When Father Horace (“Tuck”) Grinnell celebrates the Arlington
Diocese’s healing Mass at a different parish each month, the
New Spirit Singers (NSS) are there beside him to provide
music of comfort, hope and reconciliation – a healing
ministry joined nearly three years ago by the choir that
first came together in 1972 at Holy Spirit Parish in
Annandale.
“One of the greatest blessings of the Arlington Healing
Ministry is the participation of the New Spirit Singers at
the Masses,” said Father Grinnell, pastor of St. Anthony of
Padua Church in Falls Church, who has led the ministry for 20
years. “When I am praying with people for healing, I find the
songs the choir is singing become part of my prayer and part
of the healing. Many people have told me that they have
experienced healing through the music at the Mass and during
the healing prayer itself.
“When we asked if anyone wanted to join the choir, people
immediately stepped forward,” he said. “That shows the
attractiveness of the community and the ministry of the
choir.”
Some choir members have been with the group almost from its
beginning, while other members joined recently. The NSS
participated in a weekly parish Mass for 34 years, and the
choir enthusiastically accepted Catherine Griffin’s
invitation to provide music for the monthly healing Masses.
“In my search (for a new choir) I was put in touch with a
much-admired group that might be available,” said Griffin,
who is the healing ministry’s administrator. “As has always
been our experience, the Holy Spirit was in charge, and the
New Spirit Singers agreed to join us. They have added a
beautiful new dimension to the Arlington Healing Ministry.”
The new ministry is a good fit for the choir, whose members
say that the healing is not just for the congregations but
also for those in the music ministry. Sometimes their
problems and old resentments seem to disappear and they feel
healed by the end of the service. They are gratified when
their music touches someone in a specific way, as when a
woman admitted that one of the songs made her stop focusing
on her troubles and instead reflect on all the good she had
in her life.
Traveling to a different parish each month – from Culpeper to
Arlington to Leesburg and everywhere in between – coping with
varying sound systems and choir spaces, and hauling
amplifiers and equipment requires flexibility and commitment.
But it brings special rewards.
“It’s not often that a parish choir can look at the
congregation and see that the people are fully and
emotionally engaged in the music,” said Kathy Getz, NSS
director. “Yet that happens with this ministry almost every
month.”
Outside of Mass, the choir welcomes new members, hopes to
play a parish Christmas Mass again someday, and works hard
during the weekly rehearsals to add music and keep the
repertoire fresh. The 22 choir members say the uplifting,
scripturally based music has more meaning and relevance for
them than most organ-based, traditional hymns.
“The music that we do in NSS just feels right,” said Rick
Stevens, lead guitarist. “NSS takes the music seriously
enough to attract and retain decent talent but not so serious
as to organize the fun out of the group. We’re a prayerful
group of people that deeply care for each other and we praise
God through humble song.”
Choir members value the sense of belonging, support and
warmth from each other. They believe they matter to the
congregations. And most significantly, they find deep
satisfaction in the sense of helping others in the parishes
where they minister.
Greenley is a freelance writer from Northern Virginia.
