Music Ministry 2007
Music continues to be an
important part of our ministry at SPC. Commitment, hard work and teamwork have
become the hallmarks of the music activities to which I continue to be committed. Once
again upon completion of the 2006 Christmas cantata, I’m confident that we are making progress! The quality and understanding of music is beginning to make sense for many of the members …
of course, there are others who are excellent musicians and effectively complement the entire cantata choir. New members of the cantata choir supplement those who have been participating for many years. The Christmas cantata seemed to be, hands down, the best so far.
With added “flair”, the excitement experienced was fantastic! The
attendance that Sunday morning was tremendous … maybe we need to consider two performances for this year! I said that
in 2005 and want to make that suggestion for the coming year. Again, we were
able to minister to residents at the Williams Salvation Army residence who are always appreciative of the extra effort of
the choir. Our presentation at the Palisades Mall gave us the opportunity
to share our love for Christ through music! It’s always exciting!
During
2006, I made an effort to have the choir perform as often as possible. The musical
presentations at Easter and during the year were exceptional. The quality of
the voices supercedes the size of the choir. As soon as I feel a piece of music
is ready to be presented … we do it! Sometimes personal schedules and more
difficult music slow us down, but every attempt has been made to sing during our worship services as often as possible. We continue to encourage other members of the church to join the choir and enjoy the
music-making and also the fellowship that we share. The choir continues to grow
in number, and quality is continually improving. My plans for 2007 continue to focus on developing the skills of our choir
and constantly encouraging new membership. We will plan to have a “choir retreat weekend” in September 2007 as
we have done for the past two years. This weekend has proven to be a great start
to the year’s new music season and we are grateful to the Williams Residence staff for allowing our choir to rehearse
and enjoy our time together.
The
Praise and Worship Team continues to go through major reconstruction. There have
been some challenges in meeting our needs due to personnel changes. My emphasis
for 2007 will be to concentrate on membership commitment … to rehearsals, to attendance and prayer. Our ministry is vital to the worship experience for our congregation and I take this responsibility very
seriously. Attending workshops and seminars as a team helps develop the teamwork
approach to worship. Despite the changes in membership the quality and genuine commitment to worship is very meaningful.
The
children's Christmas musical was a huge success under Jenifer Reinauer’s leadership.
Rehearsals held during the Junior Church hour
continued to work well. Approximately 20 children participated with very
good behavior and attention to every detail!
My wish
list for 2007: a computer (powerpoint) operator; invitations to other musical
groups to perform at SPC; attendance by the Praise Team at worship seminars; a workable Choir Room with adequate storage space
for music and equipment.
Special
requests have been fulfilled as needed. Weddings, funerals and other special
music requests have been fulfilled at the request of the pastors.
I firmly
believe that this is the place where God wants me to minister. I serve Him joyfully
and completely!
Respectfully submitted,
Karen Shaffstall, Minister of Music
