I’ll hear to Denver in March to be the keynote speaker for a Presbyterian Association of Musicians regional conference focused on Cultivating Community. Join us at Montview Presbyterian Church from March 7-9 for a time of learning, worship, and conversation around how we embody the welcome we proclaim.
I'm excited to serve as Village Musician with my colleague Patti Powell from August 6 to 12. It will be a joy to collaborate with fellow leaders and learners to make a memorable week of singing in community!
I've been invited to offer a summer course at the Sorrento Centre, an Anglican Retreat and Conference Centre that offers excellent, intergenerational summer programming. Registration for their summer programming will soon be open.
I’ll offer a workshop with Slats Toole entitled Sing the Circle Wider: Inclusive and Expansive Congregational Songs.
There is a growing body of congregational song inviting us to name God and God’s people in new ways. The workshop will reflect on song’s potential to include, name, and invite all to worship. We’ll explore ways sacred song can expand our language and imagery, inspiring an ever-widening understanding of the Sacred, both through what we sing and how/where/when we sing. We’ll sing music from a variety of traditions and styles and brainstorm contexts in which to use them.
Jennifer Sanborn and I will offer an introduction to the work of Music That Makes Community at the AMERICAN BAPTIST HOME MISSION SOCIETIES' Space for Grace Conference in Philadelphia on November 16.
The conference features conversations with Christian leaders from across the United States and Puerto Rico about mission engagement, discipleship and church transformation in the 21st century—as well as seeking God’s leading for creating social transformation.
I'm honored to offer the final Hymn Sing of the Hymn Society's annual conference, using music and oral tradition leadership practices inspired by my work with Music That Makes Community. We'll gather at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri to explore the intersection of sacred song, the church, and the public square.
The festival is open to the public.
In this 24-hour addendum to NEXT Church, we will explore together how improvisation and singing open up life-giving spaces for creative engagement with our sacred texts and the gathered community. We will delve into this year’s Eastertide passages from John. These stories offer a poetic telling of the mystery of the resurrected Christ and the embodiment of the Spirit.
We will use the tools of improvisation and the practice of paperless communal singing to break open these ancient stories, bridge the gap between our understanding of the Gospel and how we are called to live it out in the world, and provide space for worship leaders to get a jump start on planning for the season of Eastertide.
We will play, we will create, and we will reflect. Come prepared for an extraordinary time of learning and integration following the experience of the NEXT Church National Gathering.
I'm excited to offer a workshop for this year's NEXT Church gathering in Baltimore, MD focused on 'Renewing the Voice and Spirit of Choirs.'
Shrinking and aging choirs have left many congregations feeling insecure, anxious and de-energized. We'll reflect on strategies to renew the voices and spirits of smaller vocal ensembles, as well as organizational models and repertoire that can help choirs connect to the mission, schedules, and needs within their community.
Music That Makes Community is pleased to offer worship leadership and a workshop for participants at THE Inspire Conference, a two-day event focused on connections and community building for those doing ministry with children, youth, young adults, and Contemplative Justice.
I'll join my colleague Kerri Meyer to plan and lead daily worship gatherings, and we'll share a Monday afternoon workshop exploring the basics of paperless music leadership.
