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Conference Archives |
Conference 2010 - July 19-22, 2010 |
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Every other summer our national conferences bring together musicians, clergy and friends for four days of exploring new trends in worship, learning new skills and developing contacts with UCC colleagues.
Conference 2008
Roots and Branches
Woodfords Congregational Church July 14-17, 2008
All three of the keynote presenters from Conference 2008 have published books that may be of interest to you. Click here for further information.
Conference 2006
"A Song for All Seasons" Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania July 26-29, 2004
Many Gifts, One Spirit — Renewing Worship Brown University Providence, Rhode Island
Conference 2000
Conference 1998
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Conference 2010 takes place on the campus of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Click here to go to our Conference 2010 page which contains registration information and conference highlights.
It's official! We are delighted to announce our keynote presenters for Conference 2010. Though they are four individuals, they are in reality two creative and forward thinking partnerships that will model for us how true musician/clergy collaboration can create new worship experiences for the 21st century.
John Horman and Rev. Mary Nelson Keithahn
Conference 2010 will have special focus on children’s and youth music. Our keynoters here will be John Horman and Rev. Mary Nelson Keithahn who bring a depth of experience to this topic. Together Mary and John have written a number of anthems and musicals for children and youth. As active church staff they’ve experienced firsthand the challenges of today’s music programs, including the changes in interest level, commitment and participation that we’ve all seen, and they will offer us creative guidance on facing the new realities of youth and children’s music in church. One of John’s topics will be It's Not 1975 Anymore - New Ways to Do More with Less. Mary is an ordained UCC minister. In addition to being the “words” half of the “words and music” partnership with John, she is a poet and expert in hymnody and congregational song. Follow the link to Mary and John’s website for further information on them and their work. http://www.hymnsetc.com
Our conference committee is now working with Mary and John on the details of their participation in our conference. Perhaps under Mary’s guidance our attendees (both musicians and clergy) might try writing a hymn together…!
Rev. Eric Elnes and Chuck Marohnic
Rev. Elnes is the Senior Pastor at Countryside Community UCC in Omaha, Nebraska. He moved there last year from Scottsdale Congregational UCC in Scottsdale, Arizona. While at Scottsdale Congregational, Dr. Elnes developed The Studio, an experientially-based worship service that embraces the spirit of our age by integrating the arts and technology into worship. His musical partner in creating The Studio was Chuck Maronhic, jazz pianist, composer and educator. In The Studio they created a worship experience where the whole service is the sermon. According to Eric, “We draw heavily upon the visual arts, music (primarily jazz, but also rock integrated through multimedia reflections), hands-on exercises, drama, dialogs, dance, and multimedia technology to add depth and texture, creating a truly multi-sensory experience of worship.” The Studio shares Sunday mornings at Scottsdale with a traditional worship. For more on Eric’s work see http://www.countrysideucc.org His publications are available as well from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/AXURCAIHZ6P05
Chuck Marohnic is a well-known jazz performer whose Sanctuary Jazz incorporates jazz and improvisation techniques into worship music. He is also an educator and university professor. His website gives more information http://www.chuckmarohnic.com With Rev. Eric Elnes and Chuck Marohnic the UCC Musicians Association takes a firm step into a study of worship innovations of the 21st Century. When Eric and Chuck created The Studio at Scottsdale Congregational, it was a significant departure from that church’s prior worship practice. After five years, and Eric’s departure, The Studio is still going strong.
We are very excited about Conference 2010 for several reasons. First, we are fulfilling a member request to focus significant time and attention on children’s and youth music under the leadership of two wonderful practitioners. Second, Grand Rapids is the farthest west that the UCC Musicians Association has yet been for a conference. Making the big move from Portland, ME (2008) to Grand Rapids underlines our organizational commitment to being a truly national organization. Third, featuring two such wonderful clergy keynote presenters alongside their musician collaborators takes this conference’s curriculum to a new plane. We can now welcome our clergy members and attendees to a conference experience that I believe will provide a uniquely valuable view of possible relationships between music and the word in our worship.
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