The conference was held at St. Peter’s Cathedral in
Erie, Pennsylvania. It was hosted by William Herring and attended by fifty
members (from a total membership of eighty). Organized into fourteen sessions,
the presentations and discussions covered several topics, among them: tensions
between a cathedral’s dual roles as diocesan center and parish, and the
challenge to CRCCM to continue development of cathedral liturgy/music as role
model for the church at large. Conference members met with The Most Rev. Michael
Murphy, Bishop of Eire. There was extensive discussion of a recent
"advisory letter" to bishops concerning Concerts in Churches, issued
by the Roman Congregation for Divine Worship. There was probing discussion of
the background and intent of the letter, and practical solutions to the issues
raised were offered. A working paper on this topic was drafted for the use of
conference members as a guide to their rectors and bishops. Other topics
concerned the use of synthesizers in worship and the growing use of instrumental
sampling and substitution; the spread of pre-recorded music tracks for use in
liturgy; suggestions for flexibility and variety in the use of options in the Sacramentary;
and an exploration of financial grants available from various sources.
Sister Mary Jane Wagner reported on the CRCCM commission for new settings of
music for the Chrism Mass. The commission, funded by thirty-five bishops, was
awarded to Robert Twynham (Baltimore) and will be available to participating
cathedrals for Holy Week, 1989. The new work would be heard for the first time
as part of the 1989 conference.
Organbuilder Randall Wagner presented a history of organbuilding in Erie and
led organ crawls to four local churches. In business matters, an annual
membership fee for participating cathedrals was established to cover
administrative costs as well as a conference newsletter. Projects referred to
the Steering Committee for further study included an apprentice-intern program
and various publication ideas. An Epiphany concert was presented by the choir of
St. Peter’s Cathedral directed by William Herring, and was followed by a
festive dinner hosted by Msgr. John Slater, cathedral rector.