The Louisville chapter of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians was honored with the “Chapter of the Year” award.
The chapter’s co-directors Martha Price Richardson and Mark Walker were also selected as winners of the “Chapter Leader of the Year” award.
“I was certainly surprised that we won both chapter of the year and directors of the year, but that speaks to the high caliber of our Louisville chapter members and to our core convention team,” said Price Richardson. “We are grateful that our faith and perseverance walking this new virtual path was a blessing to so many pastoral musicians across the country.”
Members of the local chapter helped plan the 43rd yearly convention in July, which pivoted from a traditional to a virtual format when the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
“Many (members) are parish music directors who answered the call and gave hours of their time every week from February to July to ensure the convention was a success, even when their parishes and job responsibilities were in flux and filled with uncertainty,” said Price Richardson.
The NPM is allowing chapters to offer free access to the convention presentations through the end of the year.
The local chapter will offer the following presentations via the Zoom video conferencing platform:
“Black Lives Matter/Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a presentation about the importance of cultural sensitivity and the role it plays in building up the church in unity and peace will be offered Oct. 11 at 3 p.m.
“Convention Showcase:” This features new music in a variety of styles from popular Catholic composers. It will be presented Oct. 14 at 7:30 p.m.
“God’s Gonna Trouble the Water: The Healing Power of Music:” This presentation by Catholic singer ValLimar Jansen will be offered Oct. 18 at 3 p.m.
“Light of the World: Handing on our Faith:” This presentation about living out one’s baptismal call using a triangle of faith model — liturgy, apostolic witness and community — will be offered Oct. 25 at 3 p.m.
Register for the events by contacting Price Richardson at marthapricerichardson@gmail.com.
The National Association of Pastoral Musicians fosters the art of musical liturgy. Members serve the Catholic Church in the United States as musicians, clergy, liturgists and other leaders of prayer, according to the organization’s website. To learn more about the NPM visit https://npm.org/.
