The music soared through the sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes
Church in Arlington. A clear female voice sang out, and then
a man’s voice joined in, supporting hers. Guitars played so
softly in the background that the performance seemed a
cappella.
The song’s lyrics told of Christ’s crucifixion: “Lead me to
the cross/Where Your love poured out/ Rid me of myself/I
belong to You.”
Instead of traditional hymns, the newly created Arlington
Worship sings contemporary praise and worship music every
other Tuesday night. The songs are simple and emotive. The
lyrics are filled with nature imagery and the repetition of
phrases. The instrumentation is less traditional than typical
church music. Members strum a guitar and an electric bass;
another slaps the cajon, a type of drum.
The energy of the music is dramatic – building like the top
of a wave, then crashing down to calmer, more delicate
sounds. “There’s something about the build of the song and
then the drop out in the silence,” said Catherine Dworak, who
leads the Arlington Worship band. “It really does have a
movement (to it) that creates a space for God.”
Dworak first heard praise and worship music as a freshman
attending the diocesan high school youth ministry Rally. “We
had adoration (and) it was really foreign to me, but to this
day I remember the first song that we sung, which I think is
a beautiful (sign) of what it meant to me,” she said. “We
sang ‘Here I Am to Worship’ and it was a really powerful
experience. It showed me that music in the church can be
alive.”
Young adults at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Arlington
have started a new praise and worship group. Read more
about it in next week’s edition of the Herald.Posted by Arlington
Catholic Herald on Saturday, March 19, 2016
Her love of contemporary worship music led to her join a
praise and worship group during her time at the University of
Virginia. There she saw that music has an ability to attract
those who are otherwise uncomfortable with the faith. “It can
be a way to get them into the door and experience God and be
challenged in a new way, so that maybe a silent Holy Hour in
the future would be something they would be interested in,”
she said.
When she and others in the Arlington area saw there was no
worship team around, they approached Brendan Gotta, young
adult coordinator for the Arlington Diocese. Together they
created Arlington Worship, consisting of a praise session,
the sacrament of penance and a brief reflection on the
Scriptures by either Gotta or Father Robert E. Avella, pastor
of Our Lady of Lourdes.
“Finally, it came together,” said Zach Kleinberg, a singer
who helped start the core Arlington Worship band a little
more than a year after he moved to the region. Years ago
Kleinberg found singing to be the best way for him to connect
with his faith. “With this type of music that’s less
structured, it allows me to give my own personal self to
God,” he said.
When Kleinberg was younger, praise and worship music was the
only thing that kept him coming back to church, he said. “I’d
be a crazy person the rest of the week and then sing at
church on Sunday,” he said. “As I got older I realized how
important that was to keep in my life. After a crazy, hectic,
stressful day, this is the best thing I could possibly do.”
At the end of the night, the band and those who had gathered
in the pews finished with a contemporary version of the
classic hymn “Be Thou My Vision.” The song served as a
reminder that whether accompanied by a choir and a pianist or
amped up by electric guitars and emotive vocals, the act of
worship is at the heart of every type of music ministry.
“This is a way that we love to pray,” Gotta said.
“Worship is the act of taking the focus off of ourselves and
putting it on the person who deserves all that attention and
all that focus,” said Dworak. “It’s a reminder of who God is
and who we are called to be more like.”
The next Arlington Worship will take place March29, 8 p.m.,
followed by a social. For the full Arlington Worship
schedule, visit the young adult Facebook page here.
Di Mauro can be reached at [email protected] or on
Twitter @zoeydimauro.
