Anita Draper
Catholic Herald staff
A prominent Dominican priest and composer with a history of preaching in the Diocese of Superior will return to lead the 19th annual Music Ministry Retreat and Workshop on Sept. 26-27 at St. Joseph Church, Amery.
Fr. Jim Marchionda, OP, is a woodwind instrumentalist who has been composing for World Library Publications for more than 30 years. A professed religious since 1968 who was ordained to the priesthood in 1973, he has served his Chicago-based Dominican Province of St. Albert the Great in administrative positions for decades while continuing to minister through preaching and music.
The theme of the 2025 Music Ministry Retreat is “Pastoral Musicians as Partners in Preaching,” a fitting subject for a musically gifted priest whose order counts preaching among its key charisms.
“As musician, composer and preacher, I have come to realize that both the church and the world are in considerable need of renewed passion, energy, and creativity in the presentation and preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Fr. Marchionda commented. “Although there are various ways to preach the Gospel, one of the most beautiful, most unique, and truly most inspiring ways is through pastoral music ministry.”
Fr. Marchionda finds that music reaches listeners at a deeper, more emotional level than simply speaking – if Catholics walk out of Mass having forgotten some words of the homily, they may still be humming a tune, “a tune that moved them at a level of depth that mere words simply cannot reach. And in that memory, in that humming, the Gospel remains alive.”
“I have always believed that Gospel preaching is more effective through music,” he summarized.
Harnessing this emotional power of music – enlisting pastoral musicians, among others, in the work of moving parish ministry from Maintenance to Mission – is the Diocese of Superior’s current priority.
To the question of how pastoral musicians can evangelize people in the pews and encourage them to live their faith more actively, Fr. Marchionda responded that the choice and style of music is key.
Choosing a song about St. Francis – “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace,” for example – communicates Jesus’ challenge to live in peace, he said, in a time when there is frequent talk of war.
“That’s why the choices are so important, they’re not just music as a decoration or ornamentation, they are critical,” he observed. “Music isn’t meant to be a frill or something pretty – it needs to challenge.”
Stylistically, it’s important that pastoral music is presented in a way that is appealing to the faithful, Fr. Marchionda added. Different musical styles appeal to different types of people – parishioners will listen to a range of styles, including classical, rap, country and pop – so pastoral musicians should be conscious of what people are listening to and ensure “the quality of what we’re presenting is up to par.”
In this retreat, the Dominican wants to reinforce the gift of music and the privilege of being able to work with it, as well as the gift of being able to be creative, regardless of the resources available to everyone. “The challenge is the same whether you have lots of resources or few,” he added.
The retreat begins at 5 p.m. Friday with social time, followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. and presentations at 7 p.m. The evening concludes at 9 p.m.
On Saturday, breakfast is at 8:30 a.m. There will be presentations before and after lunch, which is at noon. The retreat ends at 3:15 p.m.
Cost to attend is $45 per day, which includes meals and materials. Registration is due by Sept. 12. Checks will not be accepted onsite; payment can be mailed in advance or attendees will be billed later. To register, visit catholicdos.org/diocesan-workshop-1 and click on the “PDF of Registration Flyer” link on the bottom.
For those seeking overnight accommodations, blocks of rooms are reserved at the Forest inn, Amery, and the St. Croix Casino Hotel, Turtle Lake. Call hotels directly and mention “Diocese of Superior” for reduced rates.
Fr. James Marchianda
