There are three types of events listed on our calendar:
- MMC Workshops and Retreats planned collaboratively with hosts around the United States and Canada. Includes in-person and online.
- Community Events are a mix of gatherings organized by others for the benefit of the wider musical community. This includes but are not limited to Local Practice Groups made of past participants and presenters and Song Circles/Community SINGS offered by other organizations and musicians akin to MMC.
- Online Events highlight virtual offerings offered by MMC and others; includes one-time trainings, recurring events, and everything in-between.
Upcoming Events
-
Monday, August 03, 2026 at 10:00 AM through December 07, 2026
Zoom
Join Music that Makes Community for a weekly touchstone that includes singing, silence, sacred text, and community connection. We'll gather at 10 a.m. EDT (9 CDT / 8 MDT / 7 PST) each Monday for a 30-minute gathering followed by coffee and conversation.
MMC leaders host the gathering, drawing from many musical and spiritual traditions.Register for the Zoom link here!
This Zoom link is good for all sessions in this season. -
Monday, October 05, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Zoom
Join Music that Makes Community for the third of four In-Depth Advent Explorations during Monday Morning Groundings from September 21 - October 12 at 10 a.m. Eastern, 9 a.m. Central. During these meetings, we will be teaching, learning, and sharing 1-2 songs along with Advent readings.
Regular MMG co-hosts Amy Steenson and Nancy Willbanks are delighted to welcome Pam Blevins Hinkle on October 5!
The first 30 minutes of these sessions will be recorded, and available to those interested.
Register HERE for Monday Morning Grounding. Your link is good for all sessions. Please reach out to [email protected] by noon on the Friday before if you need to have your information re-sent.
Related Events
On Tuesday, September 15, 2025, at 4pm-5:30pm ET / 1pm-2:30pm PT, Music that Makes Community facilitators and composers are offering an hour-long virtual Preparing to Prepare workshop. This session will be recorded and offered for a small donation. More details here.
TGIF, the new monthly West Coast week-ending cousin to Monday Morning Grounding, will also explore more Advent songs and readings. These gatherings will be co-hosted by Caitlin Reilley Beck (they/she/he) and Josh Zentner-Barrett (he/him), and will be on October 16th and November 13th.
--
-
Tuesday, October 06, 2026 at 06:30 PM
Come practice sharing, teaching, learning, and singing "paperless" songs in the context of a supportive community of fellow singers and song-lovers! Whether you'd like to experience how we can share songs in the oral/aural tradition, build your confidence as a song-leader, or just enjoy the "good medicine" of singing with others in community, we'd love for you to join us. All ages and abilities welcome!It is our practice to ROTATE LOCATIONS AND ROTATE HOSTS for our monthly MMC Song Circles. Our "default" meeting time is the first Tuesday of the month from 6:30-8pm, but that day and time is not "set in stone."Contact organizer Sylvia Miller-Mutia for more information!
-
Monday, October 12, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Zoom
Join Music that Makes Community for the last of four In-Depth Advent Explorations during Monday Morning Groundings from September 21 - October 12 at 10 a.m. Eastern, 9 a.m. Central. During these meetings, we will be teaching, learning, and sharing 1-2 songs along with Advent readings.
Regular MMG co-hosts Amy Steenson and Nancy Willbanks are delighted to welcome Zachary-Stevens Walter on October 12!
The first 30 minutes of these sessions will be recorded, and available to those interested.
Register HERE for Monday Morning Grounding. Your link is good for all sessions. Please reach out to [email protected] by noon on the Friday before if you need to have your information re-sent.
Related Events
On Tuesday, September 15, 2025, at 4pm-5:30pm ET / 1pm-2:30pm PT, Music that Makes Community facilitators and composers are offering an hour-long virtual Preparing to Prepare workshop. This session will be recorded and offered for a small donation. More details here.
TGIF, the new monthly West Coast week-ending cousin to Monday Morning Grounding, will also explore more Advent songs and readings. These gatherings will be co-hosted by Caitlin Reilley Beck (they/she/he) and Josh Zentner-Barrett (he/him), and will be on October 16th and November 13th.
--
-
Wednesday, October 14, 2026 at 06:00 PM
Bethany United Church of Christ in Chicago, IL
Music that Makes Community's Chicago Practice Group gathers monthly at Bethany United Church of Christ. All are welcome to sing with others, learn new tunes, and strengthen your song leading skills! -
Friday, October 16, 2026 at 01:00 PM
Zoom
Music that Makes Community is introducing TGIF, the new monthly West Coast week-ending cousin to Monday Morning Grounding.
TGIF will meet two Fridays this fall, at 1 p.m. Pacific time, to spend an hour together on zoom teaching, learning, and sharing more Advent songs and exploring together how we hope to use them in the upcoming season, and how they speak to us in this moment. These gatherings will be co-hosted by Caitlin Reilley Beck (they/she/he) and Josh Zentner-Barrett (he/him), and will be on October 16th and November 13th.
The first 45 minutes of these sessions will be recorded, and available to those interested.
Register HERE for TGIF. Your link is good for all sessions. Please reach out to [email protected] by noon on the Wednesday before if you need to have your information re-sent.
Related Events
On Tuesday, September 15, 2026, at 4pm-5:30pm ET / 1pm-2:30pm PT, Music that Makes Community facilitators and composers are offering an hour-long virtual Preparing to Prepare workshop. This session will be recorded and offered for a small donation. More details here.
Join Music that Makes Community for four In-Depth Advent Explorations Monday Morning Groundings from September 21 - October 12 at 10 a.m. Eastern, 9 a.m. Central. During these meetings, we will be teaching, learning, and sharing 1-2 songs along with Advent readings.
For this special series Monday Morning Grounding series, regular MMG co-hosts/leaders Amy Steenson and Nancy Willbanks are delighted to welcome song leaders:
- Richard Bruxvoort Colligan on September 21
- AnnaMarie Hoos on September 28
- Pam Blevins Hinkle on October 5
- Zachary Stevens-Walter on October 12
--
-
Friday, October 16, 2026 at 07:00 PM
St. Anne's Episcopal Church / St. Paul, MN in St. Paul, MN
All are welcome to Songs For Our Spiritual Toolkits: a Community SING with Music that Makes Community on Friday evening, October 16, from 7-8:30 p.m. at St. Anne's Episcopal Church in St. Paul, MN.
When we sing together, we experience connection with one other and with something larger than our individual selves — whether it’s community or the sacred. Whether in good times or bad, singing together helps us remember we are not alone. Join us as we make music by heart and in community using paperless songs from many musical and spiritual traditions. Bring a song to share and friends who love to sing.
Join songleaders from Music that Makes Community and others for an evening of community singing that will fill your spiritual toolkit with songs for many occasions.
This event is free and open to all who love to sing, regardless of musical experience or training. Freewill donations are welcome and help support the work of Music that Makes Community.
Related Events
Music that Makes Community invites all who love to sing, lay and skilled, to a One-Day Community Singing Workshop on Saturday, October 17 from 9:30 am to 4 pm at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church! Come and learn about a way of singing together that can enliven worship in small and rural congregations and strengthen our commitments to welcome all people.
These events are adjacent to the PREACH Collective Conference held in the Twin Cities Oct 18-21, 2026, so plan to add another day or two to join us!
--
-
Saturday, October 17, 2026 at 09:30 AM
St. Anne's Episcopal Church in St Paul, MN
Music that Makes Community is excited to offer a One-Day Community Singing Workshop in Minneapolis-St. Paul area on Saturday, October 17 from 9:30 am to 4 pm.
MMC Executive Director C. Onyx Li and Rev. Kerri Meyer, longtime MMC presenter and composer of many MMC favorites, will facilitate a renewing day of singing, learning, and fellowship, with a focus on singing as a practice that can enliven congregational worship and strengthen our commitments to welcome all people. Singers of all backgrounds, ages, and experience levels are warmly welcomed to participate!
During our time together we’ll:
-
Explore a practice of paperless (oral tradition) singing leadership grounded in a spirit of welcome and generosity
-
Engage models of teaching and leading that welcome our bodies, hearts, and minds
-
Experience music reflective of the growing diversity of our communities and celebrating our rich spiritual and liturgical traditions
-
Build community and strengthen relationships through singing
Each person will leave with new music to share, as well as experiences of learning and teaching songs applicable to their context. All who love to sing are warmly welcomed, as well as those who lead music in church, community, and educational contexts.
The cost of the workshop, including workshop materials, lunch, and refreshments throughout the day, is $150. We do not want the cost to prevent anyone’s participation, so please reach out to let us know if you need scholarship support.Need childcare? Other questions? Please reach out to [email protected]
REGISTER HERE! | Facebook event
Related Events
All are welcome to Songs For Our Spiritual Toolkits: a Community SING with Music that Makes Community on Friday evening, October 16, from 7-8:30 p.m. at St. Anne's Episcopal Church in St. Paul, MN.
These events are adjacent to the PREACH Collective Conference held in the Twin Cities Oct 18-21, 2026, so plan to add another day or two to join us!
--
-
-
Thursday, October 22, 2026 at 11:00 AM
Virtual
Music that Makes Community will be at the Generations Together one-day online conference on October 22, 2026 from 11 am – 4 pm EST, 10 am – 3 pm CST, 9 am – 2 pm MST, 8 am – 1 pm PST. The goal of this event is to inspire and equip church leaders, volunteers, and ministry teams to build bridges across generations.
During the conference, MMC Board of Trustees member, Sylvia Miller-Mutia, and Co-President, Breen Sipes, will be offering a hands-on, voices engaged workshop of singing and theological reflection on the possibilities of music as an asset in intergenerational worship. For more details about the conference, click: https://refocusministry.org/generations-together/.
-
Tuesday, November 03, 2026 at 06:30 PM
Come practice sharing, teaching, learning, and singing "paperless" songs in the context of a supportive community of fellow singers and song-lovers! Whether you'd like to experience how we can share songs in the oral/aural tradition, build your confidence as a song-leader, or just enjoy the "good medicine" of singing with others in community, we'd love for you to join us. All ages and abilities welcome!It is our practice to ROTATE LOCATIONS AND ROTATE HOSTS for our monthly MMC Song Circles. Our "default" meeting time is the first Tuesday of the month from 6:30-8pm, but that day and time is not "set in stone."Contact organizer Sylvia Miller-Mutia for more information!