Local Practice Groups are generally organized by participants of MMC events, to get together and practice their singing. You can use this calendar page to set up a new singing event near you, or get in touch with MMC to help you figure out the best way to organize other people in the community to form a local practice group.
Upcoming Events
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Friday, January 31, 2020 at 06:00 PM through February 02, 2020
Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, NM
Share a weekend of singing, worship, and learning in community with Sylvia Miller-Mutia, David Poole, and Paul Vasile. Together we’ll explore the ancient and new practice of paperless (oral/aural tradition) music leadership, sharing songs as people did before music or words were written down.– Learn leadership skills and strategies for sharing paperless songs in your community;
– Build a repertoire of songs that can be led with groups of varied ages and musical experiences;
– Worship and reflect in community, deepening into spaces of listening and
– Explore how the energy we create through singing affects what we do in worship as a whole, as well as other parts of our human lives.Check-in begins at 3:00 p.m. on Friday. We'll begin on Friday evening and conclude with a Sunday morning Eucharist. Lunch on Sunday is not included in the registration fee, but guests may purchase an additional meal ticket if they wish to stay for lunch.
Registration Fees:
Ghost Ranch offers rustic lodging accommodations that are reflective of its origins as a working ranch. Our rooms are basic – no frills – which allows you to focus on the natural beauty of the land and to delve fully into your workshop subject matter. While basic, our rooms are clean and comfortable and offer breathtaking views of the colorful vistas, sandstone cliffs, cottonwoods and distant mountains. At this time, daily maid service is not available. Click here to view lodging descriptions.
All Inclusive, Double Occupancy with Private Bath: $580.00
All Inclusive, Double Occupancy with Shared Bath: $544.00
All Inclusive, Double Occupancy with Communal Bath: $345.00
Commuter: $265.00Air Travel and Shuttle
Ghost Ranch approximately 1.5 hours from Santa Fe Regional Airport (SAF).Transportation is offered from Santa Fe to Ghost Ranch for guests who are registered for a Ghost Ranch workshop or retreat. Shuttle service is provided only on the day of arrival, the first afternoon of the program week and on the day of departure, the last day of the program. Getting to Santa Fe from Albuquerque by shuttle.
Music That Makes Community is a non-profit organization working with ecumenical communities and leaders to empower and liberate ommunities’ spiritual life through singing. For over twelve years we have developed and shared music leadership practices grounded in a theology of welcome and generosity for the benefit of musicians, clergy, and lay leaders throughout the United States and Canada. Our hope is that Music That Makes Community offerings supplement and enhance what congregations already do, offering repertoire and leadership skills that support vibrant, communal music making. Watch this short video to learn about the unique work we're doing around the United States and Canada.
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Wednesday, February 05, 2020 at 07:00 PM
Episcopal Church of Our Saviour in Arlington, MA
From L-R: Christiana Dutton, Rev. Nancy Wilbanks, Ken Livak, Fiona Vidal-White and Andrew Heintz.
Interested singers in the area are welcome to join us the first Monday of every month at 7 p.m. Please come if you love to sing in a group in unison or improvised harmony, without printed words or music. Feel free to bring a song to teach.For more information contact organizer Fiona Vidal-White.
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Monday, February 10, 2020 at 05:45 PM
Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, MO
Join St. Louis-area singers for a Sacred Song Circle in the Werhli Chapel of Eden Theological Seminary. We'll gather two Mondays this winter to share song, practice our song leading skills, and hold supportive space for learning and discovery.
The circle is organized by members of the seminary community and everyone is welcome, from everywhere, and from any tradition or any place on the journey. There's no need to “know how to sing.”
RSVP below to let us know you're coming!
Directions: The Werhli Chapel is in Press Hall. Look for the building with the distinctive tall tower in the middle. There is parking on both sides of the building. Visitor parking is on the east side and is accessible from both Lockwood Avenue and Bompart Avenue. Handicap access is available through the main doors in the front of the building, under the tower. There is an elevator available on the first floor to the second floor, which is where Wehrli Chapel is located.
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Wednesday, March 04, 2020 at 07:00 PM
Episcopal Church of Our Saviour in Arlington, MAFrom L-R: Christiana Dutton, Rev. Nancy Wilbanks, Ken Livak, Fiona Vidal-White and Andrew Heintz.
Interested singers in the area are welcome to join us the first Monday of every month at 7 p.m. Please come if you love to sing in a group in unison or improvised harmony, without printed words or music. Feel free to bring a song to teach.For more information contact organizer Fiona Vidal-White.
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Wednesday, March 18, 2020 at 04:00 PM
Bethany UCC in Chicago, IL
Join our Chicago Area Practice Group: Northside for regular gatherings at Bethany UCC. All are welcome to sing with others, learn new tunes, and strengthen your song-leading skills!
Contact group organizer Spencer Foon with any questions! -
Sunday, August 09, 2020 at 06:00 PM through August 15, 2020
Ring Lake Ranch in Dubois, WY
MMC founder Donald Schell will lead a seminar at Ring Lake Ranch this summer, joined by Paul Vasile. You're welcome to join them in this special place of refreshment and recreation set high in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming.
Find individual and family registration rates as well as information about Ring Lake Ranch on their website.
When anyone asked jazz trumpeter Clark Terry how he made jazz, he’d respond – “Simple – you imitate, assimilate, then innovate.” So it all begins, and so we began – shared attention, communication in listening, and imitation – not just music-making, but all the improvisations of our emergent humanity. This seminar’s playful practice of improvisational song, wordless storytelling, and shared experience-and-reflection noticing and wondering will point us toward rediscovery of ourselves as persons-in-community, shared conscious mind, the image of God that Gregory of Nyssa insists belongs to all of us together in our one humanity.
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Monday, October 12, 2020 at 10:00 AM through October 14, 2020
Cross Roads Camp and Retreat Center
We're excited to gather at Cross Roads for our annual three-day retreat focused on congregational song leading skills! MMC presenters will lead worship, workshops, and conversation to help you add the valuable tool of paperless song leading to your community’s singing practice. Learn practical skills and diverse repertoire, and explore how paperless music can enrich and expand your congregation's repertoire of sung prayer and praise.
Take a look at photos from last year's gathering!The three-day workshop begins at 10 am on Monday, October 12 and ends with lunch on Wednesday, October 14. Attendees will have the option at registration to check in early on Sunday, October 11. Otherwise check in begins at 9 a.m. on Monday.
Standard Double Occupancy: $360
Hotel-style accommodations with linens provided. Toiletries are not provided.
Upgrade to Single Occupancy +$40
Early Check In (Sunday at 4 p.m.) +$30
Dormitory-Style Lodging: $310
Bunk beds and a shared bathroom. Linens and toiletries are not provided.
Early Check In (Sunday at 4 p.m.) +$10
Commuter/Off-Site: $260
Individuals staying off site and commuting to the event.Registration will be live soon. Stay tuned!
Cross Roads is a welcoming, ecumenical retreat center and camp of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark and the NJ Synod of the ELCA. They are accredited with the American Camp Association. It is most convenient to Newark International Airport (EWR), a one hour drive away. Participants are responsible for securing transportation from the airport to the retreat center. For those commuting by car, there is convenient parking on the Cross Roads property.
The costs of the event are partially subsidized by a generous grant from the ACTS/VIM Fund of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark.