For those that know me well, one of my favorite words is “Kumbaya” and it is used in my daily vocabulary. Besides possibly hearing this song on television or possibly singing it at a Folk Mass in the early days of Vatican II, do you know the true origin of this song?

This word is believed by many music historians to come from pidgin English origin. It is a prayerful plea to God to “come by here.” The word originates from Sea Island Creole from the Gullah culture of the islands off South Carolina. When residents would travel island to island, they would sing the part “kumbaya” as they would row their oars on the boat. This made all the members of the boat to row together in perfect sync.
 
The concept of Kumbaya is how I view music ministry. Members of our choirs, bell choirs, and cantors do not simply show up on weekends and sound the way they do. Choirs rehearse two hours per week and work six to eight weeks ahead. Cantors rehearse and refine their skills. When we travel in our boats, our musical oars must be in sync as we pray together.

If you are new to our parish, or have been a member for years, and love to sing, or have the interest in ringing handbells, I would be more than willing to talk to you about how close music can bring you to God. Since I was a small child, I was obsessed with the pipe organ at my small church. I was given the opportunity to play my first Mass at the age of twelve and I’ve never looked back since that day.

One of my favorite movies is called Ratatouille. The story is about a rat named Remy who has the passion to cook. His mentor is a famous chef named Gusteau, who owns a famous restaurant in Paris. Chef Gusteau’s famous quote was “Anyone can cook.” I share his philosophy with music that “Anyone can make music.” Let’s talk!

Finally, many people have asked in the last couple of weeks what is the vision of our music ministry at the parish? First on my bucket list is to ensure that our children are given the opportunity to thrive in a program that we will continue to build. We are blessed with successful adult choral and bell ensembles, and we want our children to have the music education and liturgical background to also serve in these groups. We will also provide our yearly music camp to the children.
 
Our parish will continue to provide concerts and musical opportunities. We are almost complete with the St. Thomas More organ, as the last part will be to voiced is the digital voices. Next, we will be looking at making upgrades on the St. John Capistran organ in the upcoming months.

While the waters are going to be a little rocky right now during a transition period in the music ministry with choir schedules, we are in our canoes together with oars. Instead of resisting the change and fighting the wave, let us see where it takes us in the end. Let us keep singing at Mass and lifting our voices in sung prayer. Let us take those oars and row together so we can bring ourselves closer to Jesus Christ!
-Daniel Kovacic