Dear Friends,

We are at my parish into the second Sunday of using the new books. I believe that it is going well, and would like to share how we have done it. The choir and the cantors have all practiced the new settings, and are well-prepared to sing it now. This, I think, is essential: whoever the good singers are in the parish, they ought to practice, preferably together.

Fr. Tom gave a brief introduction last Sunday, explaining some of the changes, the basic structure of the book, and that bar lines mean breath marks. Then he asked the congregation to forego singing for one Sunday so that they could pay attention to the book. The choir sang setting A of all the liturgy parts.

This Sunday, we did setting A again, and the people sang. It went rather well, in my opinion. Having a core of strong singers singing the music makes it go much better. We will do setting A for a few more Sundays, and then tackle setting B and so on. The choir has agreed to sing about three Sundays a month for the foreseeable future, in order to help us get the new text down.

I should note that I gave an excessive amount of page number announcements, a practice that I will back off from as we get used to the new book.

As for negative comments, I haven't heard any. I am somewhat of an official figure as choir director, however, and it may be that complaints are being made in other places.

Incidentally, we have been singing the Litany of the Catechumens, which we had never done before, since it is readily available in the new book. Our catechumen (we only have one at the moment) even sang his parts solo.

I'll update this thread as we go further along in the implementation.

Was home for this Sunday's liturgy. So far, only the Priest is using the new Liturgicon. The congregation is still using the Levkulic music and text. No mention about new books or the future purchase of said books. The parish has spent $2,000
on exterior physical plant improvements, which is a priority.


Xpucmoc Bockpece (last Sunday to sing Christos Voskrese!)
Ungcsertezs

I think you're right about complaints being in other places.

-katie g

One needs to bear in mind that this is the parish with the pastor who says outright and repeatedly that the Byzantine Church is being pruned and that once the pruning is finished then the Church will rise from the ashes like a phoenix.

Vivid imagery, yes. Appropriate for a conquering emperor, clearly.

But I am not so sure it is good shepherding policy for followers of Jesus Christ, Redeemer of souls.

Leave the tares, He said.

Are those who object to unnecessary and sometime deleterious liturgical change considered to be "tares" or dead branches? One wonders.

I pray that your experience remains a positive one good cantor.

I pray that those being pruned can find or make a place to call "home."

Mary

Hmmm. Good point.

I am also curious if your pastor was able to explain the neutralization of the Liturgy to the parish.

Our pastor mentioned it when we first implemented the new Liturgy. He called it political correctness.

Dear Mary,

Thank you for your prayers; certainly I need them.

As far as what Fr. Loya's opinions are on liturgical reform, why don't you ask him? He hasn't been silent on the matter.

You are welcome and I am deeply sorry that there is a need to be mindful of the origins of some of the less than pastoral approaches in our Church. I don't need to ask about them. I can go back through my files and read the epistles.

But if we do surely mourn and pray together for the loss of unity and charity and orthodoxy that is apparent in this time of trial, all will not be lost.

So...teach them well, but do not be deafened to any negative disturbance and do what you can to see that they not be "pruned."

Blessings....Mary

XB!
I appreciate your review of the RDL as a choir director. And I am glad that apparently from the musical side it went well.

I would be interested to hear a review about the acceptance of text of the RDL in your parish too.

In the end the music is "only" the carrier of the text. I don't want to understate the importance of correct music and singing - if not done right it would become more a distraction then the method to stress the message and beautify the worship. However it seems to me that most of the concerns that I am reading here are in regards of the textual changes.

Breathe on bar lines??? Aargh!!!

A minor point, to be honest. The DL of Pittsville has much bigger problems.

Yes, I think we all know that. But since the books have been sent and we have been directed to use them what is a faithful Priest and Cantor to do? Now we must look at our situation and use even this to glorify God and spread the Gospel to a lost world. Aren't Christians supposed to be masters at making lemonade?

CDL

What are the rules for obedience to legitimate authority?

In all things but sin...is that not correct?

Teaching against the fullness of the faith is sinful.

Obedience in all things but sin.

Mary

But what does one do when these lemons are wearing mitre, mandyas and panagias? Putting them in a juicer is not an immediate option.

We have had the new liturgy and the new music for awhile now. It is really bad. No one can stand it. It is the subject of endless jokes. People roll their eyes at the inclusive language. They chuckle out loud at the bad music and the really bad accents in the music. I used to love going to church. Now it is the last place I want to be. We should not be put in a position were the liturgy is a rotten lemon. There is always St. John's but it will be easier to find someplace closer to home.

Look, I don't care whether the new liturgy is implemented or not. The one thing more damaging than having a liturgy that really isn't up to par is that people whine and whine continuously about something about which they are not prepared to do anything. Even worse is to continue the mindset that all of our problems are someone elses. Many in our Church act as if they are on various forms of entitlements. You complain but do little or nothing. If something gets corrected you complain that someone else did not correct it properly.

The question that each of us should ask ourselves is this "Is what I'm doing advancing the Kingdom of God or repulsing those who might desire to be saved?" Life always throws us curves. Life always throws everyone curves. The redeemed take the worst of it and make a great victory out of it. The rest just whine. So far I've not seen much redemption.

If I chose to I could outwhine the best of you. But what's the point? What legacy are you leaving not only to your children, not only to the rest of us on this board, but to the world?

Lord, have mercy!

I thank God for Karl and his faithfulness to the Church. I thank God that despite his serious reservations about some aspects of this liturgy he is doing his best to present Christ to us every Sunday. I thank God for the others who are doing their best. But I have no respect for the whiners.

If you want to take a trip to Pittsburgh and lay out your complaints directly to the bishops then do it. As most of you know I tried to organize a meeting last summer but got nowhere. So I picked myself up and kept on walking forward towards God.

Do something and stop the da.mned whining.

CDL

I don't think the vast majority of the priests and faithful of this Church are in a position to join you in your care-less-ness.

And I do think you need to be able to grasp the difference between a legitimate concern and what you crudely call whining.

Our priests have an obligation to the people as well as to their bishops.

They dare not lead a people into a heterodox slide through the implementation of a flawed liturgy, even at the order of a bishop.

They are not called on to abandon any member of the flock or break the bruised reed.

Mary