Lent

oh, I do love Lent. However, as the last big liturgical season that I am currently unfamiliar with in my new-since-August job, it will certainly hold it's challenges.

Ash Wednesday...
(so exactly how many songs will I need for the distribution of ashes? and how about how many people do you expect for Communion song/s planning purposes?) sigh.
When he hired me last July, my boss specifically forbid my from playing "Ashes," which was fine with me since I had never even heard the song. And even more fine with me after I skimmed through the lyrics...

But then at rehearsal one of my choir members asked about the song "Dust and Ashes." Well, I wasn't really sure as I don't know that song, either, and in the middle of rehearsal I didn't exactly have time to study the words. I hemmed and hawed, and finally agreed to use it on Wednesday.
of course this weekend I checked with Fr., and he was like, "um, no." We looked at the words closely, "some people actually do suffer with depression, so isn't that kind of offensive to be singing as if we all suffer from it? And, no, we are certainly not oppressed. Some people may be, but not us." But the song is nostalgic for them. And the best part is, MARA gets the wonderful job of explaining to the choir why we won't be using "Dust and Ashes" this year in the brief few minutes before Ash Wed. Mass when she sees them next (even after she kind of told them we could use it...) Perhaps we shall compromise and use only the first verse, it's not so offensive.
So my boss and I went back and forth on both that and the issue of the possibility of more frequent introduction of Latin in the liturgy, which we want, but I argued that certain choir members (as I am not in a position to judge the congregation as a whole) may not be ready for that...
But as Fr. pointed out, it's not quite fair for a few people to be "holding back" the rest of the congregation.
so perhaps he will come up to the choir loft during the next rehearsal and have a little talk with the choir...this should be interesting.
Maybe he'll come bearing the gift of giving each of them a copy of "Spirit of the Liturgy." (his idea...)

and this all is not even touching on the excitement of the whole Triiduum. (what happens next?) my last church job certainly didn't care at all about what was "correct," so now I get to learn all of that as well as "appropriate," as well as, "what we've always done..."

it is a VERY good thing that I love my job...