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Two experts passionate about music ministry will be presenting breakout sessions at the RE: Image Conference Saturday, August 16. Produced and presented by Iowa Religious Media Services, RE: Image is a one-day opportunity to learn from regional and national presenters about growing-edge tools and techniques for involved lay people, clergy, and religious education professionals. It will be held at Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, 4126 Ingersoll Avenue in Des Moines.
Noelle Garcia
Praise and worship composer and performer Noelle Garcia will be one of two popular Roman Catholic presenters. Mentored by John Angotti, Garcia will address two different topics in her break-out sessions:
1. Involving Youth in Music Ministry. Learn how to get the youth in your congregation involved in music ministry. We'll explore music selection, strategies for inviting participation, and how to run a practice. This workshop will also give you tools for how to teach Music Ministry as a ministry versus a performance group. Noelle will provide strategies for incorporating students of all skill levels into the music ministry, as well as some definite dos and don'ts which can make or break a youth music ministry. The workshop will primarily be based on her own experiences as both a member of and leader of youth music ministry.
2. The Old with the New: Traditional and Contemporary Music - How to get praise and worship accepted in your parish, how to select appropriate praise and worship songs for Mass and Church services, and blend traditional and more popular styles to appeal to a wider audience. This workshop will include how to respond to criticism of the music selection, how to best meet the needs of your community, and how to open your mind to a broader range of music selection and styles in order to serve in this sometimes controversial ministry. This workshop will also focus on asking questions, such as, what is your ultimate vision for music ministry at your parish, and breaking it down into baby steps to get there!
Garcia grew up in Texas, Colorado, and Tennessee, where she met and studied under Angotti's tutelage. She now resides in Michigan. When she was young, her faith was constantly challenged by friends and classmates who were not Catholic, and in responding to them, she grew not simply to understand, but to fall in love with her faith. As her involvement in music grew, she began to see it as her life's ministry. While studying at Christian Brothers University she realized that teaching in a classroom setting was not the only way to reach young people, and she began to pursue liturgical and musical ministry as a fulltime career. She is currently the Coordinator of Youth Ministry at St. Patrick’s Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
In July, Garcia will perform at World Youth Day 2008 at Sydney, Australia. Her CD "Meet Me Where I Am" can be sampled at her web site www.noellegarciamusic.com and will be available at the WLP on-site bookstore at RE: Image. Also available at the store will be CDs by John Angotti, sheet music, and other resources for parish life and growing in faith.
Anissa Bacon
Anissa Bacon is the other presenter on music. An ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, she currently is serving as an Associate Minister at Plymouth Congregational Church in Des Moines, Iowa. Anissa holds degrees in Music Education from the University of Southern Maine, a Master of Arts (in Sacred Music) from Bangor Theological Seminary and a Master of Divinity from Boston University. Before becoming an ordained minister, she served the church for over ten years as a local church Music Director in Maine and throughout New England as a workshop presenter in community song. Her musical interests continue to lie in the field of hymnody, most particularly in discerning the beliefs and life of a people by the songs that they
sing.
Of her session "Helping Congregations Find Their Voices," she asks, "Why don’t congregations like to sing anymore? People make all sorts of assumptions – the organ is too “old-style”, the music is too stale, etc. And this may be true in some places, but that is not the real issue. People do like to sing, they sing to the radio or in the shower, but often they don’t sing in church. Why? Often because they weren’t invited. They have sometimes not been given the space to practice, to learn and to succeed in singing a new song, their own song to God. In this session we will talk about helping people in the congregation feel encouraged and engaged to use their own voices in worship. We will discuss the means to participate musically and the "how-tos” of making music happen in ways that are personally and communally meaningful to the congregation. And we’ll see what we can learn about engaging our own churches in meaningful music making."
Bacon will also present one session on "How to Expand Your Resources…Legally." She will clarify copyright law and how to obtain a vast variety of resources without concerns of getting into legal hot water. She notes, "We live in an age where new resources for church are right at our fingertips. We have access to a wealth of new printed resources, new music for our churches, images, web-content and much more! These resources came from very creative and resourceful people, committed to engaging and enlivening the life of the church. We are blessed to have these resources to choose from, but many of us don’t know how to use them legally. There are many misconceptions about what churches can and cannot use for free. We will clarify some of those ideas and show you outlets for new materials that even the smallest churches can afford. You'll go home with information on places to go to get information about copyright law as it pertains to churches, ways to license churches to use music and arts of all types in various ministries, and more.
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