My (Episcopal) parish has a sizable contingent of people who like "praise music," which (sometimes) means 70s-era Catholic folk, and I don't mind programming it (in theory) when the text fits (and you all know I like a lot of the genre). But I have to agree with Gavin about the quality. And, from first-hand experience- it's difficult to sing and feels strangely stressful from the congregation.
"But, we never hear accounts of dignified programs that integrate varied styles at varied Masses. . . are places like that a mirage?"
common among protestant churches here in Texas to have two (or more!) services of vastly different format at the same time. For example: traditional service in the sanctuary, contemporary service in the parish hall, Spanish service in the chapel, etc.
I'm not sure how these work out in practice. As far as I can tell, the different groups seem to mostly pretend the other doesn't exist.
All the groups pretend the others don't exist, and seem to want little to do with each other. I suppose I should be grateful they are not fighting.
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