Local News
Print Issue: January 23, 2003
Atlanta Pastoral Musicians' Chapter Holding Meetings
ATLANTA-Lyke House, the Catholic Center at the Atlanta University Center, hosted a meeting recently for members of the Atlanta chapter of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians.
An organization for clergy and liturgical musicians, NPM events are designed for music and choir directors, but also for all those who work in parish music ministries. At the October meeting, members exchanged ideas and music for the Advent and Christmas seasons.
The next event is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 17 and will be hosted by the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta. The guest speaker will be Father Virgil Funk, founder of NPM, who saw that the vision of Vatican II could be supported by such an organization. The topic for the evening will be "What Motivates a Pastoral Musician?" According to Liturgical Music Today, the ministry of pastoral musicians is "especially cherished by the church" and the church musician is viewed as "first a disciple and then a minister." Discussing and reflecting on the issues of the liturgical renewal, service, ministry and discipleship are the goals.
At the meeting at Lyke House, hosted by Val Parker, director of music and liturgy, the group was treated to a tour of the center by student ministry assistants David Stephen, Lakiya Burrell and Nicole Harris.
The Ethiopian Church of St. George (Bet Giorgis) inspired the structure's design as a reminder of Africa's early presence in Christian history. As a place of gathering and worship, the building itself facilitates one of the center's goals, which is to help students "become conversant with the world Catholic Church and the particular call of the Pan African Catholic Church to establish God's reign."
The NPM members warmly received the open welcome and shared history as it offered an opportunity to experience Catholic life outside of typical parish boundaries.
The evening provided an opportunity for some parishes to offer ideas for music that could be used during the approaching seasons. Christi Watts (St. Monica Church, Duluth), Deanna Light (St. Brendan Church, Cumming), Rick Reed (Transfiguration Church, Marietta) and Parker were among the presenters.
According to Reed, chapter director, "We are there to support one another in a variety of ways, including being resources for each other."
Other goals include building and maintaining a musician substitute list that would be available to all parishes in the archdiocese and ongoing education of members through workshops, seminars and classes. The Atlanta NPM chapter will be offering opportunities for training in the coming months and years and their hope is that all clergy and musicians (singers, instrumentalists, directors) will take advantage of what they hope to offer. Call (770) 475-4501 for more information.
