The love of Christ impels us!
As we unleash the Gospel and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit with the formation of Families of Parishes, we wish to provide further information on the role of the Director of Worship within each Family of Parishes. We are all engaging in mission. At the conclusion of every celebration of the Holy Mass we are sent on mission. Because of our participation in Sacred Worship, we have amazing moments to encounter Christ more and more, to deepen our relationship with him, and then give witness of his love to others. The Director of Worship has a particular responsibility to provide everyone with this opportunity for encounter.
In each Family of Parishes, the Director of Worship is one of the Mission Direct positions. This person will work very closely with the other Mission Direct Directors and the Moderator of the Family of Parishes. As we know, the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith, and thus of evangelization. The Director of Worship will be responsible for each parish in the family so that all may encounter Jesus and evangelize through the gifts that the Church gives us of the Mass, the Sacraments, and the Sacramentals. This person will also be responsible for the formation of a team of liturgical ministers including Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, Lectors, altar servers, sacristans, ushers/greeters, those responsible for liturgical environment, and those who serve as coordinators for baptisms, weddings and funerals. A very significant responsibility will be to work with the Family of Parishes’ music ministers and coordinators and encourage ongoing formation and consultation with the Director of Sacred Music for the Archdiocese of Detroit.
Every Family of Parishes will have an Intercessory Prayer Team. This team of very dedicated people will provide spiritual support for all in the Family. They will be attentive to thanking God for many gifts, as well as praying for the many graces needed to follow the Lord’s will in the Family. Each parish in the Family will have particular needs, but the most important is to overcome the stones in the road that could keep the parishes from working together as one Family.
Finally, we know from the Amazing Parish workshops that for evangelization to excel, we need to refine and promote “hymns, homilies, and hospitality”. The Director of Worship — with the help of parishioners — will be responsible in assisting the priests and deacons by accessing homilies and providing significant input. For hymns, the Director will have access to the support of the AOD Director of Music as well as a specific section of the Worship pillar page dedicated to music. In addition, we have a series of reflection modules which are directed toward each member of the liturgical ministry team to offer enrichment in hospitality.
Most importantly, the Director of Worship will encourage awareness of the relationship between worship and evangelization. When we receive the Body and Blood of Christ in the Holy Eucharist, we worship, we adore, and then we hear, “Ite, Missa est,” which means we are asked to go on mission, to be joyful, intentional missionary disciples. We encounter Jesus, our relationship with him is nourished, and we are impelled to go out to witness to our neighbor by sharing his love.
