Diocesan Chorale

St. Anthony Spirituality Center          300 East 4th St.
Marathon City, WI  54448
715-443-2236

 
Indeed, something to look forward to…a time for learning our music, remembering why we sing, and strengthening the bonds which keep us spending time in ministry together.
  
Thanks for your membership in our Diocesan Chorale --  Hope to see you in Marathon!
 

Inclusion of Minors in
Chorale Activities

 
The Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People sets forth very specific requirements for activities that include minors.  For youth less than 18 years of age to be included in Chorale events, we must assure that these events can be defined as a Family Event as set up by the Diocese of Superior.  To be a family event, every minor must be accompanied by at least one of their

• parents

or

• their court-appointed legal guardian

for the entire duration of the event.  This includes 24 hour supervision to assure the safety and appropriate behavior of each participating youth.
 
Overnight events bring with them another set of issues – specifically sleeping arrangements and showering/bathroom arrangements.
 
Sleeping arrangements   
Participating minors will be sharing a room with their supervising parent(s).  If available, these rooms will include a private bathroom.  Each room has one double bed.  Any occupancy beyond two would then require that the remainder sleep on the floor of the room.  Sleeping bags, air mattress, etc., should be brought to the retreat site to accommodate the youth.
 
Showering/Bathroom arrangements

• If it has one, all minors are to use the private bathroom in their room for showering.

If the number of families needing rooms with private bathrooms exceeds the number available

• If the family’s room does not include a private bathroom due to unavailability, two single use restrooms with showers and lockable doors are located in the lower level of the “new wing” (across the hall from the entrance to the Solanus Center).  Youth should use these facilities, with their parent(s) assuring the youth has privacy and safety while showering.

 
A future possibility—individual background checks and training
An alternative way to fulfill our diocesan safe environment requirements would be to have each member of the Chorale:

• Background checked
• Safe environment trained

This route would require 100% participation by all Chorale members, accurate record keeping and re-certification of Members at the prescribed intervals.  If at some point in the future we would want to adopt this method we’d need to discuss it and decide together as a group.  Overnight procedures would remain primarily the same.
 

 Beginning, During and Ending

 
Beginning
We will begin at 7:30 on Friday evening with Holden Evening Prayer in the chapel, and conclude at noon on Sunday.  Lunch would be off-site and on our own.  St. Anthony’s is expecting your arrival Friday evening any time after 5:00 p.m. 
  
Snacks—beverages
Meals will be provided, but many people like to bring snacks for the evenings, as well as their favorite beverages.  
  
Attire
Dress for comfort.  Weather permitting, outdoor activities may be in the offing for the entire group, so bring appropriate clothing for that, too.
  
Sharing our worship
Besides the attendance of the Chorale membership, and depending on the groups or individuals we’re sharing the retreat center with while we’re there, we may also find a few guests among us there in the chapel as fellow worshippers.  What a joyful opportunity, and a sincere compliment as well.  It is because of this that an attempt has been made to encourage their participation (along with ours) by the provision of a sufficient amount of worship booklets proper to each celebration.  Their timely distribution and eventual collection is part of the job of the sacristan assigned to each liturgy.
   
Sharing in the work involved in worship
Please indicate your willingness to help by volunteering to function in one or more of the required ministries which are listed below.  The more ministries you volunteer for the easier it will make the job of assigning individual ministers without having to assign multiple ministries to generous but potentially beleaguered individuals.  If the Sacred Liturgy is the work of the people, many hands make light work.  Info pages will be made available early-on regarding details on each ministry.
 
   
Holden Evening Prayer—Friday at 7:30 in the chapel
We’ll begin our opportunities for common liturgical prayer with Holden Evening Prayer on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the chapel.  This is a beautiful through-composed piece with limited, set texts—ideal for introducing parishes to the idea of the Liturgy of the Hours.  Readings are chosen according to the liturgical season or an applicable theme.  Besides an assembly which leans toward SATB choral proficiency, the piece includes the involvement of the liturgical ministries listed below. 
 

• Leader  (perhaps the one who recites)
• Assistant  (perhaps the one who sings)
• Group—1 (optional—for setting of Psalm 141 only)
• Group—2 (optional—for setting of Psalm 141 only)
• Reader—1
• Reader—2 (optional)

 

• Evening Prayer Set-up Sacristan

 
Morning Prayer—Saturday and Sunday at 9:00 a.m. in the chapel
Taken from the ordo for that day, these liturgies look to the breviary for their proper scriptural and prayer texts, thus accommodating not only the particular liturgical season but also the memorials, feasts and solemnities included in the liturgical calendar.  (This is similar to the use of proper scriptural and prayer texts contained in the Lectionary and Roman Missal utilized in the celebration of Mass.)  Because of the variability of these proper texts simple, unison chant tones set them to music.  Accompaniment is helpful, but is also limited to encourage the a cappella voice of the assembly.  Because of the need for the use of proper texts, diocesan celebrations of the Liturgy of the Hours reflect this model. 

• Presider
• Cantor
• Reader

 

• Morning Prayer Set-up Sacristan

   
Sacrament of Reconciliation—Saturday from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the chapel
A Priest associated with the retreat center, Fr. Bob Streveler, has kindly offered to provide us the opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation prior to Mass.
   
Anticipated Mass—Saturday at 5:00 in the chapel
Fr. Bob Streveler, will function as our Priest Celebrant for our Saturday Evening Mass.  The following ministries would need to be provided:
 

• Server—1 (lights and puts out candles)
• Server—2 (holds Roman Missal twice during Mass)
• Server—3 (helps with 1. cruets during preparation of the gifts and 2. with water, bowl and towel during lavabo and 3. with purification of vessels after distribution of Holy Communion)
• Cantor
• Reader—1 (First Reading)
• Reader—2 (Second Reading)
• Reader—3 (Prayer of the Faithful)
• Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion—1 (chalice)
• Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion—2 (chalice)
• Mass Sacristan

   

• All payments must be mailed to the chancery:

 
Diocese of Superior
1201 Hughitt Avenue
P.O. Box 969
Superior, WI 54880
 

• No funds may be accepted on-site.
• We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
• Checks should be made payable to the Diocese of Superior – include in the memo “2019 Diocesan Chorale Retreat”

 
As in the past, we want everyone who wants to attend the Chorale retreat to be able to attend, regardless of their ability to pay.  This stays the same.
 

• Our suggested minimum donation was upped last year to $45.00/per person—hopefully that is still okay.

 
 
Perhaps: Those who could afford it could donate a bit more toward specific costs.
Along with increasing the recommended minimum donation I figured that sharing a breakdown of what the actual costs are would give attendees (who perhaps have the wherewithal to donate more) a window into where additional funds could be helpfully applied:
 
Food service costs (per head, per meal)
 
Breakfast (two options available)
Continental                                           5.00
   OR
Full                                                          8.00
 
Lunch                                                    12.00
 
Supper                                                 10.00
 
Lodging costs (per night)
            ___________________________________________________________________
Standard room (no bathroom)           45.00

+10.00 multiple occupancy charge for  each additional person housed
___________________________________________________________________
“Suite” (private bathroom)                  65.00               provided as available for:

• parent(s) supervising minor(s)
• people with limited mobility          

 +10.00 multiple occupancy charge for  each additional person housed
___________________________________________________
 
Conference room cost (per day)                    175.00
 
Clergy stipend                                                            50.00