Lifting up the gifts and talents of the community

Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

I have a five-year-old nephew whose parents are both music ministers. Even before he was born, Jake was hearing music at Mass every week. Once he began interacting with us, I could tell he was naturally musical because he would bang on whatever was nearby in rhythm to the music. As he started to talk, he began creating silly songs with complex syncopations while keeping a steady beat. When he was four, he started playing tambourine in the parish choir.

Not everyone might be as musically gifted as Jake. But as music coordinators and pastoral ministers, it’s our job to notice the gifts people might not even know they have. For many people, only then will they start to hear a call to serve. Remember that discernment to ministry is not done alone but with others naming the gifts and talents they see in a person.

Invite parishioners to listen for any strong voices they hear around them at Mass. When they encounter someone they recognize as having musical talent, ask them to offer an encouragement to that person to share it with the parish. On a regular basis, have open sing-a-longs and talent shows (Saint Cecilia’s feast day, November 22, is a perfect time) where everyone from the community is invited to share their musical gifts in a fun and relaxed setting.

This post was first published in “GIA Quarterly: A Liturgical Music Journal.”

Image credit: Photo by Masaaki Komori on Unsplash.