We're excited to announce a new Practice Group for Eastern Massachusetts (Boston Metro)! Singers of all ages and abilities are invited to learn paperless songs from diverse traditions, languages, and cultures. Please join us if you love to sing in a group in unison or improvised harmony, without the distraction of printed words or music. Feel free to bring a song to teach.

For more information contact organizer Fiona Vidal-White (email below).

We're excited to gather at Cross Roads again for a three-day retreat focused on congregational song leading skills! MMC presenters Cricket Cooper, Jorge Lockward, Angela Morris, and Paul Vasile 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 15 and ends with lunch on Wednesday, October 17. Attendees will have the option at registration to check in early on Sunday, October 14. Otherwise check in begins at 9 am on Monday, October 15.

Standard Double Occupancy: $422
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: $372
Bunk beds and a shared bathroom. Linens and toiletries are not provided.
Early Check In (Sunday at 4 p.m.) +$10

Commuter/Off-Site: $317
Individuals staying off site and commuting to the event. 

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 Region 7 of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

Join us for our third gathering of musicians, clergy and lay leaders at The Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center from October 7 to 10 to recharge and renew your congregational song leading skills. Conie Borchardt, Ana Hernández, and additional 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. And enjoy beautiful fall foliage, hearty meals, an evening sing around the campfire, and hike the wooded shores of Otter Lake.

See photos from last year's retreat!

The workshop begins with dinner at 6 PM on Sunday, October 7 and ends with lunch on Wednesday, October 10. Attendees will be able to check in starting at 3 PM on Sunday.

The Conference Center is most convenient to the Manchester, New Hampshire airport (about a one hour drive) and is about two hours from Boston, MA and from Hartford, CT.

There are three kinds of rooms available at the Conference Center. See photos of the rooms on the Conference Center website.

Cabins: 3-4 people share a large room outfitted with twin beds and shared bathroom
Early Bird Rate (before September 10): $475/person
Regular Registration Rate (after September 8): $550/person

Shared lodge: hotel-style rooms with two beds for two people to share (some are twin- and some are full-sized)
Early Bird Rate (before September 10): $575/person
Regular Registration Rate (after September 8): $650/person

Single lodge: hotel-style rooms with one queen-sized bed can be reserved for a single occupant
Early Bird Rate (before September 10): $650/person **Sold out**
Regular Registration Rate (after September 1): $725/person **Sold out**

We are pleased to be able to offer scholarship to seminarians, students, and congregations with limited financial resources. Contact Paul Vasile to inquire if you or your congregation qualify for assistance.

This event is sponsored, in part, by The Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts. 

Use the form below to register and pay tuition using PayPal or a credit card. If you'd like to pay by check, skip this form and email paul@musicthatmakescommunity.org to let us know you're coming so we can save a place for you. Checks should be made out to Music that Makes Community.

If you are registering someone other than yourself, or paying tuition for more than one person, please make sure to include the names and email addresses of all of the people you are registering.