Time for some organ music! Here are the two Lenten preludes I love the most. Both are based on hymn tunes, and both work on small organs. But one is easy peasy, and one has my highschool-self’s favorite thing: double pedal!
I’m in a new-to-me place: a full-time ministry position with a reasonable expectation of being here for many years. Of course only God knows the future, but with past positions, I knew I would probably move for my husband’s job after a year or two. But with this job, there’s no move on the horizon, …
How to Develop a 5-Year Ministry Plan (And Why You Should) Read More »
I have a really hard time distinguishing between my professional and personal goals. That’s because my professional goals almost always spring from who I am as a person. Lucky me, for sure, but it’s not always a good thing to have overlapping goals.
Children and the church. Children in the church. It’s complicated, especially with music in the mix. Join Anita Smallin and me as we discuss how to welcome our littlest sisters and brothers in worship services.
Do you keep track of the hymns your congregation sings? Most churches I’ve been in have a fantastically low-tech way of keeping track of when hymns are sung: somebody just writes the date in a hymnal! As long as that somebody is consistent, you end up with a record that tells you something about the …
Why You Need a Hymn Database + a Free Spreadsheet Template Read More »
You know how sometimes an organist finishes a piece, then you hear the tiniest smear of sound? They’re catching a note or two as they reach for the cancel button. Maybe you don’t have that problem (maybe you just forget to press the cancel button altogether!). But it was a problem for me until last …
They Didn’t Teach Me THAT in Music School: Reaching for the Cancel Button Read More »
Here’s how to organize your choir’s anthems, folders, and robes. It’s a simple, even obvious system. But it took nearly 20 years of church music ministry for me to encounter it.
Is your annual report due soon? Mine was due today, so I just spent some time thinking about the past months and summarizing the music ministry’s growth and direction for the congregation I serve. I also had an annual review a few months ago. Both my report and review were a bit different because I …
How to Use Your Annual Review and Report to Evaluate Your Ministry Program Read More »
Do you know the hymn text “Morning Glory, Starlit Sky”? I didn’t until a few month ago, when my friend Crawford literally read it to me on the phone. For the first couple lines I was like, “Hm, well that’s nice?” But then! Lines like this: “Love that gives, gives ever more, gives with zeal, …
GEMS: “Morning Glory, Starlit Sky” + ABERYSTWYTH = Amazing Read More »
Spoiler: I made sleep my #1 priority. ALSO if you aren’t interested in sleep, there’s a cool goal-setting template at the end of this post. So: sleep. It’s my #1. Not God. Not family. Not job. Nope: sleep is #1. Simple as that. And yet, not so simple.