AC C O R D No. 52, September 2014 NEWSLETTER OF THE NATIONAL NETWORK OF PASTORAL MUSICIANS here. NNPM, you can be the bridge.’ Bernadette Farrell: ‘I can’t think of anyone • Paul Field's concert/workshop on Saturday evening. This conference was better to reunite liturgy and social justice than the first time the NNPM had met Paul, everyone here. NNPM, you can be the bridge.’ and it took him to its bosom. His song 'Go Peaceful' could have been written NNPM Chester has come and that justice will eventually come.' with 'Act Justly' in mind: gone - with the cake to mark • Bernadette Farrell's keynote Go peaceful, in gentleness, our tenth ‘birthday’, actually presentation, (see p.2). It was a quietly through the violence of these days. delivered but devasting account of how Give freely, show tenderness our tenth conference. Some to live the words of Micah 6 which were in all your ways. of the highlights were: the rationale of the whole weekend : Be righteous, speak truthfully, • the Big Sing which Bill Tamblyn Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with In a world of greed and lies. led with such enthusiasm on the first your God. She ended by saying that Show kindness, see everyone evening. `I chose a couple of songs for hearing the talk and sympathising with Through heaven's eyes. with the theme of justice and peace in it is pointless if we do not go and do The song was sung several times: mind.: Yo te nombro – you are numbered likewise: ‘Let’s begin to work on what at the Saturday afternoon Big Sing with the disappeared – a powerful song acting justly might look like.’ She more expertly organised by Andrew Maries; from Chile – which has its origins in a than once quoted Isaiah 29:13: These at the Saturday evening concert; and at song about the ‘disappeared’ French people honour me with their lips, while the closing worship beautifully arranged people at the time of Nazi oppression, their hearts are far from me. by Jane Porter and Martin Foster. and The Storm is passing over – a She also threw out a challenge: ‘I • Richard and Wendy Hubbard's Gospel composition from the 1930s – can’t think of anyone better to reunite Sunday morning prayer, Worship which reminds the African Americans liturgy and social justice than everyone without end. Like Haydn's Farewell Symphony, the room emptied as groups Finding ways to Act Justly departed to perform various activities Vicky Dearing reflects on the weekend of song, prayer or witness in different We tend to notice the big flamboyant personalities in life - the ones who parts of the building - out into the world, make a big noise - but at this conference in Bernadette Farrell and Rob Wardle in fact. Details are to be found at www. in their different ways we heard from two leaders of quiet conviction able to hold cantusfirmus.org.uk/worshipwithoutend our attention in a different way. • Rob Wardle's presentation of Cre8 What is leadership? Perhaps it works best when we deflect attention away Macclesfield on Sunday morning. This from ourselves. Who are we looking at when we are at a workshop or big sing; is an organisation which is difficult to where is our focus? The obvious answer is the speaker or musician but maybe categorise, but it is a charity and social we should try not to be taken up by focusing on a 'personality'. The media love the enterprise designed to make a real 'style' and 'personality' of Pope Francis, he is a favourite image to use - but he is difference to the lives of people on the trying to point away from himself to the harder-to-face images of the marginalised Moss Estate in Macclesfield. In its own and poor and to the person and sacrifice of Jesus words: see www.cre8macclesfield.org I was impressed by the way Rob Wardle sat quietly by and effectively gave Cre8 runs activities which help to build the floor to the community he works in - to allow them to speak for themselves community and help people to feel a in their voice in the film they had made. He was then able to give his personal sense of belonging to their community. perspective on his work there - he was refreshingly honest, they have their failures. These include : Let us try to carry the Conference theme with us into our daily lives, finding • Common tasks for the benefit of others ways to Act Justly and (to use the title of Richard Hubbard's Sunday morning • Eating together prayer), Worship without End! Here are some suggestions to try - even if you • Having fun together only do one. Something is better than nothing. • Celebrating when people do something to help others - Pray regularly - Volunteer your time locally • Encouraging relationships between - read the Bible more often - Consider how you could use your young and old - Keep up to date with local and particular skills to help your local • Being active in the community and global news community the Moss Rose Community Trust -Donate to charity - Write to your MP/newspaper about - Buy Fairtrade issues that particularly concern you pictures: back page Over to you, NNPM members! we would like your ideas Marty Haugen in on how we can answer Bernadette's challenge, (or give us examples of how it is already happening in your area) send your contributions to Vicky at the postal/email England and Wales, addresses on the back page and we will edit and compile them for the next Accord November 2014 - p. 5 Follow us on and - details at www.nnpm.org • A C C O R D No.51 May 2014 Justice: the unfinished work of Liturgical Reform Bernadette Farrell The keynote address at the 2014 NNPM Conference in Chester, 19 July 2014 esus begins his ministry in the place of public worship, in his hometown of Nazareth. He stands up to read from Europe was inspired by Rerum Novarum the Torah and unrolls the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He and grew alongside other movements of Jchooses these words: the time (biblical, social and ecumenical). It was born in 1909 at a Catholic labour The Spirit of The Lord is upon me congress in Malines, Belgium. The plan Because he has anointed me was set out by Lambert Beauduin (1873- To bring good news to the poor 1960), a labour chaplain (worker-priest) He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives turned Benedictine monk. He worked And recovery of sight to the blind, in factories alongside ordinary men To let the oppressed go free, and women. He believed that everyone To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.1 should be nourished by the liturgy. His vision was to help people live their Jesus announces God’s new order just society may emerge. baptism - to become the living body of when people least expect it: Today. I worked for over three decades in Christ. At that first congress he gave a Today. He says that this new order is the East End of London. Originally as presentation and shared a proposal, a a reality; that’s it’s already here: ‘the an adviser to the local bishop, Victor plan of action. He took a vote on four kingdom of God is in your midst!’ It’s so Guazzelli, who inspired the people to resolutions which were passed. He controversial that Jesus is chased out tackle poverty and oppression. We met worked to establish the vernacular, of the synagogue and has to slip away a Quaker, Neil Jameson, with whom I setting up dialogue masses and liturgical through the crowd to escape. worked for the last two decades to build education. All of us, through our baptism, share a permanent alliance of organisations The early liturgists were also the the mission of Jesus to proclaim the working together for the common good. social activists. While he was in Europe, good news. Not every liturgy ends Citizens UK (churches, mosques, Beauduin’s student, Virgil Michel (1890- with a punch-up or attempted murder, synagogues, schools, universities, 1938) saw the effects of participation in although I remember quite a bit of of charities, health and union) is now the people’s lives. Back at St John’s Abbey, resistance when the sign of peace biggest and most diverse community Collegeville, he started the first liturgical was first re-introduced in the Roman organisation in Europe. It has growing periodical in the US, Orate Fratres, and Rite. We’ve slowly moved from ‘me’ to alliances in several UK cities, the best set up the first conferences on liturgy. ‘we,’ and that’s a piece of work. The example being London Citizens. I have He collaborated with women like Ellen theologian Walter Bruggemann says been doing this work because I want to Starr, Dorothy Day and Catherine de that in a sense the entire scriptures are see God’s new order. Heuck Doherty. His successor, Godfrey a journey to the common good. The The East End of London has a long Diekmann OSB, walked over the bridge Common Good is an idea our society history of struggle. One of the heroes at Selma with Martin Luther King and needs to recover. Someone said an of the 19th century was Cardinal Henry four hundred other Roman Catholic epitaph for this generation could be, The biblical understanding of priests, sisters and laity. ‘they left no loft unconverted...’ At the Vatican Council in 1963 the all Christian liturgy/worship announces justice is about right relationship.