Event Schedule
June 24 - 28, 2024
As you have probably already noticed from the dates of this year's event – June 24th - June 28th – Music & Worship Arts Week 2024 is going to be structured a bit differently than in years past. We are excited about this new format; and as with all change, knowing what to expect, and being flexible as the unexpected happens is key (because the unexpected always happens when change is involved).
The preliminary schedule for MWAW2024 is as follows, and more detailed information will be shared in coming weeks.
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Monday
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11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
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Registration in Bethea
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Check in for lodging at Lake Junaluska properties will not be available until 5:00 p.m. We will have more information for you soon about how this process will be handled as quickly and efficiently as possible so that it does not significantly interfere with dinner.
1:00 p.m.
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Choral Reading Session I
2:00 p.m.
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Orientation I
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Choral Reading Session II
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Bell Reading I
3:00 p.m.
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Rehearsals
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Youth - sign up for talent show right after rehearsal
Dinner
7:30 p.m.
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Worship
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Orientation II will take place immediately following worship.
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Tuesday
8:45 a.m.
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Morning Worship
10:15 a.m.
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Rehearsals
12:15 p.m.
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Lunch
1:30 p.m.
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Rehearsals
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Choral Reading Sessions III and IV
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Bell Reading II and III
2:30 p.m.
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Seminar I
3:30 p.m.
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Seminar II
4:30 p.m.
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Seminar III
Dinner
7:30 p.m.
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Youth Talent Show
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Evening worship will begin thirty minutes after the close of tonight’s program
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Wednesday
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8:45 a.m.
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Worship
10:15 a.m.
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Rehearsals
12:15 p.m.
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Lunch
1:30 p.m.
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Rehearsals
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Choral Reading Sessions III and IV
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Bell Reading II and III
2:30 p.m.
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Seminar I
3:30 p.m.
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Seminar II
4:30 p.m.
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Seminar III
Dinner
7:30 p.m.
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Organ Recital PLUS @ Waynesville UMC
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Evening worship will begin thirty minutes after the close of tonight’s program
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Thursday
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8:45 a.m.
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Worship
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10:15 a.m.
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Rehearsals
12:00 p.m.
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Lunch
CONCERTS
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1:30 p.m.
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Children's Choir (Terrace Auditorium)
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2:45 p.m.
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Dance & Orchestra (Stuart)
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4:15 p.m.
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Handbells 4:15 (Harrell)
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Dinner
7:30 p.m.
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Choral - Adult, Young Adult, Youth
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Evening worship will begin thirty minutes after the close of tonight’s program
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Friday
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8:45 a.m.
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Closing Worship
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Our week together at Lake Junaluska will magnify God's miraculous permission – Let There Be! – as a universe-shaping refrain of hope, wonder, and endless possibilities for all who work and volunteer in the glorious array of worship arts.
Please keep in mind that this is our preliminary schedule for planning purposes. Times and content are subject to change if necessary. Please watch for more information in future emails, and for the official schedule to be released closer to our event! We're looking forward to seeing you at Music & Worship Arts Week!
Come! Join us as we embark on an awe-inspiring journey into God’s creative power at work in the world!
Seminar Options
#5F093E
Preaching & Worship Design
The Avant-garde and Experimental Worship
Clinician – Rev. Dr. Gerald Liu
Worship is made of the arts - musical, visual, poetic, theatrical, and more! Sociologist of Religion Mark Chaves has asserted that in a majority of congregations the most energy and resources are spent on the arts and that the arts present a natural bridge for theological communication between broader publics and congregations. In this seminar, we'll boldly explore what it would entail to resource cutting edge art for cutting edge worship!
And All God's People Said...!
Clinician – Rev. Dr. Gerald Liu
Liturgy comes from the Greek word, "leitourgia." "Lei" is the same root for words like "laity." "Ourgia" comes from "ergon" or work. Liturgy is what is 'worked out by the people.' In its earliest uses in ancient Greece, liturgy had a public and civic meaning and not so much a sacred one. It described hosting public plays, public games, even picking up the trash. In this seminar, we'll imagine broadly how to retrieve the public and civic root of the word liturgy and think about what that might entail for liturgical evangelism -- how to invite all kinds of people from wherever we are into broad worship participation.
Who I Am in God and Why It Matters for Leading Worship
Clinician – Rev. Dr. Gerald Liu
In this seminar, we'll undertake contemplative exercises of praying, reading, and writing to think about who we understand ourselves to be in God. After some concentrated mining of our own sense of selves as given by God, we'll think together about how our individual self-understandings can be collectively celebrated and animated into transformative worship leadership.
Theology of Creating Visual Art and Sacred Space for Worship
Clinician – Rev. Dr. Anne Conover
Exodus 31 is our text for this workshop. This will be a time to gain encouragement and inspiration for those sensing a call to create visual art and/or those with interest in creating sacred spaces for worship. We will discuss the “whys” of creating sacred space for worship and what the Bible says about it.
Creating Sacred Space Design for Worship
Clinician – Rev. Dr. Anne Conover
This is a hands-on workshop. Participants will work in groups and have an opportunity to consider and plan a design for a specific liturgical season or day. Each group will create a sacred space design with provided materials, elements, fabrics, and other items.
Choral
THE ABC’S and 1,2,3’s OF THE CHILDREN’S CHOIR and CHILDREN’S MUSIC PROGRAM
Clinician – James Wells
During our time together James will share his thoughts on what we sing, how we take our singers on the journey of learning it, and all the goodness that can happen along the way. James hopes to share many of the tried and true concepts and procedures he has learned from many wonderful mentors, as well as warn about pitfalls and lessons learned the hard way. James is not a lecturer, so come prepared to participate and make music while we share together. God has gifted each and every one of us to love, learn, and lead through the gift of music. We promise you’ll come away with 1,2,3 (or more) helpful and practical ways to energize your children’s music program.
Warm-ups, vocal tech, engagers, and more!
Clinician – Dr. Emily Williams Burch
This session will focus on body, breath, vocal technique, and those little engagers you can keep in your back pocket when the room needs a little burst of energy or a moment to refocus.
Break it down: From process to the product, making transfers, creating meaningful sequencing, and utilizing intentional student leadership
Clinician – Dr. Emily Williams Burch
This session will focus on a variety of ways to teach, rehearse, review, and memorize (if you want to) in order to create the most impactful musical moments in worship.
Then Sings My Soul
Clinician – Tom Trenney
Explore the creative process of the composer as our clinician uses his music to illuminate his own compositional process.
Expanding our Worship Experience Through World Music!
Clinician – Dr. José Rivera
Creative Ways to Re-Build our Music Ministry! Solutions for Churches with Small Choirs
Clinician – Dr. José Rivera
Evening Worship Planning
Clinician – Mark Miller
Handbells
Best Practices for Handbell Ringers
Clinician – Pamela "P.L." Grove
As a handbell ringer, there are a few tips and tricks that you wish someone would tell you. Let’s face it, we have questions. What’s the best way to get a singing bell started? What do I do when I have to mallet and then ringing immediately after? How do I pluck a bell really fast? How do I play my chime and bell at the same time? Is there an easier way to shake a bell? How do I do a mallet roll? What do I do when I have to thumb damp in four-in-hand? And what are the “Three Ss” in handbells? These and other questions will be the focus of this session on best practices for handbell ringers.
When Left Is Right
Clinician – Pamela "P.L." Grove
If you've ever played battery or bass bells, you know that four-in-hand is not always the answer for a tough passage in the music. After all, some of those bells are big! Plus, you never know when your neighbor is going to need that Eb right after you've played the D# (enharmonically speaking, of course). This session will focus on solutions for ringing sections of music that require quick changes from one bell to the next. To weave or not to weave: yes, that's the question. But there's more than one answer. Sometimes being willing and able to change just one thing can make all the difference in your ability to move quickly and smoothly from one bell to the next. It's not always as easy as 1-2-3; sometimes 213 is SO much better. Come and learn how putting the bells out of "order" can sometimes be a better solution than twisting yourself into a pretzel. Sometimes left can be right (and right should be left)!
Sight Reading for the Scared
Clinician – Pamela "P.L." Grove
Sight reading is definitely a skill, and sight reading with handbells is not for the faint of heart! But once we’ve learned to sight read with confidence, it can actually improve our overall musical ability. We’re all a bit scared when we approach a piece of music for the first time – no one wants to be that person who plays the wrong note at the wrong time. But there are some tools that can help us learn how to sight read like a pro. So, let’s feel the fear and sight read anyway!
Weaving a Tapestry
Clinician – Brian Childers
A class to help develop table damping and weaving skills.
No Pain – No Gain
Clinician – Brian Childers
25 coordination exercises to hurt your brain and improve your ringing.
Handbell Technique Review
Clinician – Brian Childers
A fast and furious hands-on review of standard techniques in handbell repertoire.
Dance & Drama
The Biblical Foundations of Liturgical Dance
Clinician – Rev. Crystal DesVignes
Dance as a Spiritual Discipline and Warfare
Clinician – Rev. Crystal DesVignes
Stretch, Mobility, and Mindfulness
Clinician – Rebekah Harbison
We will stretch and breathe into the places we hold stress. Pulling from mobility work, yoga, and flexibility stretches, you will leave relaxed and renewed and appreciating the body God gave you.
Dancing Scriptures
Clinician – Rebekah Harbison
Storytelling is a way of retelling from memory, but what if we retell the stories and scriptures through movement? Join us as we dive into scripture and tell the stories in the Bible through dance.
Embodied Prayer Practices
Clinicians – Hannah and Jackson Nickolay
So often our prayer practices rely on our ability to use words. However, we are embodied beings! Our bodies also communicate our prayers. In this workshop we'll learn a few prayers intended to be prayed through bodily movement.
Types of Scripture Enactment
Clinicians – Hannah and Jackson Nickolay
Enacting scripture -- embodying scripture's images, characters, and stories -- adds depth and vitality to our relationship with the Book that we love. Join us as we explore a few different ways to present scripture in worship.
organ
Choir and I: Leading Choir from Keyboard
Clinician – Dr. Naki Sung Kripfgans
As versatile church pianists or/and organists, we often find ourselves responding to diverse worship needs. In this workshop, we delve into the essential skills required to effectively lead a choir from the keyboards, be it organ or piano, during rehearsals and worship services. Participants will explore techniques for achieving musical goals with the challenge of using both hands for playing and conducting. This workshop provides practical insights into navigating the dual role of a keyboardist leading a choir, enhancing their ability to contribute meaningfully to worship experiences.
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Leading Hymns in Worship: Kaleidoscope of Styles and Colors
Clinician – Dr. Naki Sung Kripfgans
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Church musicians play a pivotal role in guiding congregational singing, particularly during hymns in worship. This workshop acknowledges the rich diversity of musical styles available and focuses on creative approaches to hymn playing both on the organ and piano. The workshop covers the fundamentals of strong leadership for congregational singing while exploring how adapting hymns from different settings contributes to the creative process. It's an opportunity for church musicians to broaden their horizons and enhance their skill set in making hymns resonate with the congregation.
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How to Register
Learn everything you need to know about the Music & Worship Arts Week registration process.
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