December 14, 2009

Good Morning

By now many of you will have presented at least one "major" Christmas event. I trust that everything has gone well, and that your ministry's efforts fulfilled all of your expectations. For many of you, however, this is "the week." That is true at my church, where, for the first time in my career, my choir will be participating in two events: a "Blue Christmas" advent service, and a Living Nativity presentation. I don't know how I've missed out doing one of these before, but neither of these services are in my personal backlog of experiences. I do know one thing, however...last year's donkey is not coming back this year...it seems as if the animal became a bit cranky in 2008...actors... :)

It is also bi-seasonal dichotomy time. What? That's when you're in one season but working toward another (I have blogged about this phenomenon here)...in my case we began to work on Epiphany music at last week's rehearsal, and the lenten stuff comes out this week.

Onward...

• Bob Burroughs continues to rehab from successful knee replacement surgery. If you would like to write Bob a note of encouragement, his email address is bobburroughs (at) mac.com.
• Looking for a Christmas gift for yourself? We have 3 collections of back articles in pdf format on CD Rom. The Choir and Leadership collections ($19.95 each) contain over 40 articles, while the Worship collection ($24.95) contains 60 articles--that is less than 50 cents per article, post paid in the US, for these great collections of resources. You can order them by clicking here.
• Looking to do something nice for someone else at Christmas? Our friend Dan Stevens runs a great organization. Lifewater International equips partner organizations and works with them to empower communities in developing countries to gain safe water, adequate sanitation, effective hygiene, and the knowledge of Jesus’ love. Check them out here, or email Dan for more information about how you can help. Tell him Vern sent you.
• I'm adding another week for our survey! Please, please take it this week so that we get a good representation of your opinions. This is the last week for the topic: Your church is...? Please go to our home page and take the survey, and check back at the end of the week to see what the results are.
• Has the Christmas season got you frantic? Many years ago, my friend Dean McIntyre of the United Methodist General Board of Discipleship wrote this little Christmas lament (set to the tune of O Little Town of Bethlehem) which addresses that situation. Please note the copyright restrictions.

Here's our weekly update on Reverence channel programs on the Creator Leadership Network. If you haven't listened, please do so. If you have, please tell your friends. Thanks.

Standard reminder about the Reverence Channel player: First, the initial time you use it, you may need to "refresh" (F5 key) once in order to get the audio. You'll know you will get the audio if you see the colored buttons (green for play, red for stop, and brown for mute...plus the two purple buttons which control the volume...). There is no need to hit the play button in most cases, the audio will start automatically once the player completely loads. Second, if you use a mac, you may need to download one or more programs: Silverlight (for the player) and Firefox (the preferred browser). Look for links to download these free programs on the home page and programs page.

Here are this week's scheduled programs (all times Pacific), starting with today's shows:

Fred Bock Music Hour - Monday, 1:00 PM
Featuring music from the Fred Bock Music Company.

Doug's Master Class - Monday, 2:00 PM
Doug Lawrence interviews interesting people in the worship music field.

Creator Radio - Monday, 3:00 PM
This week we feature a discussion about sabbaticals for church musicians, and the wonderful lenten anthem Miserere Mei by Richard Burchard.

Creator Tech Talk - Monday, 4:00 PM
Everything you need to know to maximize your tech ministry, hosted by Wade Odum.

Notes of Encouragement Featuring the Music of Steve Amerson - Tuesday, 11:00 AM
Steve Amerson's voice will just fill your speakers with great music.

The Just Pure Laughs Clean Comedy Show - Tuesday, 12:00 NOON
Hosted by Dan McGowan, this show features The Heavyweights of Clean Comedy. Its a laugh (or more) a minute.

With Hearts & Hands & Voices - Tuesday, 1:00 PM
This week, host Mark Lawson explores Easter, Lent, and General repertoire from MorningStar Music.

Let Music Live! The Sacred Sounds Of Shawnee Press - Thursday, 1:00 PM
Joseph Martin hosts this look at new and best selling materials from Shawnee Press.

Miss a show? We broadcast the stream 24/7, so check in and see what's on when you are able to listen. And...as I've been saying for some time now...stay tuned for new programs coming soon.

In this week's Monday Morning Email...

• This week, Hugh Ballou's Leadership articles are outstanding. The highlights for me are Kevin Asbjörnson writing about Leadership as a Performing Art and Jeri Goldstein writing about Planning your A.R.T. Wonder what that means? You'll have to read this week's MME by clicking here.

Finally...

This week, please take time to enjoy the Christmas season...and please tell your friends and colleagues about Creatorand MME too

Blessings,

Vern Sanders
Publisher
Creator Magazine

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