Black Catholic Events

Christ the King Catholic Church Presents Fifth Annual Catholic Liturgy Music Workshop
with Pastoral Musician of the Year Rawn Harbor
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(San Diego, California) Fr. Tommie L. Jennings, Pastor of Christ the King Catholic Church, announces the fourth annual Catholic Liturgy Music Workshop on Thursday, November 13 through Sunday, November 16, 2008. The workshop will take place at Christ the King Catholic Church, located at 29 North 32nd Street (at Imperial) in San Diego (next to the 32nd and Commercial Trolley Station). November is Black Catholic History month and as part of the celebrations, Mr. Rawn Harbor, a nationally recognized liturgist, composer and musician will once again present a series of dynamic workshops. The theme of the workshop is Praising God through Psalm & Song. The workshop takes place on Thursday, November 13 and Friday, November 14 from 6:30 PM until 9:30 PM, and Saturday, November 15 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, with a liturgical music workshop.

This Gospel music workshop focuses on the African American Catholic worship experience and culminates in a special Gospel Mass featuring music from the workshop on Sunday, November 16 at 8:30 AM at Christ the King. All choir members and musicians must attend the workshop in order to sing and play at the Sunday liturgy. On Friday, November 14, Harbor will present a special Liturgical Practices workshop for liturgy directors, choir directors and music directors from 10:00 AM until 3:00 PM. The workshop will illustrate how any cultural experience can be used to enliven the liturgy and deepen the worship experience in the context of the Catholic tradition. If you are a liturgical minister, singer, musician, choir member, music minister, composer, choir director, deacon, priest or just interested in how to bring your liturgies alive, this workshop is for you. EarlyBird Registration is a $25.00 per person donation through November 3 and a $30.00 donation beginning November 4 for the choir workshop, and children 1216 are free. All are welcome. Please contact Robin Dillard at 6197239219 or rdillard_4@yahoo.com by October 31 to reserve a space in the Liturgy Director/Choir Director/Music Director Workshop.

Rawn Harbor is currently Pastoral Associate and Director of Liturgy at St. Columba Catholic Church in Oakland, California. He serves as an Adjunct Faculty member and Director of Liturgy and Music at the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley, California, and Adjunct Faculty and Director of the Gospel Choir at the University of San Francisco. For the last six years, he has taught and served as Coordinator of Liturgy for the Institute of Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University in New Orleans, Louisiana, and is an adjunct instructor in Pastoral Ministry for the Leadership track at the institute. Since 1974, Harbor has travelled the country as a liturgist, musician and lecturer. He studied at Furman University, Howard University, The Catholic University of the Americas, the Catholic Theological Union at Georgetown University and at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, where he earned his Masters in Theological Studies in 2001.

Harbor was a member of the music selection team as part to the national committee headed by the late Bishop James P. Lyke, OFM, Ph.D., that created Lead Me, Guide Me, an African American Catholic Hymnal published by GIA Publications, Inc. He recently completed a Psalms from the Soul, a complete compilation of twenty-eight gospel-style psalms and canticles with verbatim texts from the Lectionary divided into two volumes with Val Parker, and Frank and Val Limar Jansen. Psalms from the Soul supplies common psalms and Gospel canticles for the entire liturgical year (Cycles A, B and C). The CD, vocal parts and accompaniment books for Volume 1 are now available through Oregon Catholic Press (OCP), and will be available for purchase at the workshop. Volume 2 is scheduled for release in Fall 2008. Harbor also contributed to the book, "Let It Shine: The Emergence of African American Catholic Worship," by Mary E. McGann, R.S.C.J., with Eva Marie Lumas, S.S.S, published by the University of Fordham Press.

In 1994, Harbor became Director of the Office of Worship for the Diocese of Wichita, Kansas, becoming the first African American in the country to head a liturgy office. He was recognized as the 2004 National Pastoral Musician of the Year by the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, the national professional organization of Catholic Church musicians, clergy, liturgists and other church personnel involved in liturgical and pastoral music throughout the United States. Harbor is currently working on several liturgical and musical projects with the Catholic and Lutheran churches, including a compilation of musical works from the African American perspective and a Mass entitled Mass of Liberation. Harbor served as director of music, presenter and panelist at Straight from the Heart, the first annual West Coast African American Catholic Men's Conference in September 2007.

Fr. Jennings states that, "It is a pleasure and a real pleasure to bring someone as talented and knowledgeable about both Catholic liturgy and traditions and Black Catholic Spirituality as Rawn Harbor back to San Diego. He is a much sought after workshop facilitator, speaker and liturgist and everyone who comes to the workshop is sure to be blessed with new ideas that may be used in their own liturgies. I am sure that all who attend will leave with a deeper and richer understanding of their faith and how their culture, no matter what culture that may be, can enhance the liturgical knowledge and experience."

Christ the King Catholic Church is located at 29 North 32nd Street (at Imperial Avenue), next to the 32nd and Commercial Trolley Station. To register for the workshop or for more information, please contact Robin Dillard at 6197239219 or rdillard_4@yahoo.com or Christ the King Catholic Church at 619-2318906 or ctksandiego@sbcglobal.net.

News Media Contact Person: Robin Dillard
Telephone Number: 6197239219
Email: rdillard_4@yahoo.com

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