Contact: Erin McClellan, 503-460-5363, erinm@ocp.org; Kelcee Marcum, 503-460-5358, kelceem@ocp.org; both with OCP 

PORTLAND, Ore., Dec. 7 /Christian Newswire/ -- To help church leaders prepare their communities for the new English translation of the Roman Missal, OCP has given free download access, including unlimited reprint permissions, for assembly editions of every new and revised Mass setting the publisher offers.

"This access provides parish leaders a unique chance to teach their congregations the new and revised Mass parts," said Tom Tomaszek, OCP's Director of Artists and Repertoire and Product Development. "By offering assembly editions of the revised Order of Mass for download, free of charge, we can aid our partners in ministry in implementing these changes smoothly."

The downloadable assembly editions contain the lyrics and melodies, for all the Mass parts, in a single, easy to read PDF for each of the new and revised settings. Although the changes to the Roman Missal cannot be used during Mass until Advent 2011, these assembly editions give congregations everywhere the ability to learn and sing the new texts -- one year in advance.

"We want to encourage church leaders to take advantage of this opportunity to explore the changes and ultimately find Mass settings in styles that work well with each of their assemblies and musicians," said Tomaszek.

OCP missal and hymnal customers can download free PDF assembly editions of new settings by trusted composers like Dan Schutte and Curtis Stephan, as well as revised settings, like Celtic Mass by Christopher Walker and the bilingual Misa del Pueblo Inmigrante by Bob Hurd now through November 26, 2011. Additionally, accompaniments for all new and revised Mass settings are available for purchase at OCP's new Roman Missal resource page.

Because additional Mass settings will continually be added throughout the year, users are encouraged to bookmark the address -- ocp.org/NewMassSettings -- and check back regularly.

For additional information, interview or photo requests, please contact Erin McClellan at 503.460.5363, erinm@ocp.org.  

About OCP
OCP, a not-for-profit publisher of liturgical music and worship resources based in Portland, Oregon, has been in operation for more than 80 years. Worship programs produced by OCP are used in two-thirds of Catholic churches in the United States and are distributed worldwide. More information is available at 1-800-LITURGY (548-8749) and ocp.org. Find OCP on facebook at facebook.com/OCPmusic.