NPM Mission Statement

The National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM) is a membership organization primarily composed of musicians, musician-liturgists, clergy, and other leaders of prayer devoted to serving the life and mission of the Church through fostering the art of musical liturgy in the Roman Catholic worshiping communities in the United States of America.

Five Challenges, adopted by the NPM Board of Directors, August 1996

We are challenged to keep on singing a new Church, to stay committed to the ongoing renewal of the Church.  As an Association, our challenge is to continue to teach the power of music in faith, to name and begin to heal divisions which too often are symbolized through musical styles.  The center, of course, must always remain the message of Jesus who is the Christ.

We are challenged to maintain and develop competency in our ministry.  For full-time musicians, competency should expand to professionalism.  For volunteer or part-time musicians, competency should include working at building knowledge and values but, most importantly, working to develop the skills to celebrate a musical liturgy in the parish or worshiping community. 

We are challenged to ongoing formation.  As an Association, as a circle of friends, and as members in the discipleship of Jesus, we need to assist each other in the work of formation.

We are challenged to be an Association.  We associate with one another because we need each other.  Koinonia is the bond of our Christian life.  We associate to find ways of sharing our experiences of worship, to tell our stories of success and failure, to contribute to the growth of pastoral music.

We are challenged in our diversity to celebrate the unity we have through music.  Music holds a mysterious power to unite and to divide communities.  The work of inculturating our liturgy challenges us to find ways to celebrate the transcultural vision of the church as a world community. 

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