Sister Leone leading a drumming circle workshop in Lithgow
Sister Leone rehearsing some of her drumming rhythms with the kids of St Josephs Portland
What’s up with nuns drumming? But then you know there is something's up when clipart and t-shirt makers get in the act... According to the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart in Monroe, Michigan drumming is a "spiritual enhancer". [And everyone is invited to "come for a two-hour session that may awaken your playful spirit, reduce tension and stress, and enhance your awareness of how sound can create peace and harmony."]
"DRUM UP HEALING!"
"Join our Drum Circle where everyone has a healing voice and is empowered to use it - Drums provided - Wed– Mar 28,(2007) - 7:30-9:30 p.m. - ($15)- Barbara Woodzell, Mercy Associate"
Some of the biggest drum aficionados can be found in churches. Sister Annette Covatta, a Roman Catholic nun in Carmel, N.Y., took a workshop with Ms. Redmond a year ago. She now uses drums in the retreats she leads among religious and lay groups.
"I find when you bring drums in the energy goes sky high," said Sister. Covatta, who belongs to the sister of the Holy Name order. "Drumming is a powerful spiritual tool."
She acknowledged that percussion has a powerful physical effect, too. "Drumming is a very gutsy experience," she said. "It gets you in touch with your body. It gets people physically aroused. It's a direct channel into the rhythms of your body." (Claudia Ricci, DRUMMING FOR THE 90'S - More Than a Beat New York Times: October, 1996)
Eh???
Drummer of the Grateful Dead Mickey Hart:
"Typically, people gather to drum in drum "circles" with others from the surrounding community. ...The main objective is to share rhythm and get in tune with each other and themselves. To form a group consciousness. To entrain* and resonate. " (*to entrain to draw along with or after oneself)
Repetitive, shamanic drumming is a form of "prayer" or method of trance induction. During a shamanic trance or shamanic journey, the shaman uses the steady beat of the drum as a "lifeline" to find the way back to the world of ordinary consciousness. Drum Circle Prayer has been described as “…a sweat lodge without the sweat" (page 148, Finding Sanctuary).
"When the Most Reverend Jerome E. Listecki enters the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist for the first time as archbishop of Archdiocese of Milwaukee on Sunday, members of the Congregation of the Great Spirit will be there to welcome him. Installation services for Listecki, who was named 11th archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee by Pope Benedict XVI in mid November, will take place in Milwaukee on Sunday and Monday and the drum circle from the Congregation of the Great Spirit will perform at the Sunday night Vespers service."
None of this sound very Catholic.
