Musicians refill their spiritual vessels at the National Pastoral Musicians annual convention
Music directors, coordinators, musicians, and cantors headed to Kansas City for a week in July to gain spiritual and professional insight into liturgical music and worship.
From July 8 -11, the National Pastoral Musicians annual convention was held in Fountains under the title “Fountains of Faith.” Kansas City Committee director Danny Baker welcomed over 700 conference attendees to a time of inspiration and renewal: “Allow your fountain of faith to be filled with the love of Christ and overflow as you continue in your call to serve God and one another.”
READ: Worshiping God with prayerful song — spiritual music brings us closer to Him
In 1976, the National Association of Pastoral Musicians was founded “to motivate, encourage, and support pastoral musicians and clergy and to develop skills and understanding in the areas of music, liturgy, preparation for worship, communication, and spirituality.” For almost 50 years, the organization has grown to include professional liturgists, choral conductors, composers, organists, singers, clergy, and volunteer musicians. NPM’s training in musical skills in organ, piano, and cantor provides certification that holds a high national standard. Membership in NPM includes unlimited liturgical formation, skills workshops, and deep dives into specialized topics, no matter the musician’s expertise.
The 47th convention was an incredible success. This year’s NPM National Convention was the largest convention since before the COVID-19 pandemic, with over 700 attendees. Rousing concerts, engaging presentations, and faith-deepening liturgies allowed every participant to “refill their spiritual vessels as they prepare to go home and continue to serve,” said Dr. Jennifer Kluge, NPM Executive Director. “It was a joy to be together with so many women and men who love our Catholic liturgy and work to elevate it through sung prayer.”
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I have been a professional music minister since my teenage years when I began as a cantor. After undergrad and graduate music school, I had grown in my knowledge of musical skills, but I needed to figure out how to learn more about the work of liturgical musicians. A colleague suggested I join NPM in 2014 when I stepped into a more significant role at my parish music program.
An NPM membership offers opportunities to connect with Catholic music leaders nationwide. Music Ministry is hard. Often, the music minister is solely responsible for shouldering many of the tasks previously carried by clergy or religious in parishes. However, they are not offered the same formation nor the acknowledgment of sacrifice that they make forgoing holidays and weekends with family and friends to benefit the communities they serve.
There are also modern concerns about technology and stylistic choices, ancient concerns about theological and liturgical propriety, participation, and pandemics, and perennial concerns of personnel, financial, and spiritual crises. Being a part of a national organization of colleagues allows music leaders to bounce ideas off real people and coordinate efforts with local and regional resources.
NPM allows musicians- no matter their background- to be in the same room and hear directly from “the experts” working in Catholic music. This year’s convention was no different. The opening Liturgy and closing Mass were bookended with bilingual liturgies from Episcopal moderator Bishop Mark Seitz. Some of the highlights were the plenum presentation “The Liturgical Act” and Song by Father R. Bruce Cinquegrani who presented his research into Romano Guardini’s concept of the liturgical act, especially as it applies to song in the liturgy and the critical role of human empathy. One of the many breakout sessions, led by Richard Clark (Director of Music at the Archdiocese of Boston) and Father Dustin Dought (Executive Director of the USCCB Secretariat of Divine Worship), was “Desiderio Desideravi and Discernment: Revealing Pope Francis’s Liturgical Insights.”
There were performances by world-class musicians and master classes by the country’s best choral conductors, organists, and singers. This year’s convention awards were given to composer, conductor, and organist Paul French, who was honored as National Pastoral Musician of 2024. Wilton Cardinal Gregory received the Jubilate Deo Award. The award recognizes a substantial contribution to the development of pastoral liturgy in the United States.
Newark Archdiocesan music directors were featured in the lectures and behind the scenes this year. Preston Dibble, Director of Music at Our Lady of Sorrows in South Orange, headed the Program Committee for the National Convention and had an overarching influence on the quality and content presented at the National Convention. Adrian Soltys, director of worship at St. Helen’s in Westfield, led a lecture that offered tips on managing music ministry to utilize your parish’s resources and volunteers best. I led the pre-convention spiritual retreat for pastoral musicians with co-presenter Aaron Kohl, Registered Mental Health Counselor and Director of Liturgy at St. Peter and Paul in Winter Park, Fla.
Ministry can be lonely, but NPM conventions offer a unique opportunity for camaraderie with other music directors nationwide. No matter the size of your congregation, your instruments, or your choir, all are welcome to share, learn, and collaborate so that our ministries at home can be renewed. Mass with 700 parish musicians means the singing is incredible.
And Kluge said: “The life of NPM continues before and after the convention with ongoing webinars, chapter activity, and online resources.”
Jennifer Behnke is associate director of evangelization with the Archdiocese of Newark and the NPM chapter chair for the Paterson Diocese, where she is the music coordinator at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Pequannock. She invites all in the northern New Jersey area to consider joining to create a network of musicians working together to bring more empathy, beauty, and awe to the sacrifice of praise we offer at Mass and Liturgies. NPM membership is open to music ministry volunteers, cantors, organists, guitarists, clergy, religious, seminarians, and liturgists for $49 per year. For more information: www.npm.org
Featured image: GIA Publications, Inc
