Diocesan National Pastoral Musicians chapter receives recognition, prestigious national honor
Laura Forbis St. Clair’s soul leaps for joy whenever she hears people humming or whistling a hymn on their way out of church after Mass.
It means people are taking their worship out with them.
“That’s what we mean by ‘fully conscious, active participation by the laity,’” said Mrs. St. Clair, director of the Jefferson City diocese’s chapter of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM).
“Our worship at Mass is supposed to flow seamlessly into our everyday lives,” she noted. “Into how we pray, how we work, how we interact with other people. It needs to leave a lasting impression on all of our senses, and music is such an important part of that.”
The Jefferson City diocese’s NPM chapter was recently honored as 2025’s Chapter of the Year.
Mrs. St. Clair accepted the award during NPM’s June 27-28 regional gathering in San Antonio, Texas.
“I was really surprised,” she stated. “There are chapters in New York and Philly and Chicago and all over Texas. Big chapters. But, here we are.”
The NPM’s mission is to foster the art of liturgical music.
The local chapter sponsors events and offers learning, formation and networking opportunities for people who lead the music for worship in parishes of all sizes.
“It’s not just for professional musicians,” Mrs. St. Clair emphasized. “It’s for everybody. The smallest volunteer in the smallest mission, up to the paid professionals leading music in our larger parishes.”
The local chapter received national attention this past year when Archbishop Shawn McKnight called on members to help with the diocesan-wide Sacred Music Consultation and implementation of the Official Decree he promulgated on sacred music shortly before being appointed archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas.
The consultation included surveys and listening sessions, with NPM members and officers assisting and facilitating.
Some of the discussion topics were lively, such as promoting the use of common hymns and settings of the Mass throughout the diocese, and avoiding hymns that contain theologically deficient lyrics or those that were written by composers who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse.
“Everyone is watching with this decree and the accompanying instruction and how this all moves forward,” said Mrs. St. Clair. “I had more people approach me in San Antonio — people on the NPM council and the board of directors. They wanted to know what’s going on with the discernment process, with the implementation of the decree. They’re watching us.”
In promulgating the degree, titled, “On the Pastoral Use of Sacred Music in the Diocese,” and the related instruction, “Spirit and Truth: Instruction Regarding the Use of Music in the Liturgy,” this April, Archbishop McKnight addressed the role of the local NPM chapter:
“I have therefore directed that appropriate Chancery personnel shall devote more resources for a robust formation for our liturgical musicians, working with the local chapter of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM),” he stated.
“This organization is a necessary and vital collaborator in our efforts to worship in Spirit and truth,” the archbishop wrote. “Alongside the Diocesan Liturgical Commission, the NPM can identify resources, including: sound engineers to assist with acoustic challenges; liturgical musicians who can advise and assist parish leadership in selecting music; and networks which allow people to exchange best practices. These efforts will ultimately empower the assembly to participate prayerfully and reverently with a wider range of musical styles and instrumentation.”
While leading this diocese, Archbishop McKnight also encouraged everyone involved in music for the Mass to become NPM members.
“He knows what NPM does,” said Mrs. St. Clair. “He knows the importance of NPM and what it does for musicians, for education, for formation, for networking, for everything.”
Today and tomorrow
The diocesan NPM chapter was established in 1991 but eventually became inactive.
Mrs. St. Clair and her husband, Chris, approached Archbishop McKnight about reactivating the chapter shortly after he arrived here in 2018.
Membership grew steadily from 20 to 30 members — in large part due to publicity from the Sacred Music Consultation.
“Liturgical music — the music at our liturgies — has a deep effect on people — how we pray, how we experience the Liturgy,” said Mrs. St. Clair. “We’ve all seen how sacred music done correctly can take you to a new level with prayer. And I think we also all know what bad music can do.”
She noted that NPM chapter members are committed to mentoring the next generation of young musicians to help with Mass, and to helping develop solutions to concerns stemming from the changing landscape for parishes and Catholic music.
“The mentoring end of it and the networking opportunities are amazing,” said Mrs. Forbis. “It’s less about ‘What can NPM do for me?’ than about, ‘What can we do to help mentor the next generation? What can each of us bring to the table that someone else needs?’”
The chapter will hold its annual membership meeting on Saturday, July 19, over Zoom. Anyone who wishes to participate should email a request to jeffersoncitymo@npm.org.
