It’s not too late to register for this month’s Presbyterian Association of Musicians’ Worship & Music Conference

Both identical week-long gatherings will be held at Montreat Conference Center in North Carolina. Week 2 is also available online

by Mike Ferguson | Presbyterian News Service

There’s still time to register for the Presbyterian Association of Musicians’ Worship & Music Conference. (Photo by Katherine Kupar)

LOUISVILLE — Organizers of “Thirst No More,” the Presbyterian Association of Musicians’ intergenerational Worship & Music Conference, say there’s still time and space to register for the popular conference held each year at Montreat Conference Center.

Two identical weeks are offered. The first, June 18-23, is in-person only. The second, June 25-30, is offered both in-person and online. Registration information is here.

To date, said PAM’s executive director, Kelly Abraham, nearly 1,400 people have registered for one week or the other. Last year, 1,361 people attended either in-person or online.

“It is our hope that at times during this week you find comfort and challenge, rest and rejuvenation, peace and purpose,” said the conference co-directors, Phillip Morgan and Karrie Rushing. “And, when our time together is completed, that you will be able to return home filled and overflowing with the rivers of Living Water.”

This month’s Worship & Music Conference, put on each year by the Presbyterian Association of Musicians, offers fun educational opportunities to people of all ages. (Photo by Katherine Kupar)

Among the faculty for this year’s Worship & Music Conference:

• The Rev. Larissa Kwong Abazia, the founder of Courageous Spaces and Vice-Moderator of the 221^st General Assembly (2014), is the preacher.
• Dr. David Bjorlin, Assistant Professor of Worship at North Park Theological Seminary and pastor of Worship and Creative Arts at Resurrection Covenant Church in Chicago, is the Routley Lecturer.
• Dr. William P. Brown, the William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary, is the adult Bible study leader.
• Mark Burrows, a composer, conductor and educator, is the children’s choir clinician.
• Dr. Jason Max Ferdinand, the founding artistic director of the Jason Max Ferdinand Singers and director of choral activities at the University of Maryland, is the adult choir clinician.
• The Rev. Dr. David Gambrell, associate for Worship in the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Office of Theology & Worship, is the lectionary seminar leader.
• Dr. Tony McNeill and Dr. Eric Wall are the service musicians.
• Steve Prince, director of engagement and the distinguished artist-in-residence at the Muscarelle Museum of Art at William and Mary University, is the conference’s artist-in-residence.
• The Rev. Kendra Buckwalter Smith, director of the worship program at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and the associate pastor for discipleship at Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, is the liturgist.
• Brian Childers and Sandra Eithun are handbell co-directors.
• Josh Dekaney, an instructor of percussion at Syracuse University, is the drumming seminar leader.
• James Wells, director of youth and children’s music at Brentwood United Methodist Church and the artistic director of the Nashville Children’s Choir at Belmont University, is the children’s music leader.

Worship is held daily and classes and activities for adults, senior highs, middlers and children are offered throughout the day Monday through Friday. The evening schedule offers everything from evening prayer to youth activities and also features an organ recital, talent show, hymn festival, a chamber concert/ice cream reception and a closing concert.

Handbell players make their joyful noise during the 2022 Worship & Music Conference. (Photo by Katherine Kupar)

In addition to classes, one-off interest sessions are offered during the conference. Those sessions include learning about the music of Mister Rogers, a session exploring the values and practices emerging in the worship rhythms of new worshiping communities, and another on rebuilding music ministry following the pandemic.

Here’s a description on what conference-goers can expect during worship:

“The week begins with John 4:1-14a, where Jesus meets the woman at the well in a seemingly mundane, everyday task. In the same way, conference participants will begin the week by exploring why we approach the depths of the well and consider if we can fathom having our thirst quenched.

“As the week progresses, participants will consider what we must leave behind, grasp onto, revive and release in order to receive/embrace the flowing water (whether the Living Water from John, the water from the rock in Numbers, the raining down from 1 Kings, or the baptismal waters that claim each one of us).

“The week concludes with a celebration of the abundance of God, and abundance which transforms our understanding and the nature of the work itself. Through this all, we are reminded that, while our actions are important, we must leave room for God to call and claim us, too.”

Learn more about the Presbyterian Association of Musicians’ Worship & Music Conference here.