Selecting Mass settings for your parish is one of the key tasks faced by music directors and pastoral musicians. Is it better to return to a familiar Mass setting or start fresh and have your ensembles and assemblies learn new music? This one-stop guide includes a five-step evaluation process to help you narrow down your search, a Mass setting comparison chart to help you review your options, and a downloadable PDF checklist that will allow you to compare your final choices.
1: Investigate the present and past
Think about your community’s preferred Mass settings and which have previously worked well at your parish. What qualities have made them useful and popular? You will select a better Mass setting for your parish if you know what qualities are most important to your parishioners.
2: Assess the current context and need
Describe the assembly that participates in each of your parish Masses. What are the real circumstances of parishioners that require attention in your liturgical celebrations? How many settings are currently in rotation for various liturgical seasons? What about bilingual or multilingual options?
3: Listen to samples
Listen to and compare various settings. Consider which settings are available through your worship resource; what Masses your neighbors use; and any settings your local bishop or diocesan office are recommending for common use. Find out which Mass settings are available in each OCP hymnal and missal here.
4: Involve others in the selection process
There is no better way to ensure the successful transition to new settings than to involve others in the selection process. Consider how the pastor, choir members, cantors, song leaders, accompanists, ensemble leaders, and other pastoral ministers could be involved in determining which Mass settings are used. Perhaps you can hold a “Taste and See Session” on choir evenings, Sunday between Masses, or in other ways that are right for your parish. Parishioners will appreciate being asked to help and those involved will provide support when new settings are used.
5: Implement a plan
Learning a new Mass setting can be a bigger issue for choirs than ensembles. Allow plenty of time for rehearsal before your first Mass. Then, set a time to meet and review how the setting is being received by the assembly. Prepare for adjustments or the migration to a new setting.
OCP provides nearly 70 Mass settings in a range of musical styles to meet the needs of the diverse communities we serve. This helpful comparison chart can help you narrow down your search by providing information about musical style, voicing, instrumentation, which resources include the setting, and more. Get started now.
Once you have selected some Mass settings to consider, use this PDF checklist to assess which settings will best serve your parish’s unique needs using musical, pastoral, and liturgical judgements.