministry, I built up the existing music ministry program through both musical and pastoral formation. However, I was first fostered in these disciplines. I attended conferences, workshops, scripture studies and prayer groups to form myself spiritually, and I took piano and theory lessons and voice lessons to further form myself as a musician. As a result I was able to share my knowledge with fellow music ministers, namely the choir and cantors under my direction, and also with my congregation. My formation was challenged during the implementation of the newest General Instruction of the Roman Missal in late 2011. I attended additional conferences and trainings to further develop my understanding of the new translation and what it meant for music ministry, as well as teaching the theology behind the changes to a frustrated choir, composed of members who remember the pre-Vatican II Church. Now, here at Marian University-Indianapolis and especially at La Parroquia de San Gabriel, I have been challenge in many new ways.
My internship at San Gabriel has challenged me in ways I never knew were possible. My first experience directing a choir, as an independent ...

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...speaking, there is an infinite amount of preparation that comes into play to be a successful music minister, including a solid foundation of musical knowledge and a practical knowledge of the Liturgy and those rules that govern the use of music within Liturgy, both along with the minister’s personal spiritual and faith development. Additionally, there is a fair amount of rehearsing and preparation necessary for each liturgical celebration. However, when ministry happens, it is about allowing the Holy Spirit to come be our guide. In that moment of creating a bilingual refrain, my primary concern was uniting the community in their native languages. My education and formation from the past seven years flowed through me, but in essence, ministry cannot be defined. As a service to God, ministry cannot live within the confines created by man: it is divinely inspired.

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