By Richard Tew, Faithful Columnist for The Post Newspaper
Cristina Garcia-Luense, has spent a lifetime dedicated to ministry, particularly music and worship ministry.
Garcia-Luense says she developed an interest in singing as a child when she was about eight-years-old. She was attending St. Christopher Catholic School, located not far from Houston’s East End.
“I wanted to be in the choir, but I was not very good,” said Garcia-Luense. “The sweet sister in charge of the choir let me sing.”
When she reached her teens, Garcia-Luense says her voice changed. The result was finding and developing her singing voice.
Singing in choirs throughout middle and high school taught Garcia-Luense how to read music and helped develop her singing style. It also gave her chances to perform on stage in front of an audience. Along the way she found herself at group and solo music competitions, something which honed her music prowess.
After earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Music, Garcia-Luense came back home to the Houston area to begin her professional career. After working as a substitute teacher for three years and assisting the worship director at St. Luke’s Catholic Church part-time, she decided to attend college near Chicago pursuing her Master’s Degree in Theology.
“At that point, I told my mom I was going to go wherever God calls me; wherever I can get a job,” said Garcia-Luense. “In the end, I ended up coming back here (Houston) for a job.”
Garcia-Luense relocated back home in Houston after accepting a position at the Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center in west Houston. Eventually, she took a position back at St. Luke’s where she assisted years before.
“It was a hard choice because I really enjoyed working with the Passionists, but this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” said Garcia-Luense.
Three years ago, an opportunity to take the reins as the music and worship director at St. Bernadette Catholic Church opened up. Garcia-Luense applied for the position and was subsequently hired. She says her role is two-fold: supervising and arranging all music, and also helping plan worship services, weddings, funerals and special Mass services the church holds throughout the year.
Garcia-Luense says music selected for services will change during certain religious seasons during the year. It can also change for special “Days of Obligation” for members.
Over-seeing an army of over 200 active volunteers in addition to several paid musicians is a task. Garcia-Luense says making sure singers and musicians are well-versed in music selected for each Mass service is important to the overall worship experience. Equally important is making sure volunteer lay people are contacted and made ready for a myriad of responsibilities ranging from scripture readings to assisting with the preparation and distribution of Holy Communion.
Music helps connect the singer and the audience with God as singing and prayer can be synonymous expressions of faith. Connecting to the audience and helping lead this deeply-spiritual experience are worship leaders who spend hours each week prepping for their turn to lead singing at the podium during each Mass service.
The choir’s practice room, where weekly rehearsals take place, can become a sacred place for both Garcia-Luense and for the musicians who spend time preparing songs for upcoming Mass services.
“It’s both a feeling of being at home because it’s kind of like a second skin, but there’s also a feeling of being ‘on,’ at least on the leader side; the toggle between the two,” said Garcia-Luense. “Feeling comfortable in a space you are going to be spending hours in, that’s important.”
The confluence of Garcia-Luense’s direction, and the performance of each musician culminates into a song service used both as praise and prayer to God through each selected song.
“I think it is important for musicians to see themselves as ministers and not performers,” said Garcia-Luense. “Anybody can go up there and sing well, but if you are not thinking about the right intention then you are not going to lead prayer well. It’s really important to distinguish the difference. In the end, it’s not about us, it is about the people in the pews of whom we are a part of.”
Photo Cutline: St. Bernadette Catholic Church Director of Music and Worship Cristina Garcia-Luense. Photo by Richard Tew.
