June 22 - 26, 2026
Music & Worship Arts Week (MWAW) is a multi-generational event hosted by The Fellowship of Worship Artists in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina at Lake Junaluska Conference & Retreat Center. Our annual event is designed for worship leaders, musicians, visual artists, dancers, actors, and pastors of all denominations who seek education and renewal in a spirit of inclusivity and grace. Each participant is offered the opportunity to work with and learn from renowned leaders in the fields of worship arts, make new friends and reconnect with colleagues, be renewed in a beautiful setting, and worship daily in creative and inspiring ways. Our week together has been described as "one of the most palpable examples of God's artistic gifts at work." It is a place to be nurtured and a place to grow. All (and we mean all) are welcome.
This year's theme is An Elemental Advent: Let Heaven and Nature Sing!
In every element of Creation, we are offered a glimpse of who God is, what God is capable of, and who God is calling us to be. Earth in Scripture is never merely soil – it is the place where God forms, plants, uproots, restores, and creates anew. The element of wind – the breath of the Spirit – is the holy, unseen force that stirs life into motion and ushers in transformation. Water is the life-giving, life-transforming force that moves, heals, surprises, quenches...even makes waves. Fire is a transformative element. It warms, it lights the path, and it purifies. Just as a candle brightens darkness, the Spirit’s flame within us calls us to risk, to love, and to act boldly. These four elements testify that God’s Spirit has been at work in every aspect of creation. They remind us that God is still at work – right here, right now.
As we journey through Advent, we gather at the threshold of a holy mystery: God’s coming into the world in the flesh, the birth of Christ, the Light of the World. In Christ, God is doing something unprecedented: breaking into our world of sorrow, injustice, and fear. Christmas is not merely a remembrance of what happened once, long ago, in Bethlehem. No! What we celebrate is the Incarnation. It is the living, breathing assurance that God’s purposes are always moving forward, creating, redeeming, and renewing. Justice and peace are enfleshed. Let heaven and nature sing!
Come join us in celebration!
Whether you've been coming to Music & Worship Arts Week for decades, haven't been able to join us for a few years, or are brand new to The Fellowship and all that we offer, keep scrolling for an overview of what the week holds for you! Then check our some of the other event pages to find out the particulars about our week together! We hope you'll join us in June!
What to Expect
Monday
Everyone's first official stop on Monday is registration, where you will receive all of the resources needed for the week. Then it is off to the first choral reading session or handbell meet and greet, followed by orientation, another reading session (see below), rehearsals (see below), dinner together, and then an incredible evening of opening worship.
Tuesday / Wednesday
On Tuesday and Wednesday, we come together for morning worship and then disperse to our selected rehearsal groups or renewal sessions. After breaking for lunch, the day's events resume with choral and handbell reading sessions, rehearsals, renewal, seminars, dinner, evening events – a youth talent show on Tuesday, and organ recital and music program on Wednesday – and then finally, our evening prayer service.
Thursday
Thursday is the culmination of our week's work. After morning worship, everyone returns to their rehearsal or renewal spaces to put the finishing touches on anthems, bell choir pieces, choreography, or concert selections. After lunch, the children's choirs will kick off a full day of performances which highlight everything learned throughout the week, and offer praise to the One who called us together as worship artists. The evening is brought to a close with evening prayer.
Friday
Friday's closing worship service sends participants off with a final reminder of what is possible when worship is done really well; and, as more than one person said in their evaluations from last year, enough inspiration to get them through to next summer when we will be together again!
Daily Worship
Daily worship at Music & Worship Arts Week has been carefully crafted by our Worship Design Team to not only offer deeply meaningful moments of praise, contemplation, preaching, and prayer; but also to inspire everyone in attendance by exemplifying what worship can look like when there is a specific vision for the service, and coordination and care for each detail and medium which helps bring our worship to life.
Reading Sessions
Our choral and handbell reading sessions, scheduled at various points Monday through Wednesday, offer time for all participants – regardless of selected rehearsal group – to join together under the direction of well known composers and sacred music publishing representatives to sightread choral anthems or handbell choir selections. They offer an opportunity to become familiar with newly published pieces, which can be purchased for the upcoming program year at the Beethoven & Company Store, offered on site at Music & Worship Arts Week!
Rehearsal Groups
Our rehearsal groups are broken down into worship areas of focus – choral (children, youth, adult, and chamber), handbell, dance, and orchestra. Throughout the week, you will meet with others in your rehearsal group to prepare a repertoire that will be showcased on Thursday. These rehearsal groups offer the opportunity to learn from leaders renown for their mastery of their individual fields, as well as the ability to inspire the best from others as they hone their gifts.
Seminars
Seminars that span every worship arts focus area are offered throughout the week and tackle subjects that are pertinent in the world of worship arts both today and as we look to the future. During seminar blocks, opportunities are also offered for children, youth, and young adults to engage their energy and creative skills, and spend time getting to know one another better.
Your Week at MWAW
At any point throughout the day, you will find yourself surrounded by people who are passionate about creating transformative worship, and uplifting others as they do the same. Ours is a community that grows each year, creating new networks and opportunities to learn from each other and support one another as the world continues to shift significantly around us. With the exception of rehearsal groups, which depend on your attendance to prepare for Thursday's programs, Music & Worship Arts Week is a choose your own adventure event. You will receive from it as much as you choose to take.
Why You Should Join Us
One of the most exciting aspects of Music & Worship Arts Week 2026 is that everyone who attends will have access to all five of the worship services we use during our time together. The liturgy. The music selections. The graphics. The altar designs as inspiration. The choreography. Everything. And because An Elemental Advent has been developed around the 2026-2027 Lectionary Calendar (Year B), you can return to your church at the end of June with everything you need for December all ready to go. Your worship leadership and teams can customize the services to fit your church context and culture, but the inspiration and the planning will already be prepared! This aspect alone is worth coming for, but it's not all we offer!
Event Highlights
Mark Your Calendars!
June 22-26, 2026