About Us

We believe the best way to know us is to hear us sing. But failing that, here is an article written by our very own resident theologian and pianist extraordinaire, Charlotte Smith:

Voice of the “Sisters”

For those of you who only know me as one of the pianists behind the column in the church, my name is Charlotte Smith. I have been one of the accompanists at Holy Spirit for almost seven years. I have had a lot of experience being a part of different music ministries . . . Mostly in various Protestant denominations ranging from Baptist, to Disciples of Christ, to Assemblies of God. In all my time as a musician, I had never played in a Catholic Church before coming to Holy Spirit, and certainly wasn’t familiar with the Liturgy or any of the church’s music for Liturgy. So, because I have worked in so many different kinds of churches, I feel I am qualified to tell you that the music we have here at Holy Spirit is unbelievable!

Of all the types of music I have played within different denominations, it was the Catholic Church’s music that truly touched me. I was, and continue to be, so struck by the beauty of the music during the Liturgy and especially with the amazing musical gifts that are shared regularly at Mass by our Cantors and Musicians. I don’t know if you have had the opportunity to worship at other churches but, let me tell you, we are very blessed here! Holy Spirit parish is also really quite a musically literate bunch who appreciates what the gift of song can do to help Liturgy flow. As I was thinking about that fact I remembered a couple quotes I came across during my days in Divinity school:

Austin Lovelace once wrote that “a hymn is the praise of God in song”. And it was St. Augustine who said that “the one who sings prays twice – once with words, and once with music”. I think it is pretty apparent that our church takes these sentiments and our music quite seriously and very appropriately recognizes it to be the powerful and holy vehicle for theological expression that it is. The music that is selected for and sung during our Liturgy has to accurately, truthfully, prayerfully and faithfully convey what we believers seek to offer God. It is with all this in mind that I’d like to share a little about “Sisters in Faith” and how they came into being.

You might already know that the “Sisters in Faith” meet each week prayerfully to select and practice the musical offerings they provide each month at Mass. What many of you may not know is that “Sisters” was the result of a particularly inspiring NPM experience in 2003 in Cincinnati, OH. NPM is the National Pastoral Musicians Conference that happens every two years, attended primarily by Catholics from throughout the country and abroad. During this conference one gets to see and hear what’s happening musically within the Body, and it has been a priority for Holy Spirit to make sure we are informed of these new musical trends and ideas.

So it was that in 2003, Dana Gensler, Trish Johnson, Stephanie Browning, Jenny Kieswetter, Leslie Pfingston, Sarah Isom, and Stephanie Vincent participated in the conference and came back fired up by the promptings of the Holy Spirit with a vision for a small women’s choral group that could bring a unique musical faith expression to Holy Spirit. After much prayer and discernment, “Sisters in Faith” was born. Over the years, as family or education obligations require, some in the group have moved on and others have moved in: Stephany Nelson and Emily Kovar (and most recently in September of 2009, Sarah Steen). I have had the privilege to accompany the group on piano, and Gary Weilage has added to the blend with guitar.

The whole point of this group was to be able to experiment with technically challenging, close vocal harmony pieces that reflected a deep spirituality arising from Bible study, reflection on our Sunday readings and prayer. Do you know how unique this musical perspective is for any church, let alone their music ministry? Trust me, it is. The hallmark of each “Sisters” rehearsal was not only to learn new songs, but also an investment in biblical study or Catholic doctrine so that it could truly be said that when they sing, they actually do pray twice.

“Is all this necessary just to sing for Mass?” you might ask. Yes! If this was not to be their focus, then Mass would be just another opportunity to ‘perform’, but not ‘worship’. Most people do not realize how difficult it is truly to enter into a spirit of worship and participation during Liturgy when you’re leading it musically. The way that the “Sisters” are able to worship during these times is to try and immerse themselves in the theology and messages of the pieces they sing during Mass, which happens as they spiritually and musically prepare during their rehearsals. This is completely necessary if the community is to participate with them fully as well. It’s really important that they do take this all very seriously when they prepare because, as someone once said, “A very fair idea of what you think of God may be gained from the music you offer each Sunday in your church.” So just imagine . . . If what is sung is not taken seriously and if we, as part of the Body of Christ, sing our hymns and spiritual songs without thought, we might be offering up something to God that we don’t really believe or that doesn’t accurately reflect our faith, experiences or prayer. We would be left then, with the result being inauthentic worship.

This whole mindset of spiritually preparing for a musical rehearsal is really extraordinary for any church, and it is just one of the reasons I eventually was lead into the Catholic Faith . . . Our music at Holy Spirit (not to mention our theology and history!) is just that powerful!

The next time you participate at Liturgy and the “Sisters in Faith” are singing, please keep in mind that they are not just up there to sing beautifully and be heard. They are singing as an act of worship for the benefit of the whole Body; to lead the assembly in prayer. After all, it is with St. Paul that we, as worshippers, must say, “So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind: I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.” (I Cor. 14:15).

by Charlotte Smith