Celebrating Our Faith in Song with Children

Transcription

1 Celebrating Our Faith in Song with Children John Burland Project Officer: Liturgy/Music Catholic Education Office, Sydney, Australia Our Children are the future of the Church and carry the light of our Faith into the new millennium. As teachers, Catechists, Sunday Children s Liturgy Leaders and all those involved in ministering to children we are entrusted to provide meaningful and faithfilled experiences that ignite the fire of faith within the hearts of our children. Yes you know tomorrow comes from the children of today (Burland, 1999: 19) In the context of using music in celebration we need to at least be able to discuss and reflect on some basic values and principles of liturgy and its importance to the life of the church. Without these basic values and principles the use of music in celebration can sometimes be influenced solely by personal preference. Such personal preferences based on past experience can be useful provided that the following liturgical principles are considered and implemented. liturgy is a celebration of faith liturgy is an action of the church celebrated by of the assembly liturgy utilises a rich diversity of ministries liturgy employs a unique language of ritual and symbol liturgy empowers people for mission and discipleship. (Haas: 2002:2) This article outlines my experiences in working with children across Australia as a Religious Educator, composer and performer of children s religious and liturgical music. There are three areas in particular I have found to be meaningful and prayerful for children in the celebration of our faith: Song Imagination-Guided Meditative Prayer Movement Song There is a great wealth of religious and liturgical music available for children. (Russell, 2002 & Burland, 1999). Such music enhances children s participation and understanding of celebrations. 1

2 An important principle to keep in mind in the use of music, is that faith grows when it is well expressed in celebration. The selection of appropriate music can contribute to successful celebrations that foster and nourish faith. Alternatively poor celebrations may weaken and destroy faith. Therefore it is necessary to ensure that the selection of music with children in celebrations is well thought out and consistent with church teaching. (Music in Catholic Worship 6) The challenge is to identify and select appropriate music for children. A guide for locating suitable resources and the selection process is outlined below. Where do we find appropriate music for children? Major Catholic Bookstores/Publishers and their Internet sites stock a wide selection of music for children. Collecting resources can be a time consuming process but when it is carried out with prudent listening and an effective evaluation of works, useful and appropriate material can be obtained. Most publishers, Bookstores and composers send frequent mailings to schools and parishes ask to be given a copy of this material from the school or parish office. Take the opportunity to attend concerts, celebrations and workshops of touring composers and performers of religious and liturgical music. These are a good means to evaluate the suitability of material for your own community. In the Australian context there are several Australian composers and performers of religious and liturgical music (Catholic Education Office, 2002). How do we select appropriate music for children? Some of the general principles in the selection of music involve: 1. Checking the lyrics and concepts to ascertain if they are suitable, age appropriate and adhere to Church teachings. We are celebrating when we involve ourselves meaningfully in the thoughts words, songs, and gestures of the worshiping community. (Music in Catholic Worship 3) 2. Ensuring that there are children singing on the CD in the chorus, verse or both. This will indicate that the key is suitable for children, give your children added confidence when learning the new material- not to mention enhancing the sound of your own choir if you plan to get the children to sing with the CD track at specific celebrations. 3. Buying on approval where possible. This enables you to try some of the songs with the children first to see if they engaged, enthused and motivated. Do they sing along? Do they like them? Clearly the use of song is important in the celebration of our faith. Children respond positively to the use of music. Singing must be given great importance in all celebrations. It should especially be encouraged in every way for Masses celebrated with children in view of their special affinity for music. (Directory for Masses with Children 30) 2

3 Imagination- Guided Meditative Prayer Meditation evokes children s vivid imaginations, leaving them to their own experience of Jesus and spirituality. (Merritt, 1995: 1) As this quote suggests guided meditative prayer can assist children in an uncomplicated way to understand the Word of God. Many Religious Educators have had the experience of watching young children using their imaginations at play. Children also find great joy and enthusiasm in using their imaginations to talk with God via Meditative Prayer. Guided Meditative Prayer with children is a meaningful and powerful tool for: reinforcing the Scriptures and foundations of our beliefs as Catholics assisting in developing a personal relationship with God via prayer. Using Guided Meditative Prayer with children is a gradual process. It can be enhanced with the use of music. This can involve background relaxation music, meditative instruction and appropriate hymns or songs directly related to the meditation theme or Scriptures. It can be effective in both small and large groups from ages 4 and up. There are many resources that will guide you through the process and contain a variety of guided meditations based on Scripture. (Merritt, 1995 & Reehorst, 1991) Start with a short time frame and gradually increase the length of the meditation, as the children become more skilled and settled. Movement Often when presenting new material to young children they will automatically begin to choreograph their own movements. Both adults and children enjoy doing and adding creative expression via movement when singing. Incorporating simple moves into a song and/or hymn is an effective way to enhance the learning process by reinforcing key concepts, increasing retention and sustaining enthusiasm. When selecting songs/hymns for movement to be used: Check the appropriateness of lyrics for concepts & correctness of Church teaching. Look for music that lends itself to actions/movement. Ensure the song/hymn is appropriate for the age group you are working with. Listen and watch the children sing the song/hymn. Do they enjoy singing it? Keep the movements simple and be sure you are confident with them first. In the following song God s Love Is. You can see there is a lot of scope for movement interpretation and application. For example, Gods love is bigger than the biggest mountain, can be used with the children reaching up and joining two hands together above their heads as they sing and move to the song. 3

4 God s love is Bigger than the biggest mountain Deeper than the deepest sea Taller than the tallest tree It s there for you and me God s love is Stronger than the strongest person Brighter than the brightest star Warmer than the warmest day God s love is in my heart Because God loves me God loves me (Burland, 1999:10) Several composers and performers of religious and liturgical music for children are also publishing guide movement/action books as support materials for their collections. Where available these are an invaluable resource. Conclusion We are entrusted to provide a variety of meaningful and relevant experiences for children in the Celebration of our Faith. Using song, guided meditative prayer and movement can assist in igniting the fire within our children s hearts. Religious persons communicate with God through ritual, prayer and song. Christians believe that they have an inner experience of God s loving presence and that God continues to speak to them in the context of daily lives (Flynn and Mok, 2002: 275). Celebrating Our Faith in Song enriches communication with God for both children and adults. 4

5 Bibliography Burland, J (1999), Let s Celebrate Too!, Sydney, Ovation Music Services Catholic Education Office, Sydney (2002) Sydney Religious Education Music Conference Celebrating Community, Catholic Education Office, Sydney Flynn, M and Mok M (2002), Catholic Schools 2000, Sydney Australia, Catholic Education Commission, NSW Haas, D (2002), The Ministry and Mission and Sung Prayer, St Anthony Messenger Press Merritt, S (1995), Guided Meditations for Children, San Jose, Resource Publications, Inc The Liturgy Documents: A Parish Resource (1991), Third Edition, Chicago, Liturgy Training Publications Reehorst, J (1991), Guided Meditations for Children 2 How to Teach Children to Pray Using Scripture, Brown Publishing, 1991 Russell, M (2002), As One Voice for Kids, Open Book Publishers/ Willow Connection, Sydney Music collections Burland, J (2002) One Family, Sydney, Ovation Music Services Burland, J (2001) Celebrating The Sacraments, Sydney, Ovation Music Services Burland, J (2000) Sacred Moments, Sydney, Ovation Music Services Burland, J (1999) Burland, J (1998) Let s Celebrate Too!, Sydney, Ovation Music Services Let s Celebrate, Sydney, Ovation Music Services Burland, J (1996) Songs For The Journey, Sydney, Ovation Music Services 5