Procession: TBD

Response: Psalm 146: Praise the Lord My Soul

Preparation: Take Lord, Receive (Sheets)

Communion: How Beautiful (SS I)

Recessional: Just Like You (SS II)

Let’s break out the trap set and ROCK!

Procession: We Are Called

Response: Psalm 103: The Lord Is Kind

Preparation: Come to the Water (our version)

Communion: Bread of Life

Recession: Blessed Be the name

Let’s break out the drums today!

Processional: Shout to the North

Response: Common Psalm either Psalm 63 or Psalm 90

Preparation: Great God

Communion: Come to the Feast

Recessional: Just Like You

Processional: We Are Called

Response: Psalm 63: My Soul Is Thirsting

Preparation: We Come To You

Communion: How Beautiful

Recessional: Just Like You (SS II) ~ http://www.spiritandsong.com/compositions/65155

Just Like You Lyrics

Verse 1

Revive my heart; renew my soul
In You oh Lord, I am made whole
No more in fear will I wander
Cuz’ You’re my God, my Lord and lover
Like a burning fire; be my one desire

Refrain
I wanna be holy just like You
I wanna go where You lead me to
With reckless abandon to Your truth
I wanna fall deeper in love with You

Verse 2
Oh lift me up, God my Father
In all this world, there is no other
I’m dancing in Your holy presence
And Your glory fills all my senses
Like a burning fire; be my one desire

REFRAIN

In one of the forums of which I am a member, another member and fellow band leader shared the apparent snub he got from a Catholic event in favor of a contemporary Christian band. Apparently, the event organizer moved his band out of the prime time slot, placed the Christian band in that slot, and gave him slot where they knew it would practically be impossible for his band to play because it was during the week, during business hours. How’s that for a snub? In any case, his feeling was that his band was sacrificed in favor of ecumenism.

That started a huge debate and low-level outcry within the forum for the injustice we Catholic musicians often experience at the hands of ecumenism and other factors. What are the other factors? There are lots, but I’m only going to focus on a couple because in my mind, they’re the biggest contributors.

First, contemporary Catholic musicians like myself have to work against and around hundreds of years of inertia with respect to what is appropriate to perform in Mass. It’s an incredibly difficult challenge because a particular strength of the Catholic Church is its hundreds of years of tradition and ritual, but that tradition also leaves many with a closed mind to new ways to present music. I’ve made small in-roads over the years to introduce a more contemporary sound into the Mass, and it is finally starting to get a great following. But while the congregation loves it, the leadership still quietly frowns upon it. We still have a way to go.

Another, and I think more important issue is that the community of Catholic musicians who are trying to get a break somewhere just don’t really offer that much support. For instance, I joined what I thought was the premier Catholic artists forum ostensibly to exchange ideas and more importantly, to get honest critiques of my music. But that forum ended up being just another political discussion forum with a bunch of whiners. On the occasions where I requested some honest critique of my songs, I didn’t get a single reply! How’s that for support? I even mentioned that I would appreciate brutal honesty; that is, if you don’t like the song, please share why not. But I never even got that!

It’s really a shame because we Catholic musicians could really be helping each other out in these kinds of forums, but instead, those very forums that purport supporting Catholic musicians just end up being whining grounds. Such a shame!

Processional: We Come To You

Responsorial: Common Psalm (TBD)

Preparation: Better Is One Day

Communion: Like The Bread

Recessional: Every Moment

Lyrics for We Come To You

We Come To You

1. By your body and blood,
by your life and your love; renew us.
May your sacrifice be forgiveness in me;
heal us.

Refrain
We come to you.
We come to you broken, hungry.
We come to you.
We come to you.
Make us whole again.

2. In the body of Christ
we are brought to new life; restore us.
May the flesh that we eat
and the blood that we drink save us. (to Refrain)

Processional: Shout to the North

Response: Common Psalm (27, 63, 103, 145, etc)

Preparation: Covenant Hymn (Gather), or Wedding Song?

Communion: One Bread, One Cup

Recessional: Blessed Be Your Name

Dave suggested the Wedding Song, but I’m not sure of the Liturgical validity of this despite its highly spiritual nature. I know it is based upon scripture, so that could be enough. I’m just not sure if there’s a precedent for using it during Mass. Dave, can you check on this?

Processional: Cry the Gospel

Response: If Today (sheet)

Preparation: Come to the Water

Communion: Come to the Feast

Recessional: Every Moment

Processional: Cry the Gospel

Response: The Lord Upholds My Life (SS II)

Preparation: Here I Am

Communion: Bread of Life (Fischer)

Recessional: TBD (maybe my new song)

I at least want to try out this new song I wrote called “Every Moment”:

Processional: God of Wonders

Response: Psalm 146: Praise the Lord My Soul

Preparation: Testify to Love (Spirit and Song II)

Communion: Gathered As One Body

Recessional: TBD

Testify to Love is a pretty nice song that I want to try out. The recording is a bit on the tame side, but we can arrange it to be a bit more driving.

I also want to try out a Tom Booth song called Great God. Give it a listen!