The Daily Grind
First, let me say it is a pleasure to write for this blog. I hope writing about our profession will help me as much as I hope to help you, whether you are a musician or not. I also hope to bring an interesting perspective to any conversation. I am a practicing Catholic who used to work for the Catholic Church. I now work for the Reformed Church of America and it has been interesting to look at the difference in my ministry ever since I accepted my new position about a year ago.
As I am preparing for this weekend’s service I am struck by how much time I have. When I worked at St. Al’s I played 4 Masses a weekend, 4 daily Masses a week, and an average of 5 funerals a month. Please do not be mad, prepare yourself…I now play two service a week; one very small service and one major service. Now granted there’s a lot of energy put into the major service. Major organ repertoire that needs to be practiced, choral repertoire that needs to be studied, memorized and rehearsed. We have banners, acolytes, a first class speaker as a pastor/preacher; but it is still only one service. Needless to say, my friends who work for Catholic Churches really hate me on Easter, where we barely expand our offerings to two major services, and none on Saturday.
I feel bad for my Catholic friends in ministry. I know too many who are like factory workers, showing up for Mass like they are sitting on an assembly line waiting for the product to come down the conveyor belt so they can screw the cap on. Is that you? It was me for a while. One thing that I’ve really loved about my job is it has given me a better appreciation for the Mass. Since I do not have a Saturday commitment, my wife and I attend Mass in the evening. I find myself enraptured by it. I find myself wondering, was I asleep at the wheel for 7 years when I was sitting at the organ bench? Surely, there were wonderful moments during my tenure at St. Al’s, but how many more could there have been if I tried to grab every moment?
The daily grind can be hard in ministry. God aids us in our ministry. He gives us strength, but sometimes we need to dig deep to find it. Are you asleep at the wheel? Even if it is only one Mass a week, the Mass, if we are not careful, can lend itself to robotic actions. We’ve all seen congregations who are not fully committed to worship. How can new life be breathed into the “assembly line” that worship sometimes becomes?
Leave comments, I would love to hear how you feel about your daily routine as a minister and how you have reenergized yourself or your congregation.
Matthew,
It’s been a few decades since I was a parish liturgist, but I remember the grind you describe. I do remember a lot of wonderful moments, and I also remember just getting through some Sundays fueled by coffee and sugary doughnuts. I wonder if the grind is similar for young parents. It must be tough to get two or three (or more!) children ready for Mass every week and attend to both their normal childishness and the liturgy at the same time.
Thanks for your post.
I enjoyed your first blog, and think your other choir members will, too! You make good points.