NEWS : Sanctuary Jazz update

August 12, 2003

It has been a very exciting summer. There have been two major events. First, Sanctuary Jazz and the Studio were invited to offer the worship service for the United Churches of Christ General Synod in Minneapolis, MN in July. There were several thousand people there from all over the world. The worship service we offered was for 3,500 people! It was awesome. I used local Minneapolis musicians plus Rev. Ozzie Smith on soprano sax from Chicago and Cleveland vocalist Angela Lynard. The band was hot. We offered drama and liturgical dance led by Rev. Katharine Harts, and Rev. Eric Elnes from the Studio in Scottsdale, AZ led the service. The Studio had a booth in the Convention Center—there were about 12 of us that made the trip.

We also gave two workshops, one on the Studio and the other on creative uses of music for the worship service. Both workshops were packed with people interested in some of the new things that we are doing at the Studio. Click here to view the outline I used for my workshop on creative uses for music in the worship service.

Steve Blons, a Minneapolis musician and journalist, also interviewed me for an upcoming PBS radio series on jazz in the worship service. There are several programs planned including programs on Duke Ellington and Dave Brubeck and their commitment to sacred music.

Just last week, I went back to the Minneapolis/St. Paul area for the United Churches of Christ Musicians Network Conference where I was invited to give two workshops on improvisation in the worship service. I also participated in one of the worship services, Musician's Network Conference, and I found the experience to be very rewarding and inspiring. There were musicians from all over the U.S. It was inspiring to see so much diversity, musically and culturally. It was also encouraging to see that there are so many musicians that are willing to try new forms of music—instrumentation and experimental forms.

This is truly an exciting time to be involved with the church. It is a time for creative people from all of the arts' disciplines to bring their talents to the Lord's house and to allow the Word to be expressed through their talents. As one of the visiting artists said, "It is just too big to be just talked about. That is why we need to play our instruments, paint our pictures, sculpt and dance to express God's Presence. It is just too big......"

Peace and God's Blessings to all -