Farewell to a music scholar

Justin Lance has been singing with the chancel choir the entire time he has been enrolled at Montreat College, 4.5 years. I heard him audition for scholarships at the school and mentioned to him that if he matriculated, he should consider taking a scholarship with us also. He did, and he did! We have enjoyed him immensely, and have been delighted to share his college tribulations and triumphs. He leaves this month to take a job in Charlotte. He managed to score the big three goals for anyone graduating: full-time, in his field, with benefits. We wish him well.

Summer Conference Reflections

I've been attending the "Church Unbound" conference in Montreat for these couple of days. I actually led a seminar last year at the same event. I went just to listen this year.

Every few years I have realized it's a good thing to use continuing education time and funding for something other than music events. This year my registration for the PAM Worship and Music conference in Montreat was gratis because we loaned them handbells. So I had some spare funds.

The speaker this year was Brian McLaren, about whom I've heard a lot, but whom I've never heard or read. It's been very nice and enlightening. The only singing has been an ice-breaker at the beginning of the plenary sessions. They have offered a seminar on "unbound worship" which was interesting. The leadership for that came from the Covenant Community.

Last year when I was teaching, I also took in the plenary sessions. They were led by Shane Claiborne. They were very exciting also, and totally unrelated to music.

A colleague asked via Facebook who I would recommend to seek to hear, were she to try to engage in this sort of non-musical education event. My best answer is that it doesn't really matter. What matters most is that we church music professionals recognize the need for growth in our non-musical/spiritual/theological lives. Like many of us I attend a huge national event, teach once or twice for a local or regional event, and very quickly can be drained by all that leadership. That is unless I take commensurate time to get refueled at an event in which I can think in other ways than notes and rests and sharps and flats and toe and heel.

I suppose I'm a little unique in that I hold an MDiv degree. That may make it for likely that I get a kick out of non-musical and theology-related seminars. But I think any church professional would be well-suited to take in a similar event, outside of their usual area of expertise. This began years ago for me by taking in a retreat led by Richard Foster, who was big into spiritual disciplines and the contemplative life.

And for the record, I don't attend every session when I enroll in these events. It's not my personality style (as SJK has rightly noted). I pick and choose and spend plenty of time reading and watching hummingbirds.

John Bell at Montreat

Montreat Conference Center has released information about a day-long event with Iona Community musician John Bell.

Join John Bell of the Iona Community for a full day of music at Montreat! The day long exploration includes a Big Sing, looking at how song shapes what we believe, the Bible and music, and how song penetrates our personal spiritual journey.

The event is Friday October 8, all day.

Eric Wall to oversee Montreat Summer Music

Eric Wall, musician at First Asheville has been named coordinator of music for summer worship at the Montreat Conference Center.

The music that plays such an important role in Sunday summer worship, adult and youth conference worship, and special events will now be coordinated by Eric Wall, the newly appointed Conference Center Musician at Montreat Conference Center.

Read the whole article here.

Congratulations, Eric!

Teaching Gig

I will be a workshop presenter at the Montreat Conference Center's "Proclaiming the Text" seminar in this summer (June 1-5, with my workshop on TU and TH June 2 and 4, beginning at 2PM each time). I was lined up because of the BMPCNC's work leading up to the implementation of FirstLight and the impact that service has had on our congregational life.

Here's the blurb I wrote to describe my workshop:

Authentic and Vibrant Worship: Worship in the context of a global church offers myriad opportunities and challenges. We’ll explore emerging worship forms and patterns and consider how to evaluate them for use within the context of the Reformed tradition and that of congregations hungry for new expressions of worship.

I will be repeating the same content on two afternoons in a 2-hour block. I think for the first part of the time I'll talk in theoretical terms about worship trends in the new century. In the second part of the time I'll get concrete with details about how FirstLight evolved and how we develop the service weekly.

I hope some readers will attend. If you do plan to attend, and take in my workshop and have a notion you'd like to bat around, drop me a line in the combox. I'll gladly take it into consideration.

Summer Music at Montreat

I recevied this note from Bob Keener today. I had heard that changes are afoot. Here's the official word. We sang a Sunday morning at Montreat last summer. We'll see what the future brings.

During the last year, we have heard much about CHANGE. And we see it all about us: some of it good, some of it not as good. However, even change that seems negative initially often proves to be positive in a larger perspective.

CHANGE is also happening – “right here in River City” – or the Swannanoa Valley. Music for the Sunday summer services at Montreat will have a new direction in 2009. Montreat Conference Center has formed a partnership with the Sacred Music Department at Presbyterian College, Clinton, SC. Dr. Porter Stokes and Dr. Ron Davis will be on site this summer guiding the process. Additionally, they are bringing a student intern who will serve as the summer worship coordinator.

How does this change your life? I’m not completely sure. Dr. Stokes has requested, and I have provided, a list of participating choirs from previous summers. He may invite visiting choirs. He may establish a resident choir. Or there may be a combination of both. Suffice it to say that any invitation for your participation in Sunday worship in the future will come from Dr. Stokes or Dr. Davis.

I have enjoyed my association with Montreat over the past 22 years. The greatest joy of that experience has been knowing you and your singers/players and the wonderful music you have shared with us all. Thank you for that. I will miss interacting with you all.

CHANGE has also happened in my professional life. My summers will be free for the first time in many years. The time seemed right for another change; I retired from Oak Forest Presbyterian Church the end of December and am adjusting to being a congregant on Sunday mornings. This is the first time in more than 65 years that I have not been involved in church music either as a singer, organist, director, or administrator. So far, I’m managing that change quite well.

My best to you and your musicians. I will miss being in touch with you. Hopefully, we will see each other from time to time.

With deep appreciation,

Robert P. Keener

February 11, 2009

Prophets' retreat

Yesterday the Prophets spent a day apart in retreat. We had a great group that included our musicians and our tech team. We took time giving warm-fuzzies to everyone in our group. We also tried playing one another's instruments! Andy G. (our facilitator) asked us to take an instrument other than our usual one and using that instrument play a song (together). It wasn't quite as bad as one might expect; we joked that it would be fun to demonstrate that to the congregation some time (with a little more practice!!).

We also reflected on the joys and concerns that we are experiencing in our ministry as worship music leaders for FirstLight. Some will be easy to address, some will take some imagination and some will take some real effort to address. But our list of joys was by far the longer of the two lists. We took time talking about the history of FirstLight as well as our development as a music ensemble, and some of the folks who have helped us get where we are. We also shared with one another musical selections that were especially meaningful to each of us. All the music was great, but Melissa C. tipped the scales by singing a song she herself had written. It was a whole new side of her we had not known before!

After a great lunch we continued our sharing and near the end heard from Karen Haak about her hopes and plans for FirstLight worship. We closed by sharing ways to tweak this retreat event if (and when) we do it again. You can look at a typed version of our post-its here. We were thankful to the Montreat Conference Center (thanks Judy S. and Mike M.!) for hosting us (for free) and our own Andy who was back in his pre-retirement role as group facilitator. We will do it again for sure. Be sure and ask Caroline P. what color her toes were; she'll blush and have to explain herself!

Music for Worship 27 July

The week we'll have guest music leadership at FirstLight. Ginny Soll will be on piano, with Donna Marie Todd leading the singing. Music at the offering will be by Kurt Shaffer and Andy Banzhoff. (Thanks for covering for the Prophets, you guys!) They will also play along on the congregational song. We'll be singing some favorites: "King of kings," "Jesus name above all names," As the deer" and "Father, I adore you." Kurt will sing a Keith Green song at the offering, "Your love broke through." Karen Haak is wrestling with the Jacob story this week so worship will include "Jacob's ladder" and a new text to that tune, "We are dancing Sarah's circle."

The music ministry has been invited to lead worship music at the Montreat Conference Center this week. We're taking a goodly representation of our program: Chancel Choir, Prophets of Praise and Tune Weavers. We'll present a min-concert of sacred music prior to worship. That will include Dan Locklair's "Phoenix Procession" for organ, Handel's "Hallelujah, amen" by the Choir and "Come ye sinners" lyric by Joseph Hart in a contemporary new setting by Martin S. Smith and Fanny Crosby's "Draw me nearer" also in a new setting y Diane Sheets, both sung by the prophets. The pre-service music and the prelude will be three variations by James Woodman on LASST UNS ERFREUEN. During worship music will include the South African freedom song, "Hallelujah, we sing your praises," and William Dawson's "Every time I feel the Spirit." Hymns will include "All creatures of our God and King" (LASST UNS ERFREUEN), "Amazing grace" (AMAZING GRACE) and "Lord dismiss us with thy blessing" (SICILIAN MARINERS). The service will include a baptism, the first one anyone can remember in 20+ years of doing these services. Worship will conclude with a festive setting of KUM BA YAH by John Behnke. Of special note, there will be no 11 AM service at BMPCNC this Sunday, so everyone can attend worship at Montreat-Anderson. Don't be late!

Danger! Danger!

I am at the PAM-sponsored conference on Worship & Music at Montreat this week. Lay musicians have cause to fear after I've had a busy summer conference season. I return to the fall rehearsal schedule, as my grandfather used to say, "loaded for bear." The conference season is a vital bit of re-fueling for me, where I get jazzed by new techniques, refreshed in my own soul, and confirmed in things I already knew. I've learned not to blast away at the first rehearsal with all my new ideas, but they most certainly trickle out as the academic year progresses.

I have had two wonderful surprises already, not really related to music. I saw my most-favorite-est piano teacher, Betty C. Betty wasn't my first piano teacher but she raised me from a musical pup. We have kept in touch lo these many years! I also met up with Ed T. formerly in Richmond, now at Morningstar Lutheran in Matthews (near Charlotte). Folks from church are also here: Cathy Mc. and Carla S. I spied Arden S. and Anne L. from afar today (one of the virtues of sitting near the rear of the 2000-seat Anderson Auditorium). I'll try to remember to pack a camera and get some photos.