Clare Johnson, 29 June 2023
Prof Clare Johnson, Director of the ACU Centre for Liturgy and Professor of Liturgical Studies and Sacramental Theology, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne.
Elizabeth: Tell me a bit about your own ministry journey.
I was drawn into music ministry as a young child when my school principal pulled me out of my class group which was gathered in our church for prayer, to lead the school’s singing. She had discovered that I sang in a children’s choir, and she invited me to lead the school’s sung prayer. I remember that even as a 7-year-old, I felt quite honoured by this invitation, and because it came without warning, I didn’t have time to get nervous and just sang! I have always loved singing, and singing for and with school and parish liturgies in praise of God has been a mainstay in my life ever since.
I consider my professional teaching and facilitation of professional learning opportunities in liturgy, sacraments and the sacred arts for clergy, teachers, parishioners, and university students to be its own form of ministry. When people are given the opportunity to engage with matters of faith in an intellectual way, it can be confronting for them, as they explore theological ideas and information about our faith tradition that they may never have considered before. This can elicit excitement and fascination among many and can be unsettling for some as they discover historical and theological teachings that are new to them and as they are invited to grow and change what they thought they knew about their faith in light of new knowledge. Facilitating such intellectual growth in matters of faith is a privilege and requires careful handling of peoples’ sensibilities as such growth can be difficult and confronting. Some realise that they have been spiritually and intellectually hungry for the knowledge they are encountering, and this can energise and inspire them to seek more. Nurturing such potentially transformative learning experiences in the faith is both a great responsibility and a great privilege, but I believe it is crucial for adults to grow more deeply in love with God and to continue learning about their faith beyond the lessons they received in school, so that they can place God at the centre of their lives in a mature informed way.
Elizabeth: Tell me about an experience of celebrating liturgy that was very meaningful with a community ‘on the margins’.
When we think about the margins, it is important to recognise that there are people at the margins of our church everywhere – those who may have fallen out of regular attendance or who are in a questioning faith phase. I have been privileged to prepare and celebrate liturgies in many different places but will recount a liturgy on a university campus which drew in those at the margins of church among university students.
I sought permission from the associate vice chancellor with oversight for one of ACU’s campuses to create a choir to sing at campus liturgies and other events. Beginning with just 4 students, over the course of four years we grew our numbers to around 30 with all voice types represented and a capacity to sing quite advanced music beautifully. Being part of a liturgical choir was a transformative and bonding experience for the students and staff members who joined. They came for the singing but ended up with so much more. Making music has an incredible power to bond people, and making beautiful music for God in liturgy can have a transformative effect on all involved.
One day, the choir was singing at a Mass at which the University Senate (governing body led by the Chancellor) was present, and we were privileged to have with us that semester several study-abroad students from Germany, one of whom played trumpet. Naturally we incorporated her talents into the music choices, with other students playing guitar and percussion along with a staff member accompanying the choir on piano, and the choir singing at their best. There was something special about the liturgy that day – student choristers led the responsorial psalm from the ambo, the choir was situated in the middle of the assembly to inspire everyone present to sing (the margins were at the centre), and the presider worked seamlessly in dialogue with the musicians leading the assembly’s song to ensure that the liturgy was a truly beautiful, inspirational, and meaningful celebration. We didn’t do anything particularly innovative that day – we just celebrated the liturgy as it is supposed to be celebrated with good music choices, a good presider, and the right spirit guiding our efforts. The choristers worked as a team to lead the assembly’s prayer, and that day the combination of occasion, music, musicians, assembly, and God working together, generated an experience of pure genuine joy. At the conclusion of the final hymn, the assembly burst into spontaneous applause, which was not expected, and the Chancellor stepped to the front of the assembly and held up his hands to stop their applause. We wondered if he thought the applause was inappropriate and was going to reprimand everyone. But instead, he spoke to the gathering, and said “Now that’s how Mass should be celebrated at ACU! Bravo!” and he then led a second round of applause. The students in the choir were stunned by this reaction from the university’s leadership and they came to a realisation that what they contributed through their hard work and commitment mattered – they mattered, and as they were congratulated by the Senators, their understanding of what music ministry is about and their commitment to continuing to offer it grew. Those choristers who were at the margins began to understand that they had a place in their church and that what they could contribute was highly valued. Many of them have since gone on from their university choir experience to spread the knowledge and spirit of collaboration they gained to other communities of which they are a part.
Elizabeth: What do you think is made possible by the ordained diaconal ministry?
Deacons bring God’s Word and God’s care to church communities in many places. Deacons who have been well formed understand that they are a crucial link between the people of God and the Bishop who has pastoral responsibility for them. Jesus taught that “where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them” (Matt 18:20) and the leadership of a deacon can galvanise a marginal community to come together to experience God’s presence among them and to share the Spirit with all of those in their area. The special role of deacons in reaching out to those in need in the community, in voicing those needs in prayer, and in working practically to help ameliorate those needs, is vital among our church communities.
The deacon’s capacity to proclaim and preach God’s Word can be a compassionate, informed, meaning-generating force for good in Catholic communities near and far. While each Catholic is responsible for their own individual faith journey, lacking opportunities to gather with other people of faith can place an unworkable burden on individuals to maintain their faith in isolation. Humans don’t flourish in isolation – we need each other, and faithful humans need to gather with others who share their faith in order for that faith to be strengthened through support and interaction with one another, and nourished through the inspiration faithful leaders can engender. Not being able to gather for worship and fellowship because there is no one to call people of faith together can leave us in spiritual isolation. While the ideal is that we will celebrate Mass together regularly, when that is not possible, celebrating the Liturgy of the Word with Communion regularly still nourishes our minds, bodies, and spirits until we can celebrate Mass once more. The work of deacons is crucial in calling God’s people to gather in God’s presence to receive the nourishment we so need to flourish. The importance of having a local official representative of the Bishop who can baptise, facilitate marriages and funerals and preach God’s Word amid the assembly cannot be underestimated. A deacon who knows who the members of the faith community are, what gifts they can contribute to the worshiping assembly, and how to invite them to share those gifts with joy is an essential part of any local Catholic community lucky enough to have one ministering among them. Thank God for the work of our Deacons!
Thanks, Clare!
To register for our upcoming events: Retreat (1-3 September) or Webinar (3 September), please visit https://liturgyonthemargins.org/events/
Liturgy on the Margins 