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No. 3 June (1990)

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No. 1 November (1989)

George Brockway (1922 to 1965), probably best known within the scientific circles of this State for his research into tree growth in the arid zones of WA, was also a major contributor to the establishment and maintenance of the extensive system of Nature Reserves in the Central Wheatbelt region. As a conservationist he was concerned with protecting the fragile ecosystem of these drier areas, which he felt was directly threatened by agriculture expansion

Fordham, Helen

University of Notre Dame Australia
ResearchOnline@ND
Business Papers and Journal Articles School of Business
1988
George Brockway: The forgotten conservationist
Helen Fordham
University of Notre Dame Australia, helen.fordham@nd.edu.au
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This article was originally published as:
Fordham, H. (1988). George Brockway: The forgotten conservationist. The Western Australian Naturalist, 17 (4), 94-96.
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http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/bus_article/75. For more information,
please contact researchonline@nd.edu.au.




George Brockway: The forgotten conservationist

Mangan, Michael

Pastoral Liturgy 
Volume 53 
Issue 1 Pastoral Liturgy 53, No 1 Article 7 
7-11-1973 
The Communion Song: When to Sing and What to Sing 
Michael Mangan 
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Mangan, Michael. "The Communion Song: When to Sing and What to Sing." Pastoral Liturgy 53, no. 1 (2022): 1-3. 
https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/pastoral-liturgy/vol53/iss1/7 
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The Communion Song:  
When to Sing and What to Sing 
By Michael Mangan 
 
 
(Previous versions of this article were published in the Australian Pastoral Musicians 
Network Newsletter (11/2), GIA Quarterly (33/1) and Liturgy News (51/3). 
 
The string quartet has been engaged to provide music for the convention’s annual 
gala dinner. Once set up they quickly seat themselves at the head table and tuck into 
the beautifully presented appetisers as other guests are gradually served. All eat in 
silence until the musicians return to their instruments to provide the dinner music for 
which they had been contracted. A liturgical version of this unlikely scenario is 
enacted in many churches each weekend. 
 
As a liturgical music clinician, I find that few topics are as contentious as the 
Communion song. And the issues aren’t Latin versus vernacular, traditional or 
contemporary, organ or a capella. Nope. The hot topic is, ‘When do the musicians 
receive Communion?’ Many music ministers are committed to being first in the 
Communion procession. I have sat in cathedrals and parish churches where the 
organist will play a quiet instrumental as choir members process to receive 
Communion. And sometimes, like the gala dinner, the Communion procession 
begins in complete silence as all the music ministers rush to be first in line. 
 
The stated concerns are always the same. ‘We might miss out on receiving from the 
chalice if we don’t go first!’ ‘They might be running low on hosts and we will only get 
a small piece!’ ‘We can’t exactly time the ending of the Communion song if we don’t 
go first!’ ‘There will be an awkward silence before the start of the post-Communion 
song.’ That’s when I suggest that we step back, look at the liturgy, delve into the 
documents, and revisit the point and purpose of the Communion song, and for that 
matter, of music ministry. 
 
Firstly, like all liturgical ministers, music ministers are called to be servants. The very 
word ‘ministry’ comes from the Latin ministerium, meaning ‘service.’ Music ministers 
are called to serve the needs of the liturgy and serve the liturgical ‘work,’ the full, 
conscious and active participation, of the assembly. Servants don’t load up their 
plates first in case the food runs out. The needs of the guests, and of the occasion, 
are always prioritised. In the liturgy, these needs are very clear. The Communion 
song helps unify the entire ritual action of the Communion procession; a single action 
which begins with the presider’s Communion and continues until all have received. 
The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), the user manual for liturgy, 
spells out the purpose, place and procedure for the Communion song.  
‘While the priest is receiving the Sacrament, the Communion chant (song) is begun’ 
(GIRM,86). Not after the priest has received. Not after the Communion antiphon has 
been recited. Not after a long instrumental introduction to enable the choir to receive 
Communion first. The Communion procession begins with the priest’s Communion 
and the song should accompany the entire procession. But does it really matter? 
It matters. The purpose of the Communion song ‘is to express the communicants’ 
union in spirit by means of the unity of their voices, to show joy of heart, and to 
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Mangan: The Communion Song
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highlight more clearly the ‘communitarian’ nature of the procession to receive 
Communion’ (GIRM, 86). The Communion procession is never the place for silent, 
private prayer and reflection. Rather, it is a time of heightened unity in sacrament 
and community. Singing together enables the assembly to experience and express 
this unity as all process to be sacramentally unified in the eucharistic meal.  
 
Theologically and liturgically, the Communion rite is about unity in, and through the 
body of Christ. ‘Many’ become ‘one’ through shared ritual action as the assembly 
sings, processes, eats and drinks together. And the ‘glue’ that holds this whole ‘ritual 
of unity’ together is the song. The active participation of the assembly in the shared 
Communion song is a vital and integral part of making this sacramental unity a 
reality. 
 
The ‘unity of voices,’ which is called for in GIRM 86, is only possible if the assembly 
can actively participate in the chosen song. The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy 
(CSL) states that ‘full and active participation by all the people is the aim to be 
considered before all else’ (CSL, 14) and this is especially true for the Communion 
song. The choice of the song to accompany the procession to receive from the 
Lord’s table is vital. Enabling the voice of the assembly is the paramount 
consideration. This is no time for instrumentals, solos or performances of Latin 
motets or choral anthems. This is about the participation of the people. So the 
Communion song must be discerned and chosen carefully. Can this piece be sung 
by the assembly? Is the refrain easily remembered? Does the language in the song 
express the unity of many becoming one – we, us and our rather than I, me and my? 
Is the song processional in nature? Does it accompany and assist the physical 
movement of the procession? 
At this point, it must be acknowledged that there are tensions in the documents. After 
listing suitable texts and songs to be sung during Communion, GIRM 87 goes on to 
say that ‘[the Communion song] is sung by the choir alone or by the choir or cantor 
with the people’. The singing of the Communion song ‘by the choir alone’ is 
inconsistent with the theological basis and spirit of GIRM 86. GIRM 87 is often used 
to support the use of choral performance pieces, rather than community song, during 
the Communion procession.  
The pattern of many liturgical documents is that the theology, purpose, and best 
practice are stated first (GIRM, 86) and then a ‘fall back’ position (often to placate 
alternative viewpoints) is presented afterwards. In this light, it is recommended that 
music and liturgy directors look to the principles and best practice found in GIRM 86 
rather than relying on the often easier option of, ‘Let’s just let the choir do it.’ Clearly, 
the ‘choir alone’ option fails to ‘express the communicants’ union in spirit by means 
of the unity of their voices’ or ‘highlight more clearly the communitarian nature of the 
procession to receive Communion’. Let the people sing and choir support them! 
How long should the Communion song last? ‘The singing is continued for as long as 
the Sacrament is being administered to the faithful’ (GIRM, 86). To unify the 
Communion procession through the voice of the assembly, the song accompanies 
the distribution of Communion until the last person has received or for as long as 
practically possible. GIRM 86 concludes with a reminder that ‘care should be taken 
that singers, too, can receive Communion with ease’. 
 
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Pastoral Liturgy, Vol. 53 [2022], Iss. 1, Art. 7
https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/pastoral-liturgy/vol53/iss1/7
So, when and how do music ministers receive Communion? Certainly, musicians’ 
communion must not be forgotten but this occurs after they have served the liturgy 
and the assembly. Balancing these seemingly competing needs is imperative and is 
possible with careful forethought and planning.  
 
Specific procedures will depend on the size and make up of particular music ministry 
groups and their placement in the liturgical space. A larger music ministry group 
might go to receive Communion a few at a time so that some are always available to 
support the song of the assembly throughout the procession; and, of course, when 
processing they would still sing as members of the full, conscious and actively 
participating assembly! This might mean that the flute descant or vocal harmonies 
that have been rehearsed may need to be omitted for part of the song. But are the 
harmonies the priority here? Is the performance of the choir or instrumentalists more 
important than the song of the assembly during the Communion procession? GIRM 
86 clearly indicates not.  
 
For smaller groups with a single accompanist, an instrumental interlude might 
continue as the singers receive Communion or the singers could continue to lead the 
song of the assembly a capella as they join the end of the procession. And, if 
necessary, a little silence as the last few musicians receive communion is 
immeasurably preferable to delaying participatory song until all of the musicians 
have processed to the table first! Ministers of Communion must be aware of the local 
procedure and ensure that the musicians also have the opportunity to share in the 
eucharistic banquet. 
Rather than being perceived as ‘awkward,’ a short period of silence while musicians 
receive Communion at the end of the procession could be reframed as the beginning 
the contemplative silence suggested in GIRM 88 where ‘the priest and faithful spend 
some time praying privately’. It is much more important for the Communion song to 
begin ‘on time’, as the priest receives Communion, than it is to end it exactly as the 
last communicant receives. 
In conclusion: 
• The Communion song begins as the priest receives Communion and continues for 
as long as the sacrament is being administered. 
• This song belongs to the assembly: the unity of voices shows a unity of spirit and 
highlights the communitarian nature of the Communion procession. 
• The Communion procession is not a time for silence, instrumentals, or choral 
pieces in which the assembly cannot participate. 
• As servants of the liturgy and the assembly, music ministers must firstly fulfill the 
requirements of the rite. This may often mean that they receive Communion at the 
end of the procession. 
Finally, while there may be good logistical reasons for music ministers hurrying off to 
Communion first, there are no good liturgical or theological reasons to do so. Liturgy 
always trumps logistics! 
 
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