Brunswick, Maine folks...great news! A new practice group has banded together in your area and you're heartily invited to join in. Here's a little description of their practice:

Join us in an hour of singing together. For fun, not performance! Paperless singing, simple songs to deepen our spirits. Come just to sing, or bring a song to share if you like. All are welcome!

Join us for a three-day retreat on Bowen Island, British Columbia and develop your skills and confidence as a song leader! Share in a spacious time of learning, singing, and reflection with leaders from Music that Makes Community and fellow musicians, clergy, educators, and community leaders.

The workshop will be facilitated by Conie Borchardt and Paul Vasile, joined by Caitlin Reilley Beck, Patti Powell, and Emilie Teresa Smith, leaders of the Vancouver Sacred Song Circle.

• Learn leadership skills and strategies for sharing paperless (aural/oral tradition) songs;
• 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 mutual support;
• Compose paperless music to share with your community;
• Develop your skills in small group sessions;
• Connect with like-minded leaders and find resources for creative worship and liturgy;
• 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;

Rivendell Retreat Centre is located on 6 1/2 acres atop Cates Hill on Bowen Island, a short ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay and West Vancouver. It is hosted by a volunteer Christian community, rooted in the gospel values of Jesus and the practiced traditions of prayer, silence, simplicity and hospitality. 

Check-in begins at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday and we'll officially begin with dinner at 6:00 p.m. We conclude our time together on Sunday morning, departing before noon. View the retreat schedule here.

Registration:
Fees are on a sliding scale, from CAD $450 to 700 CAD per person, including three nights of lodging at Rivendell, healthy, catered meals, and all workshop materials. We ask you to pay what is generous and affordable for you, with gratitude for the time and skill of our presenters.

A few single rooms are available on a first-come, first-served basis. If you are comfortable sharing a room please indicate on the registration form and we would be happy to pair you with a compatible individual.

REGISTER HERE!

Many denominations have continuing education or professional development funds that may be used to cover costs. Scholarships also are available for students, seminarians, seniors, and congregations with limited financial resources. Please contact Paul Vasile at paul@musicthatmakescommunity.org or (929) 266-4662 if you have any questions or to inquire about financial support.

Travel and Carpooling
The only route to Bowen Island is via a short ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay. For details of ferry fares and schedules please refer to www.bcferries.com. For detailed directions to Rivendell, visit their website. 

We are pleased to offer the option of carpooling with others and will hire a small van if additional space is needed. Please indicate if you can transport others or will need transportation on the registration page. 

Music that Makes Community is a non-profit organization working with ecumenical communities and leaders to empower and liberate communities' spiritual life through singing. For over ten 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 MtMC 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.

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.

Learn more and register here!

Our Baltimore Practice Group meets again on Tuesday, June 2 at 5:30 p.m., hosted by the Cathedral of the Incarnation in downtown Baltimore. If you've been curious about paperless music traditions and practices or if you've attended many a time, you're all most welcome. 

RSVP below. For more information, please contact coordinator Barbara Cates.

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.

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.