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First Lutheran Hosted
2004 Music Leader Training

First Lutheran Church in Warren, hosted our region’s 2004 Leadership Program for Musicians. Denny Pearson, our choral director, taught one of the classes for our synod.

Local Program
 

National LPM Conference 

In September 2003 a local LPM program was initiated for the Episcopal Diocese of Erie and the NWPA Synod of the ELCA. Mary Anne Gunther and Kris Soderberg enrolled in this two year program of study, traveling to St. John’s Episcopal Church in Franklin one Saturday each month (and doing a lot of required homework in between!). Each class met ten times per year.

Classes in the first year were (1) Leadership of Congregational Song (from the organ), (2) Liturgy and Music: Foundation for Christian Worship and (3) Hymnody of the Christian Church. The second year classes are (4) Principles of Choral Leadership – five weeks each of Conducting for Church Musicians and Voice Training for Choirs, (5) Teaching New Music to the Congregation and (6) Resources for Effective Music Ministry.

In addition, a Philosophy of Church Music class is held as a “homeroom” course each class day during both years of the program. The culminating project of this course is a paper in which the student develops his or her own philosophy of church music and demonstrates how this philosophy informs all aspects of work as a church musician.

Visit the LPM website.

Towards the end of the first year, the coordinator of our region’s program, Janet Bischoff of Erie, invited Mary Anne Gunther to attend the national LPM conference, held June 29—July 2, 2004, at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California. While there, Mary Anne completed the coordinator training sessions, and she assisted Mrs. Bischoff in coordinating year two of the local LPM program.

Our choir director Denny Pearson also traveled with Mary Anne to participate in the national conference. She attended enrichment workshops including Sing the Psalms 101, Children in Worship, Exploring the Triduum (The Three Days), Ring and Rejoice: The Use of Handbells in Worship, Music From Around the Globe, Leading Congregational Singing, and Contemporary Non-traditional Sacred Music. Mary Anne also took workshops in Piano Styles for Worship, Music for Weddings and Funerals, and Worship Folders: Managing the Maze.

In addition to all the workshops and training, both musicians appreciated the opportunity to participate in eight worship services, including Holy Communion, Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Compline. There was no time or provision for extracurricular sight-seeing, but participants enjoyed plenty of camaraderie with colleagues from across the United States and Canada.