I had this in Pennsylvania. When I took over as music director, I didn't gut the whole affair musically, but I did take out the lousy Celtic Lord's Prayer. A mom approached me asked to have it reinstated since the kids sang it for the school Mass and new it well. She said that the parents were more likely to sing if their kids were. I stood there momentarily shocked and very politely asked her if it shouldn't be the other way around. We kept the Snow version of the chant and eventually everyone forgot about the Disneyfied version.

This is the Mass at which 'The Band' plays. All the children attend b/c CCD immediately follows it. Consequently, they never,but never hear any traditional music of the church. I take that back. Last week, they heard Nicea with a guitar and drums. And a nice rock beat.

Donna

Oh Maureen how I agree with you! But I can't imagine how I would ever make the idea of "singing the readings" fly. After all, they're not called "singings." I haven't even been able to get the principal to let the children sing the psalm. They read it! And then, of course, they ask me why the kids can't sing a special song during the Mass.

I guess this is about the collection and getting people there? Or maybe that goes without saying.

I think we have a "family Mass" of sorts but the music is all "adult contemporary" e.g. Schutte from the Gathering to the Scattering Song.

Around where I live, the "family Mass" seems to be the one immediately preceding CCD classes. One church where I worked made no distinction in music or liturgy. What I liked was the "cry room" full of adults chatting with each other. However, there was no "talking down" or abbreviation.

Another had a pick-up choir of kids (no rehearsals ever) that sang along with the hymns. And we could only use hymns "the kids already know," rather limiting our choices to some tried-and-true traditionals and the greatest hits of the 1980s. This was a parish that drew families from a wide area because of its orthodox preaching and access to Confessions before Mass. So you'd never get them back for practice. There was a Mass preceding and CCD after. My main complaint as the organist was that the kids kept "dribbling" into the choir loft up until the Gospel. But, heck, children don't drive themselves to church.

I only heard the Eucharistic Prayer for Children once when I played for a school Mass and I was freaked out for two days. (Of course, the only people who sang the weird children's parts were the adults.)

If you have to explain a rite to a congregation, it's because they haven't seen it done properly before.

If there's a Family Mass, when does the Adult's Only Mass start?

It seems to me that there really isn't such a thing as "Children's Mass," even when reading the Directory for Masses With Children. I agree with matthewj above when he states, "...when does the Adults Only Mass start?" When reading the Directory, it seems like either situation could apply for every single Mass, especially since there are inevitably children that attend on weekend Masses, normally "intended for adults." One other question: has anyone had the experience where you are asked to make the music "kid friendly" but nothing else is done in such a manner? i.e. the readings are from the normal Lectionary, the Eucharistic Prayers are the same ones used at regular weekend Masses, the homily is at about the same reading level as the ones used at regular weekend Masses, etc. The Directory seems to advise making the Mass more child-like, especially in chapter III. Masses with children when few adults attend: it suggests having student artwork displayed, and allowing the students to play instruments to the extent that it is not distracting, or decorating special areas of the church.

We used to have Life Teen but they discontinued it, not sure why. There is no "family Mass" at my church, and I'm having a hard time understanding why such a thing is needed. Every Mass is a family Mass, isn't that how it should be? Children are routinely involved in our "regular" Mass, whether it's the children's choir, bringing up gifts, etc. A little card showed up in the pews recently that encouraged families with young children to explain the Mass, don't be afraid to answer questions during the Mass if children are curious, don't leave because the baby is crying, encourage children to participate. As far as the music goes, the children's choir doesn't seem to shy away from difficult hymns or psalm settings, the director holds them to a high standard and they reach it. I often lament the absence of many things at my church, but reading this I realize I am pretty fortunate that they don't seek to separate children or feel a need to do anything "special" just because they are children. I haven't attended any of the school Masses but I imagine, just based on the priest that presides at most of them, those aren't watered down either.

IMHO, there should never be labels attached to the Mass other than "Holy," and then perhaps in multi-lingual communities some sort of indication what the primary vernacular will be (English, Spanish, Polish) or Ordinary/Extraordinary Form can be included. From a purely musical perspective, "Family" Masses and other such Masses "geared toward children" ("school" Masses, etc.) should use the same musical repertoire inasmuch as possible as "regular" Masses, so that when children attend a "regular" Mass it's not a totally foreign experience for them. At the risk of sounding "mushy" (I can't think of a better word right now), every Mass should be a "family" Mass, i.e. families coming to Mass together (understanding sometimes family members may have a ministry to perform, be it lector, choir member, etc.). Personally, my biggest row is when parishes have a "Children's Liturgy of the Word" whereby children are separated from their families and led to a separate place so they can "hear the Word of God in their own language." Often this is led by an ill-trained volunteer who, after reading maybe one or two of the readings from the Children's Lectionary, they're given some sort of coloring/worksheet or other "activity" that maybe corresponds to what they just supposedly heard. Then, perhaps the worst part, is when these leaders attempt to guesstimate when to send the children back to their parents, scattered all over the church; I've seen this happen any time between the end of the homily and, even a couple of times, at the consecration! In an age where family life is under attack from all sides, shouldn't the Church be the place where our "domestic Churches" come together as the greater family of the Church universal? I think once this is understood, many other things will fall into place the way the way they should. Perhaps I'm being too idealistic and/or failing to see other issues at hand, but I had to give my 2 cents on this topic.

The closest thing to a "family Mass" at the parish I currently serve is their late Sunday (6 PM!) Mass. I asked the DM why this Mass exists and also why it's so heavily attended, and the response was twofold: 1) we are now one of only 2 parishes in the entire metro area that offer a late Mass on Sunday, but more importantly, 2) the religious education programs are held immediately following on Sunday evenings and this gives the students, parents and catechists the opportunity to attend Mass without needing to return to church a second time during the day. (It doesn't always happen that way, and there's always the inevitable traffic jam in the parking lot as Mass is letting out and the drive-by parents are dropping their kids off, but at least the opportunity is being offered in a positive way.)

I can see the logic of it, because it gives the families a chance to worship together as families, thus strengthening the notion of domestic church as well as parish identity. There is no LT Mass and the music and liturgy are exactly the same as what would be experienced at the principal Mass on Sunday, so no "folk group" or "praise band" nonsense. (Even the "school" Masses are relatively free of the nonsense too often justified by a tortured misreading of the DMC, although there are a few things that could be improved.)

Do I wish our liturgies were more dignified? Of course. Do I wish the music were more in keeping with the RotR? Of course. Is it good to see a strong (domestic) family identity being promoted within the parish? Absolutely. This is a suburban parish, with typical suburban sensibilities. I think there are many things that could be done better to strengthen and promote a harder-identity Catholicism. But that's not up to me, and I'm hardly in a position to agitate for such things. The good news is that the parish is generally healthy and high-functioning, so should a Pastor be assigned who comes from a more orthodox mindset, he just might be able to make minute, glacial changes toward that goal without disrupting those delicate suburbanites.

A few years ago we were in transition from one priest to another. Our priest became very ill and had to leave and we had an interim priest. He suggested we didn't need a "Lifeteen" Mass or a "Youth Group." His perspective, which was from outside the parish, was that we had a lot of youth who participated and attended Mass, by singing in choirs and serving. They were active in parish life, not at one particular Mass.