Recharging at the Inspiring Presbyterian Association of Musicians Worship and Music Conference

One of my favorite weeks of the year is attending the Music and Worship Conference sponsored by the Presbyterian Association of Musicians (PAM). This was my third year attending it and from June 25 – 30, it fed my soul and provided practical ideas that I can take back to my context at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Iowa City, Iowa. It felt like a combination of a retreat, camp, and conference all wrapped up in one amazing experience.

For over 50 years, this conference has inspired attendees. It takes place at the beautiful Montreat Conference Center in Montreat, North Carolina, about 30 – 40 minutes from Asheville. Each year, hundreds of adults, children, and youth attend one of two week-long sessions to worship, learn, make music, rest, reconnect with long-time friends, and make new friends. This year had the highest attendance since 2011, with over 1400 attending both weeks, about 700 during each week! The Adult Choral Clinician was Dr. Jason Max Ferdinand, who conducted the 400 voice Adult Choir and 50 voice Adult Chamber Choir. The following article and video describe his thoughts on the conference, as well as contain remarks from a few conference attendees:

For adults, the schedule consists of a mix of classes and rehearsals in the morning and afternoon, with daily worship right before lunch. Evening activities are varied and consist of an organ recital, Beer and Hymns event, hymn festival, Adult and High School Chamber Choir Concert, and a closing concert featuring all ensembles. While it sounds like a full schedule, many attendees elect not to fill their entire day with classes and also enjoy the beautiful scenery during various class blocks. This year, I participated in the Adult Choir, Adult Chamber Choir, and Auditioned Handbell Choir. I also attended a worship reflections class, where the worship planning team discussed the context of worship services and invited questions and comments from attendees.

As a result of my experience attending worship reflections classes at the conference, I decided to offer something similar at my church. I’m leading three of these classes this month, which is a treat since I’m unable to lead a class during the program year due to scheduling. During the class, I’ve asked “What did you notice?” and “Did anything surprise you?” I’ve been impressed by the insightful comments by attendees. The organist has also attended, so I’ve been able to ask her questions about some of her fantastic choices in registration on the hymns. It’s also kept me on my toes to continually be present and attentive in worship at all times so I could bring some insights to the class. I’m hopeful that those who attend my class will be even more curious about worship and as a result, have an even deeper experience in worship.

This year’s conference theme was Thirst No More. Worship services welcomed all and provided a rich tapestry of Liturgy, Preaching, Hymns, Vocal and Instrumental Music, and Visual Art. According to artist in residence Steve Prince in reference to the artwork, “the work “changes and transforms” and “moves inside the sanctuary space” at Anderson Auditorium in the Montreat Conference Center. He said people walk into the worship space and want to know “what’s new? What’s happening?” For additional remarks from this brilliant artist and to see the artwork, click on this link:

Instead of going by myself, I brought five others from my church this year, including the organist, bell choir director, and three choir members. As a result, I was in charge of coordinating transportation, housing, food, and other logistics. It was well worth the effort. Having a shared experience and deepened relationships with others from my church was priceless. As the fall approaches, I’ll have conversations with other staff about added creativity in worship. It also helps that when I try something new at St. Andrew, others will have my back.

The worship planning team for the conference decided to slightly change the order in each worship service to serve the Scripture passages, liturgy, and themes. Specifically, I remember a Sending hymn in one worship service had a lot of direct sending language. As a result, there was no organ Postlude and instead instrumentalists played a version of the Sending hymn. That change and many other changes helped worship feel very organic. Hymns were led in a multitude of ways from a cappella to different instrumentation, organ, piano, a soloist leading verses, and much more. This creativity has helped me see possibilities to help make hymns come to life even more. It has also challenged me to be more thoughtful, intentional, and creative with music at my church. In the few short weeks since Montreat, we’ve done a verse or two of a hymn a cappella each Sunday at St. Andrew, with positive feedback from a number of congregation.

By the end of the conference, I felt recharged and excited to plan for the remainder of the summer and into the fall. I was reminded of the power of music, especially congregational singing and active participation of the congregation. The Worship and Music Conference has both inspired and challenged me to expand creativity at my church and I feel like I’ve been given tools to enable a deeper worship experience and address challenges of our time.

In case you haven’t been to the PAM Worship and Music Conference and are interested in attending in the future, I would love to connect with you and answer any questions.