Music for Mass blog

Read Kate’s latest for The Tablet – Succession planning . Who will be helping in your parish in ten years time?

We’ve just had our Parish AGM, which is actually called something slightly different, but it’s the open evening when the parish gets together to discuss the annual report.

Every group in the parish is tasked with filling in the answers to an extensive questionnaire about what we have been doing all year and what our plans are. We are encouraged to be discursive, and address also any issues which we feel are material. The final document is seventy or so pages long, and available to everyone on line, with a hard copy for anyone who can’t access the digital version.

It’s always an eye-opener, because much more goes on in the parish than most of us are aware, and there’s enough detail given so that if you want to read between the lines, you can. People are honest and direct in their accounts, and there are various encouraging bits of information. We aren’t yet back up to pre-Covid levels of attendance, but the trend is definitely upward. Some excellent work is being done very quietly, and there is a lot of variety in what’s on offer. The report covers the financial aspects, but the emphasis is more on the pastoral, care within the community, and outreach and evangelisation.

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Read Kate’s latest for The Tablet – Back in the swing after the choir’s summer holiday.

During the month of August, our choir, like many others, was technically on holiday. Some people have even been actually away on holiday for a week or two.

Mostly we’ve seen each other around on Sundays, of course, except when someone daringly goes to a different Mass, which can feel surprisingly restful. It is wonderful to have time to concentrate on what is happening without having to worry about when the next piece of music is coming up and whether everyone is ready for it.

Choirs need holidays, partly for practical reasons (it’s too hard to assemble a full group every Sunday during the main holiday month), but it also means that the congregation gets a month off, either as a respite for those who don’t like singing, or so that they realise how much difference the choir makes, as well as how much work is involved. The choir is there simply to support and lead the congregation, not to be a concert, but it’s still quite hard work, especially for the choir leader and the person who chooses the music week by week and now has to cope with the infelicities of the new lectionary, which are very wearing.

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