{"id":59914,"date":"2022-04-26T10:54:12","date_gmt":"2022-04-26T15:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/?p=59914"},"modified":"2022-05-02T17:47:45","modified_gmt":"2022-05-02T22:47:45","slug":"behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/26\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\/","title":{"rendered":"Behold, I Tell You a Mystery"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A couple of months ago, I sang in a community chorus presentation of John Rutter\u2019s <em>Requiem<\/em>. Like the <em>Deutches Requiem<\/em> of Brahms, Rutter didn\u2019t stick strictly to the liturgical outline or texts of a particular tradition, but largely cobbled together his own series of movements for the work, from the pre-conciliar Roman rite and the Book of Common Prayer (1662).<\/p>\n<p>This was the fifth time in my musical life that I\u2019ve performed this piece, and one thing that has consistently struck me as odd is that Rutter\u2014a man who\u2019s made his livelihood in the world of choral music\u2014did not set the <em>In Paradisum,<\/em> a text featuring a choir of angels. He doesn\u2019t set the <em>Dies Irae<\/em> either, which has led me to wonder\u2014since Rutter has publicly acknowledged his atheism and atheistic upbringing\u2014if those texts that necessitate a stronger use of the religious imagination would be avoided by a post-Enlightenment\/rational humanist composer. (The big caveat, of course, being his evocative setting of the twenty-third psalm in the work.)<\/p>\n<p>This all was very much on my mind when I encountered the March article in <a href=\"https:\/\/baptistnews.com\/article\/interest-in-choral-singing-is-not-declining-in-america-so-why-are-church-choirs-disappearing\/#.Ymbumi2ZPJw\">Baptist News<\/a> about the mysterious disconnect between the ongoing\u2014and increasing\u2014popularity of choral singing in the U.S. alongside a statistical decline in church choirs. (The Baptist News article drew upon a lengthier, more in-depth report from <a href=\"https:\/\/chorusamerica.org\/sites\/default\/files\/resources\/ChorusImpactStudy_SingingforaLifetime.pdf\">Chorus America<\/a> on the various impacts and benefits of lifelong singing.)<\/p>\n<p>Part of this decrease in church choirs\u2014but only part of the decrease\u2014can be explained by the overall decrease in churches and church attendance, perhaps even by the decrease in the general population belonging to any type of social organization or club. Another substantive contributor is the widespread rise of praise band ministries in white evangelical Protestant churches as normative. This may be why Roman Catholic churches, along with Black Protestant churches, rank highest in having choirs. Yet there is still a mysterious disconnect.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/4.26-0150903000da7143387907cb660d59ce.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"287\" height=\"215\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-59916\" srcset=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/4.26-0150903000da7143387907cb660d59ce.jpg 287w, https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/4.26-0150903000da7143387907cb660d59ce-100x75.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 287px) 100vw, 287px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Some of my musical colleagues whose ministry includes the recruitment, formation, rehearsal, and overall guidance of choirs have spoken about the difficulty of getting volunteer singers to make and maintain an ongoing commitment. (Though the Chorus America study found that people who commit to choirs also commit more readily to other volunteer roles.) It\u2019s no secret that our day-to-day lives (even pre-pandemic) place enormous demands on time, and household schedules frequently have a daunting complexity to them. I\u2019ll admit that I\u2019ve wondered from time to time what would happen if other liturgical ministries\u2014lector, eucharistic minister\u2014had the commitment of an hour or two per week of rehearsal or preparation time.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond some of the nuts \u2018n\u2019 bolts issues like time and scheduling, I have found myself looking to less tangible things, especially the effects of the surrounding culture. TV and other media certainly have promoted the  literal idolization of solo singers and\u2014in the best U.S. fashion\u2014have pitted them in competition against each other. Two things that run 180 degrees counter to the group cooperation a church choir demands. Individuals also increasingly come to the conclusion that if they don\u2019t have a voice of idolization caliber, then they have nothing to contribute (including singing in the pews on Sunday). We also have become a culture that consumes music much more often and readily than we make it\u2014I\u2019d suspect that even the 54 million chorus singers mentioned in the study spend more time in passive consumption of music (from public spaces to hours with earbuds in) than they do in the making of music. As far back as the late 80s, after dinner with choir members and their three kids (all five in the household sang in my choirs), I suggested we gather at the piano and sing a few songs together. They looked at me as though I\u2019d said we all should ride our bicycles through the car wash.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/4.26-32994_hd-300x210.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"210\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-59917\" srcset=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/4.26-32994_hd-300x210.jpg 300w, https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/4.26-32994_hd.jpg 562w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Baptist News article also mentions the visual element that choirs provide, in being a visible (as well as sonic) sign of the unities that should characterize Christian life overall. In addition to being an ongoing visible sign of unity, choirs can also be a sonic foretaste (\u201cMetaphors are for mixing.\u201d Robert Hovda) of the heavenly choirs to come, and our own full, conscious, active, and eternal participation in them. I fear that for many of the faithful, as for Mr. Rutter, the choral aspect of the afterlife isn\u2019t engaging their imaginations. While the imagination may still engage in sensate understandings of heaven, it is often as the fulfillment of <a href=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2017\/04\/06\/heaven-hell-hallmark-holy-week\/\">earthly personal<\/a> tastes.<\/p>\n<p>When Shakespeare wrote of \u201cbare, ruined choirs\u201d he was likely thinking of churches emptied and destroyed by Henry VIII. There is a current likelihood that a monarchy of a different kind may be at work today, setting about the same task at a slower pace. Ironically, while those around us still continue to sing as choirs, in our own houses there may be greater risk of them becoming bare and ruined.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Part of this decrease in church choirs\u2014but only part of the decrease\u2014can be explained by the overall decrease in churches and church attendance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":59915,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[3119],"tags":[3564,2056],"class_list":["post-59914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-plaza-new-ws","tag-choirs","tag-liturgical-music"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Behold, I Tell You a Mystery - Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/26\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Behold, I Tell You a Mystery - Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Part of this decrease in church choirs\u2014but only part of the decrease\u2014can be explained by the overall decrease in churches and church attendance.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/26\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-04-26T15:54:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-05-02T22:47:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/4.26-istockphoto-992819954-612x612-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"612\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"408\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alan Hommerding\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alan Hommerding\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/26\\\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/26\\\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Alan Hommerding\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/29da6922696c3bded94a79a08d2f630b\"},\"headline\":\"Behold, I Tell You a Mystery\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-04-26T15:54:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-02T22:47:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/26\\\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":843,\"commentCount\":8,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/26\\\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/4.26-istockphoto-992819954-612x612-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Choirs\",\"Liturgical Music\"],\"articleSection\":[\"4_THE PLAZA\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/26\\\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/26\\\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/26\\\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\\\/\",\"name\":\"Behold, I Tell You a Mystery - Home\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/26\\\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/26\\\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/4.26-istockphoto-992819954-612x612-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-04-26T15:54:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-02T22:47:45+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/26\\\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/26\\\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/26\\\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/4.26-istockphoto-992819954-612x612-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/4.26-istockphoto-992819954-612x612-1.jpg\",\"width\":612,\"height\":408,\"caption\":\"Detail of traditional hard wood courthouse jury, church choir sitting area. Interior with empty wooden seats\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/26\\\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Behold, I Tell You a Mystery\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Home\",\"description\":\"Worship, Wit &amp; Wisdom\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Home\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/09\\\/cropped-BlogHeaderFinal2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/09\\\/cropped-BlogHeaderFinal2.jpg\",\"width\":1340,\"height\":209,\"caption\":\"Home\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/29da6922696c3bded94a79a08d2f630b\",\"name\":\"Alan Hommerding\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/AJHphoto-96x96.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/AJHphoto-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/AJHphoto-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Alan Hommerding\"},\"description\":\"Alan Hommerding has been with World Library Publications (WLP) since 1991, most recently as Liturgical Publications Editor for the WLP division of GIA Publications. He is also a composer of numerous published choral and instrumental works, and is well-known as an author of hymn texts. Alan has served the North American Academy of Liturgy as convener of the liturgical music seminar, and as a member of the executive group for the Catholic Academy of Liturgy. He has been a regular contributor to the PrayTell blog since 2016.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/ahommerding\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Behold, I Tell You a Mystery - Home","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/26\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Behold, I Tell You a Mystery - Home","og_description":"Part of this decrease in church choirs\u2014but only part of the decrease\u2014can be explained by the overall decrease in churches and church attendance.","og_url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/26\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\/","og_site_name":"Home","article_published_time":"2022-04-26T15:54:12+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-05-02T22:47:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":612,"height":408,"url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/4.26-istockphoto-992819954-612x612-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Alan Hommerding","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Alan Hommerding","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/26\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/26\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\/"},"author":{"name":"Alan Hommerding","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#\/schema\/person\/29da6922696c3bded94a79a08d2f630b"},"headline":"Behold, I Tell You a Mystery","datePublished":"2022-04-26T15:54:12+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-02T22:47:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/26\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\/"},"wordCount":843,"commentCount":8,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/26\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/4.26-istockphoto-992819954-612x612-1.jpg","keywords":["Choirs","Liturgical Music"],"articleSection":["4_THE PLAZA"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/26\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/26\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\/","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/26\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\/","name":"Behold, I Tell You a Mystery - Home","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/26\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/26\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/4.26-istockphoto-992819954-612x612-1.jpg","datePublished":"2022-04-26T15:54:12+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-02T22:47:45+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/26\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/26\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/26\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/4.26-istockphoto-992819954-612x612-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/4.26-istockphoto-992819954-612x612-1.jpg","width":612,"height":408,"caption":"Detail of traditional hard wood courthouse jury, church choir sitting area. Interior with empty wooden seats"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/26\/behold-i-tell-you-a-mystery\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Behold, I Tell You a Mystery"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/","name":"Home","description":"Worship, Wit &amp; Wisdom","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#organization","name":"Home","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/cropped-BlogHeaderFinal2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/cropped-BlogHeaderFinal2.jpg","width":1340,"height":209,"caption":"Home"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#\/schema\/person\/29da6922696c3bded94a79a08d2f630b","name":"Alan Hommerding","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/AJHphoto-96x96.jpg","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/AJHphoto-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/AJHphoto-96x96.jpg","caption":"Alan Hommerding"},"description":"Alan Hommerding has been with World Library Publications (WLP) since 1991, most recently as Liturgical Publications Editor for the WLP division of GIA Publications. He is also a composer of numerous published choral and instrumental works, and is well-known as an author of hymn texts. Alan has served the North American Academy of Liturgy as convener of the liturgical music seminar, and as a member of the executive group for the Catholic Academy of Liturgy. He has been a regular contributor to the PrayTell blog since 2016.","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/author\/ahommerding\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/4.26-istockphoto-992819954-612x612-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/63"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59914"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59914\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59923,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59914\/revisions\/59923"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}