Dear Grace Community,
Last week I had the opportunity to travel to Montreat, North Carolina, for the Presbyterian Association of Musicians “Worship and Music” Conference. The good news for me is that you don’t have to be a musician to attend, though musicians do outnumber pastors in attendance. I last attended the conference in 2018 and was glad to return.
Some of you know that Montreat is an important place for me, so it’s a double treat to attend an enriching conference there. Alice got to go with me and participate in “clubs,” which is day camp, and my parents and sister (and her family) were there to help me juggle things. In addition, I got to see cousins, ministry friends, and some of my seminary professors.
I took three classes. The first was a lecture on the joy and value of singing together The lecturer, Tom Trenney, was wonderful, and the time was holy.
The second class was on copyright. My answer for the last 15 months when it comes to questions about streaming and copyright has been, “ask Martin,” so when I saw this offered, I thought I should take advantage of it. While not loads of fun, the instructors (two musicians, one of whom is also a lawyer) were great.
The final class I took was Bible Study with Dr. Margaret Aymer who teaches New Testament at Austin Seminary. She previously served at Johnson C. Smith Seminary and worshiped at the church where I served in Atlanta. The entire week focused on Matthew 18, with us looking at a different section each day. You get to experience some of what I learned when I preach from this book in August.
Then we worshiped. We worshiped together six times, each worship service focusing on a different holy day: Pentecost, Baptism of the Lord, Ash Wednesday, Christ the King Sunday, All Saints, and World Communion. When passionate people spend two years planning worship, it’s pretty incredible, and I loved the worship experience.
The Presbyterian News Service wrote multiple articles about the conference, including this one>
I’m grateful for the opportunity to attend this conference.
In Christ,
Catherine
JUL