Why I am a Music Minister #2

If you ask Barbara, she will tell you why I joined the choir. She will say I was having a hard time sitting still in the pew with my wriggly fidgety children who were driving me crazy with all their wriggling and fidgeting during Mass. She will tell you she pleasantly suggested I join the choir. “Stephen, why don’t you sing with the choir? You will be happier up there than you are here with us.”

There is some truth in her story. But my recollection of what she said is more like, “Stephen, please go sing with the choir. Leave the kids alone, they are just kids!”

That is how I got to the choir. But it is not why I stayed or why I still sing today. I have found participating in the choir to be profoundly prayerful and a fun and fulfilling activity. Singing is a way of praying, a way of proclaiming God’s word aloud, and a more profound way of participating in liturgy. I think God hears me when I sing.

But there is more. Being in the choir is great fun. We are a community of people doing a fun thing — together. Each week’s repertoire includes hymns, a responsorial psalm, and Mass parts. Starting from written music on a page, all the singers and instrumentalists work as a team to build a unified, balanced, and harmonious sound. With rehearsal, the whole choir together develops a body of music to complement the spoken parts of the Mass. It takes practice and repetition along with careful listening and hearing other people’s voices. The section leaders provide guidance and encouragement. As we follow our director, we create what we hope will be inspiring additions to the liturgy. The result is more beautiful than any one individual’s contribution.

I find it very fulfilling. And you would, too. An evening of rehearsal brings great satisfaction. Singing a Mass brings a sense of closeness to the other members of the choir, to our whole parish, and to God. You would enjoy it very much. Come join us.

Stephen St Marie, music minister at St. Ignatius Parish

Learn more about becoming a Liturgical Minister through music.