Music that Makes Community is excited to offer a One-Day Community Singing Workshop at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh, PA on Saturday, June 24 from 9:30 am to 4 pm. Brianna Kelly and Paul Vasile 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 as follows:

St. Paul's members: $25
Non-St. Paul's members (advance): $100
Non-St. Paul's members (day of event): $125

We do not want the cost to prevent anyone’s participation, so please reach out to let us know if you need scholarship support. Please contact Bob Melvin at [email protected] or (412) 531-7153, ext. 18 with any questions.

REGISTER HERE!

For some of us artists, educators, leaders, and community workers, the past few years have been challenging. We bring passion and urgency to our community work, yet can feel overwhelmed by the pressure to grow and produce more — or undermined by fear of everything falling apart. Others of us may have experienced a renewed hope for change and are looking for ways to more fully embrace the transformation that seems within reach. Whatever our starting point, we seek spaces of renewal, to infuse our work, relationships, and everyday life with creativity and play.

Artist-activists, educators, and faith leaders Paul Vasile, Maren Haynes Marchesini, Barbara Berry-Bailey, and Leah Silvieus, invite you to Flourishing in the Field: Practices of Participation and Collaboration to Transform our Lives and Communities. We will gather for a five-day retreat at Holden Village as we explore these questions through practices of learning, listening, and creating together:

• How might collaboration around ritual, performance, and art foster deeply responsive, mutually enriching, and healing community relationships? 
• How can we lead with interconnection, joy, purpose, and play? 
• How can we open more space for rest, repair, listening, contemplation, and depth?

These days are for you if:

• You are seeking new insights and epiphanies that may infuse both your work and everyday life with creativity and play
• You are leading or part of an organization seeking new ways to build community and live into your core values.
• You feel bored, burnt out or dead-ended in your job and long for that “something” that will help you recover your sense of purpose and excitement.

To Register:

On the Visit Holden page, scroll down to Visit in the Spring, Autumn, or Winter and click on Make a Reservation under the trio of photos.

You’ll see a calendar where you can select an arrival date (Sunday, September 10 or Monday, September 11) and ending date (Friday, September 15). The reservation system will calculate your rate.  

A scholarship fund is available. You are encouraged to contact Holden Village to request tuition support.

For questions about lodging, registration, etc. contact Paul Vasile at the email below. 

Each time the church gathers to pray and sing, we hear the wondrous story of God’s divine love revealed in Christ—a love that is deep, broad, high, amazing, and steadfast, that builds up and binds everything together in perfect harmony. Love is our greatest commandment and the source of our song. Or, as the hymnist exclaims: “what wondrous love is this!”

An iconic sculpture of the word “love” stands in the central plaza of a city designed so that its colonial residents and the area’s indigenous peoples could live together in harmony. Like the vision of its founder, William Penn, the city’s name was the product of peaceful coexistence between two Greek words: Philos (loving) alongside adelphoi(siblings). Philadelphia.

This biennial conference of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians invites us—through worship, lectures, workshops, and making music together—into deeper reflection about the what, wonder, and love of which the church sings.

Music that Makes Community is excited to offer a two-part workshop at the gathering exploring ways to integrate paperless singing into congregational life—from worship to small group gatherings. Experience varied ways of singing and learning paperless music and build a toolbox of essential skills for leading this way. Sessions led by Paul Vasile will be held on Wednesday, July 5 from 1:00-2:30 pm and Saturday, July 8, 9:30-10:30 am.

Learn more about the conference and register here!

Music that Makes Community is excited to offer a One-Day workshop at St. David's Episcopal Church in Nashville, Tennessee in collaboration with InterGenerate, a conference for church leaders and academics exploring intergenerational faith formation and ministry. Join Breen Sipes and Paul Vasile for a renewing day of building community through singing, learning, and fellowship, with a focus on skills for leading songs in intergenerational contexts. 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. Choir directors, clergy, cantors, lay leaders, and all who love to sing are warmly welcomed. 

Registration: 
The cost of the workshop is $125, including workshop materials, lunch, and refreshments throughout the day. A discounted rate of $100 is available to InterGenerate Conference participants. We do not want the cost to prevent anyone’s participation, so please reach out to let us know if you need scholarship support. 

Register here!

Please contact Paul Vasile at [email protected] or (929) 266-4662 if you have any questions.

COVID protocols: 
We will follow the guidelines at Saint David's Episcopal Church in place at the time of the event and will take precautions to ensure the safety and well-being of all participants. The room will be well-ventilated, we’ll take regular breaks, and follow the CDC's best practices for in-person gathering.

Transportation for Conference Participants:
St. David's Episcopal Church is a 15-minute drive from the Lipscomb University campus. It will be easiest for InterGenerate Conference participants to take a ride-sharing service like Uber or Lyft, and we're happy to facilitate carpooling. 

Additional Learning Opportunities: 

• On Sunday, June 11, MMC leaders will share musical leadership at the 10:30 a.m. service at St. David's.
• We are excited to participate in the InterGenerate Conference at Lipscomb University from June 13-15, 2023. MMC will help lead worship and share paperless songs throughout the conference.

There are three types of events listed on our calendar:

• MMC Workshops and Retreats planned collaboratively with hosts around the United States and Canada;
• Local Practice Groups led by presenters and participants from the Music that Makes Community network, providing opportunities to hone our skills and support one another in song leading;
• Community Events presented by organizations affiliated with MMC for the benefit of the wider musical community.