Performances in Church

[superblue]

I am wondering if anyone is familiar with Churches that belong to monasteries , or churches in any dioceses, that hold performances inside the Church it self, because of its’ acustic attributes .

So for a few examples, for black history month, for comparison since i find the style hard to describe, during mass not for the responsorial psalms but playing baptist southern gospel music… For a Chinese new year having a processional with a Chinese dragon costume, ( and i wish i was making this up, im not )
{ for some reason the particular church i am referencing doesnt play any Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra style music for the Italian St. Josephs Table }

An then lastly hosting opera and symphonies in the actual church itself out side of mass, but still in the physical Church it self.

Mainly I found this is done to promote some kind of cultural appeasement and or for fundraising purposes. Wether or not said overseeing Bishop approves I don’t know.

I am curious if anyone has ever encountered such theatrics, if they find it inappropriate or wouldn’t be bothered by such performances. An then the hypothetical of if a Bishop knew of such performances taking place and either encouraging it or not being bothered by it. An also if there is any kind of Canonical Law in regards to such things.

( again I am not engaging in conversation, I am just curious as to how others see such things. )

 

[joeybaggz]

The college to which I went is a teaching function of the monastery. It often allows concerts in the Basilica. Everything is always tasteful. A camerata will perform a musical presentation, a major city symphony will give a performance, things like that. All presentations are given with the idea of presenting serious and often religiously themed presentation. It will never be used for something simple like pop concerts, ethnic celebrations, etc. I don’t find it disturbing but rather cultural. And as always, the abbot has the final approval.

 

[superblue]

ugh , and here i am discussing when i said i wouldnt, i ask this because there are many discussions on what kind of music should be played at mass, some form of chant, a choir, just an organ, etc, but this is for the celebration of mass. Does a religious themed presentation, inside a church, basilica or not, monastery or not, for profit or not, really belong or should be performed in a Church, where the tabernacle is present, where people go to pray , an instead it is turned into an entertainment platform, be it on a level, it is entertainment. And Bishops do over see monasteries abbots’ or whom evers final approval or not. So ultimately the Bishop should in my opinion be notified if something like this is going to take place.

So there are enough problems already trying to establish reverence for the mass, to then turn around and have performances by whom evers approval, hopefully not a bishops’ , it makes me wonder how does a priest or abbot, or other religious leader of a catholic order, expect visitors to behave and show reverance in the Church when a mass is not being held, so others can pray, when such activities are allowed and give the impression of casualness and not a holy place to pray and worship.

And If a monastery of any order wants to raise funds or a parish and have go through cultural pandering and etc, why not just build a separate building that is meant for it and leave the Church as a place for worship and prayer.

This is all I can really add to clarify anything so I probably wont add anymore. If it doesn’t bother anyone, it does draw a more negative view towards those churches and monasteries that do, but then again at least I dont have to waist my energy and time at those institutions. An if a Bishop approves of such things then in the end it is on him and no one else needs to fret. But it does make me wonder if it is the layities responsiblity at all to even mention it to a bishop for his consideration. or is it better to just mind ones own an keep on keeping on.

Okey dokie artachokie,

yall be good, an again if anyone feels offended , none of this is a personal attack on anyone so simmer down, or go on a rant against me, i wont bother responding. An again I probably wont respond to this either, just glad to get it out there.

 

[Roseeurekacross]

my cathedral holds the interdenomination Christmas Carols.

And the pipe organ is used by different groups when coming to town with amazing music. Both paying performance and free.

We are really blessed to have this Cathedral and its Pipe Organ

 

[bquinnan]

We’ve had Christmas concerts in our Church. I don’t know the rules on such things, but I enjoy it.

They also had a performance of a musical about John the Baptist in the church at our parish a few months ago. I had some issues with that, because the author had taken quite a few liberties with the story, even contradicting what scripture says actually happened at certain points. It bothered me to see scripture contradicted from the very same altar where I go to hear the Word of God. Also, at certain points in the musical, the “villains” sang about the pleasure they took in doing evil, and again, it was extremely creepy to see evil being celebrated in a sacred space.

 

[pianistclare]

The Church may be used for other things as granted by the Bishop, ONe of the things that must occur though, is that the Blessed Sacrament be transferred to a secure location for repose. Just like we do on Holy Thursday.
After that, it can be used for necessary town hall meetings if a very small community, or for grander concerts.
Trust me, your pastor didn’t permit it without meeting all kinds of criteria and running it by his boss, the Bishop.

 

[starlady]

The cathedral in my diocese has concerts there sometimes. They have an annual Christmas concert that is well attended, very beautiful, and quite respectful of the space.

My (Catholic) college often had music concerts in the abbey church. If a well-known speaker was going to be speaking, they would sometimes do it there as well (during my years in college, Immaculee Ilibagiza and Jason Evert came, and those were both held in the abbey church, since it was one of the buildings with the most available seating). Of course, they were often Catholic speakers who understood the importance of maintaining a reverent atmosphere at all times.

 

[joeybaggz]

So there are enough problems already trying to establish reverence for the mass, to then turn around and have performances by whom evers approval, hopefully not a bishops’ , it makes me wonder how does a priest or abbot, or other religious leader of a catholic order, expect visitors to behave and show reverance in the Church when a mass is not being held, so others can pray, when such activities are allowed and give the impression of casualness and not a holy place to pray and worship.

And If a monastery of any order wants to raise funds or a parish and have go through cultural pandering and etc, why not just build a separate building that is meant for it and leave the Church as a place for worship and prayer.

The Real Presence is always removed and reserved in the monastery chapel during performances.

Oh and sure. (Abbot thinking) Hmmmm, what should I do, spend 12 million bucks that I don’t have to build another facility for the Symphony Performance of Ave Maria, or remove the Real Presence from the altar of Reservation for a couple hours. Gee, I need to gather the Board of Directors to figure this one out.

 

[superblue]

if an abbot or Bishop has to spend 12 million dollars to build something to pander to rich donors, an create an extra source of income then said abbot or bishop would need a lesson on how to budget money. It is a shame some choose to go the avenue of bringing money in for themselves and barely do enough to help many others in a community. but that is a different subject altogether.

an my only point is to instead of treating the Church as some kind multifunctional building, perhaps just leave it as it is meant to be; a place of worship. An I am not knockn the childrens productions of the Nativity an Easter.

But yes you are right, it is easier to say, sorry Jesus you gotta get outta here, we are going to have a symphony or performance for rich donors, or paying people, or a free event just so we can prop ourselves up an pat ourselves on the back for pretending to do something that is beneficial. When we could be doing more to help families in need or the poor.

 

[joeybaggz]

if an abbot or Bishop has to spend 12 million dollars to build something to pander to rich donors, an create an extra source of income then said abbot or bishop would need a lesson on how to budget money. It is a shame some choose to go the avenue of bringing money in for themselves and barely do enough to help many others in a community. but that is a different subject altogether.

an my only point is to instead of treating the Church as some kind multifunctional building, perhaps just leave it as it is meant to be; a place of worship. An I am not knockn the childrens productions of the Nativity an Easter.

But yes you are right, it is easier to say, sorry Jesus you gotta get outta here, we are going to have a symphony or performance for rich donors, or paying people, or a free event just so we can prop ourselves up an pat ourselves on the back for pretending to do something that is beneficial. When we could be doing more to help families in need or the poor.

My response was an effort to cite that the use of a Basilica for the performance of inspirational music in an inspirational setting wasn’t the same as using a sanctuary facility for crassly commercial purposes.

However, reading your response, then you profile, you might get the impression that I was arguing a point with someone who realizes that he is an incredibly superior person who graces us with his wisdom and doesn’t want us to mistake his beneficence with an actual impression that he, for one moment, cares what others think, especially if it contradicts his vastly superior abilities. My sincerest apologies my Lord, please forgive your humble servant for even offering his (I’m sure you believe)vastly inferior viewpoint.

Peace

 

[Pug]

My parish (local diocese parish) is decent for its acoustics, but it is an old building, in the standard church format, cross-like, and isn’t some commercial modern monstrosity. In fact, we just had a group perform old latin mass music (I didn’t go, but was probably Mozart or such). They record it and we get great music on an afternoon.