I’ll honored to serve as the guest musician for the Nebraska ELCA Synod Assembly from May 29-31
Learn songs that help you to tend your body and soul in these challenging days. Experience community learning that engages our collective courage and power. Be welcomed as you are - no musical training or expertise required - and experience the joy of making music with friends and strangers.
I’ll be at Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center near Little Rock, Arkansas from April 6-9, 2024 to lead worship and workshops for Fernclipse, a four-day, three-night intergenerational Creation Care event centered on and culminating with the Total Solar Eclipse.
Music that Makes Community is excited to offer a One-Day workshop at St. David's Episcopal Church in Nashville, Tennessee in collaboration with InterGenerate, a conference for church leaders and academics exploring intergenerational faith formation and ministry. Join Breen Sipes and Paul Vasile for a renewing day of building community through singing, learning, and fellowship, with a focus on skills for leading songs in intergenerational contexts.
Join a group of intrepid choral directors and singers for an afternoon playdate on May 18, 2023, exploring oral/aural tradition teaching practices and how they can be implemented in church, school, and community choral contexts.
To kick off another round of Composing Ourselves, a series of online workshops that encourage musical creativity and play, Paul Vasile will offer an introductory webinar on Wednesday, April 26 from 2 to 4 p.m. ET focused on writing congregational songs.
I’ve been invited to collaborate with The Rev. Donald Schell at Ring Lake Ranch, a special place of refreshment and recreation set high in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming.
The beauty of the mountains with their quiet lakes, wildlife, birds and flowers beckons the soul to celebrate creation in quiet and wonder. Features of the Ranch like ancient petroglyphs, a rock labyrinth and an outdoor prayer chapel invite all guests to contemplate the divine presence in a unique setting.
Join St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Helena, Montana, for a three-day participatory workshop with Paul Vasile, a visionary leader in music and worship, and Executive Director of Music that Makes Community. This event is part of the St. Paul’s George Harper Expanding Faith Series, enlivening the church of today and envisioning the church of tomorrow.
As we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and its influence on music and worship, we bring our weariness and disorientation as we move forward in a changed and bruised world and church. Yet we still come to God’s table—hungry for the hospitality of welcome, relationship, and interconnection; thirsty for reinvigoration of our imagination and hope.
Join Paul Vasile and The Rev. Ashley Goff on Jan. 28, 2022, for a Community-Rooted Lenten Planning hybrid workshop, as we explore songs and liturgy for the forty-day journey of Lent.
The hybrid event will be hosted by Arlington Presbyterian Church and we're excited to welcome a small number of vaccinated individuals to attend in person, as well as our online community to attend via Zoom. The webinar will also be recorded and available afterward.
Share a joyful week of worship, singing, composing, and learning in community with Conie Borchardt, Sylvia Miller-Mutia, David Poole, and Paul Vasile. Together we’ll explore the ancient and new practice of paperless (oral/aural tradition) music leadership, sharing songs as people did before music or words were written down.
Learn leadership skills and strategies for sharing paperless songs in your community;
Build a repertoire of songs that can be led with groups of varied ages and musical experiences;
Worship and reflect in community, deepening into spaces of listening and mutual support;
Compose paperless music to share with your community; – Develop your skills through small groups and one-on-one coaching;
Connect with like-minded leaders and find resources for creative worship and liturgy;
Explore how the energy we create through singing affects what we do in worship as a whole, as well as other parts of our human lives;
The first and last dates of the workshop are considered travel days.Check-in begins at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday with dinner at 5:30 p.m., followed by a Ghost Ranch orientation. The workshop begins Monday morning and ends Friday evening. Check-out time is 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.
The workshop will follow a general pattern of morning workshop time (9:00 a.m. to noon) with afternoons free or with optional afternoon open studio and then additional course time in the evenings (7:00–8:30 p.m.).
Music that Makes Community is excited to be in residence at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa this winter, sharing the ancient and new practice of paperless song leadership. Conie Borchardt, Monica Onyedika, and Paul Vasile will create a space for experiential learning where participants:
sing aural/oral tradition songs from diverse cultures, musical backgrounds, and faith expressions;
explore leadership skills that empower you to share song in your context;
worship and reflect together, deepening into spaces of listening and empathy;
experience how the energy we create through singing affects our human lives, with a specific focus on its role in worship and faith formation in the Christian and other traditions.
You’re welcome to join us throughout the weekend. All events will be held at Luther College, 700 College Drive in Decorah, IA.
Share a weekend of singing, worship, and learning in community with Sylvia Miller-Mutia, David Poole, and Paul Vasile. Together we’ll explore the ancient and new practice of paperless (oral/aural tradition) music leadership, sharing songs as people did before music or words were written down.
Learn leadership skills and strategies for sharing paperless songs in your community;
Build a repertoire of songs that can be led with groups of varied ages and musical experiences;
Worship and reflect in community, deepening into spaces of listening and
Explore how the energy we create through singing affects what we do in worship as a whole, as well as other parts of our human lives.
“Prepare the way, O Zion, your Christ is drawing near.
Let every hill and valley a level way appear.”
Explore the prophetic and poetic power of the Advent and Christmas seasons through music and improvisation with sacred text.
We’ll explore Revised Common Lectionary texts for the season (Year A), seeking insights that inspire compelling preaching and liturgy, focusing especially on creative possibilities for small and mid-sized churches.
We’ll sing together, experiencing how music from a breadth of traditions can enliven and enrich worship.
And we’ll create in community, sharing newly written liturgy and worship ideas with each other in a supportive space.
Cost: $50/person, $90/congregation (2-4 individuals)
A light lunch and workshop materials are included in the cost
Music that Makes Community is excited to return to Cincinnati to offer a three-day song leader training workshop! St. Simon’s Episcopal Church, Lincoln Heights and Christ Episcopal Church, Glendale partner to host this inspiring gathering centered in African and African-American musical traditions and leadership practices. The workshop also includes story sharing inspired by Becoming Beloved Community, a national effort of the Episcopal Church to respond to racial injustice and grow a community of reconcilers, justice-makers, and healers.
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.
As we look to songs of the past and music of today, what do they have to teach us about the power of music to shape congregational life, especially our worship? Join us for a lively time of singing and reflection!
I'm honored to join the inimitable Alice Parker in leadership of Sharing the Song, a workshop for song leaders excited to nurture and sustain singing in their communities.
I'm pleased to visit Southern California to facilitate a day-long workshop focused on strategies for inspiring congregational singing. The event is sponsored by the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians.
We'll explore leadership skills and strategies that help strengthen and inspire the singing voice of our congregations. Worship begins the day followed by sessions exploring a rich variety of repertoire (from classic hymnody to Global Song), noticing how practices of modeling and invitation help create space for holistic learning and engagement.
Session I: Imitation - Learning in Community
Session II: Invitation - Singing the Circle Wide
Session III: Integration - Worship: Where Theology and Practice Meet
$45.00 ($20 full-time students)
Join a dynamic gathering of musicians, clergy and lay people in northern New Jersey, and recharge and renew your congregational song leading skills.
Music That Makes Community is excited to offer our first Intergenerational MMC Weekend on September 21 and 22, sharing paperless music and leadership practices with families at Kirchenwald in Lebanon, PA! I'll be joined by Rebecca and Zachary Stevens-Walter (and their toddler!) to explore the basics of paperless ('oral tradition') music making, learn new songs to enrich and strengthen intergenerational community, and reflect on ways to encourage participatory singing within our families and faith communities.
We begin with family dinner and a Community SING on Friday evening at 5:30 p.m., sharing songs of justice, freedom and peace from many traditions, languages, and cultures.
After breakfast on Saturday, we'll explore the basics of paperless ('oral tradition') music making, share new songs to enrich and strengthen intergenerational community, and reflect on practices that encourage participatory singing within and outside worship. The relaxed but thoughtfully structured day includes large and small group learning sessions, community art making, snacks and lunch, as well as worship services modeling how intergenerational community can gather.
I'm excited to facilitate a weekend retreat at Eden Seminary where we'll explore the prophetic and poetic power of the Advent and Christmas seasons. Reflect on Revised Common Lectionary texts for the season (Year C) and gain insights that inspire compelling preaching and liturgy.
We'll sing together, experiencing how music from a breadth of traditions can enliven and enrich worship. And we'll share fellowship and meals together, building a community of mutual support.
Don't miss an opportunity to plan Advent and Christmas early in the liturgical year, and to be inspired and renewed through the process!
Eden Seminary students can also register to take the course as an IFL.
Join a dynamic gathering of musicians, clergy and lay people at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities to recharge and renew your congregational song leading. I'll be joined by MMC colleagues Conie Borchardt, John Lee, Nehemiah Luckett, and Andrea Sorum for worship, workshops, and conversation that helps you add the valuable tool of paperless song leading to your community’s singing practice.
We'll gather in the Bigelow Chapel, a beautiful interdenominational worship space, to learn practical skills and diverse repertoire, and explore how paperless music can enrich and expand your congregation's repertoire of sung prayer and praise. This workshop will also have a special focus on music to sustain and support justice and resistance work. Song sharing and composition workshops will provide a space to create and share new protest music.
The event begins at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 26 and will end at 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 28. Registration begins at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
The workshop is generously supported by the United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities and a number of scholarships are available for United Seminary students, faculty and alumni. Discounted rates are also available for individuals and congregations with limited resources, students, and seniors.
Individual Registration Rate: $350
Group Registration Rate: $650 (Two individuals from the same congregation/community)
The rate covers lunch on Friday and Saturday, dinner on Thursday and Friday, as well as workshop materials.
The Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, in partnership with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Lutheran Summer Music, invites you to a four-day skill-strengthening gathering for church musicians at Valparaiso University from Monday, July 23 to Thursday, July 26, 2018.
This gathering aims to provide a rich variety of access points to effective music ministry with emphases on practical skills and the convergent, multi-disciplinary concerns of the life of the church musician. Chanda Rule and I will represent Music That Makes Community, serving on a faculty team comprised of ecumenical music leaders from around North America.
Join Music That Makes Community we share paperless music and leadership practices before the Annual Conference of The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada!
We'll gather on the campus of Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, MO to explore the basics of paperless music, learn new songs to enrich and strengthen your community, and reflect on strategies for cultivating participatory singing and liturgy.
Individual Registration Fee: $80
Duo Registration Fee: $140 (two individuals from the same congregation/community)
Refreshments, a light lunch, and workshop materials are included.
Full and partial scholarships are available to Authorized Ministers in the United Church of Christ. Discounts and scholarship are also available to students, seminarians, seniors, and congregations with limited financial resources.
The workshop is generously sponsored by The Brown Foundation.
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.
Music that Makes Community returns to the beautiful Bishop's Ranch in Sonoma County, CA for our fifth workshop over Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, January 14-17. The Ranch is an ideal setting to spend three restful days singing, learning, and recharging for the year to come while enjoying the temperate climate of Northern California.
I'll join Kerri Meyer and Donald Schell to lead worship, plenaries, and conversations that help participants add the valuable tool of paperless song leading to their community’s singing practice.
