Reflection on MCW Revision

From a participant in the Oct. 7th meeting:

It was quite a diverse group of people – which alone was quite edifying. The music subcommittee allowed anyone who wanted, the opportunity to speak for 2 minutes on “what should be held in mind in the revision of the United States documents on liturgical music.” With such diversity, you can imagine that the comments covered the spectrum. However, the main issues which were raised over and over (from various participants) were – the Church’s heritage and contemporary expressions; inculturation; competencies of the liturgical musician; expanding the 3 judgments – perhaps adding a fourth (the Theological Judgment); maintain a sense of the document’s theology of celebration (MCW’s opening section); maintain a sense of the importance of active participation of the whole assembly.

The subcommittee then identified 3 main areas from the morning’s discussion: Sacredness of liturgy and music; the church’s heritage of music and contemporary expressions; the cultural diversity of the United States . Again, anyone who wanted could address any or all of these three points, having 3 minutes to speak.