The National Association of Pastoral Musicians held their annual convention virtually this summer. Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso gave the opening address on the function of music in times of distress. In a time when it is not safe for our choirs to gather to sing, when so many of us cannot safely gather for worship, and when our nation seems divided in many ways, how can we sing?
Singing together, which means being responsible for the singing, is different than listening to music on the radio – or on Facebook Live as we attend Mass remotely as best we can. We can hear the beautiful singing of the cantor, and we can sing along, we can even try our best to imagine that everyone else is singing, but it just isn’t the same as making our own heartfelt, imperfect music together.
Cielo Topper has had the desire to teach and be with others since she was a child in Monterrey, Mexico. She responded to the call with humility and began telling simple children’s stories to help kids in her community learn valuable life lessons.
Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church and School had 24 singers participate in the Pueri Cantores Festival, a yearly event put on by this international Catholic choral organization, on Saturday, Feb. 7 at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart.