April 17, 2012
Clinicians:
Mary J. Scifres
MARY SCIFRES is a United Methodist pastor serving in the California-Pacific Annual Conference from her home in Laguna Beach. A graduate of Boston University and the University of Indianapolis, Rev. Scifres serves as an author and editor for the United Methodist Publishing House and works as a consultant and teacher in leadership, worship and evangelism. She has written extensively in the areas of music and worship, with a focus on connecting church and culture. Her work includes writing and editing The Abingdon Worship Annual, contributing to the Abingdon Preaching Annual, co-authoring The United Methodist Music and Worship Planner and Prepare! with David L. Bone, and authoring Searching for Seekers and Special Sundays, a new volume in the Just In Time series from Abingdon Press. Mary and her spouse B. J. Beu (a UCC pastor), along with their teenage son Michael, enjoy hosting a retreat and workshop ministry from their Top of the World Retreat home in Laguna Beach.
Debra Tyree
DEBRA TYREE (Debi) has been actively involved in church music all of her life. She is an ordained deacon in the United Methodist
Church. Her current ministry setting is with The General Board of Global
Ministries in the Global Praise program.
Rev. Tyree served the United
Methodist Publishing House as Music Resources Development Editor from
1999-2007. Her work there included serving as managing editor of the
magazine Church Music Workshop, editing a series of music leadership
books, and editing a variety of music resources including anthems,
musicals, and songbooks. Her secondary appointment is to Minister of Music
at Bellevue United Methodist Church, Nashville, TN where she oversees the
worship and music ministry of the church. Previous ministry settings
include serving as Associate Minister of Music and Worship Arts Ministries
at Shady Grove United Methodist Church in Mechanicsville, VA, where she
directed a program of twelve choirs from kindergarten to seniors as a well
as a multi-faceted worship arts ministry.
Debi is nationally known as a
workshop/choral clinician and worship leader who engages participants in
creative ways to discover how they can improve their ministry of church
music. She has served as a part of the Church Music and Worship leadership
teams sponsored by Global Praise to the East Africa Conference, Côte
d`Ivoire, Nicaragua, and Thailand, sharing leadership in training of
Christian educators, church musicians, and licensing for pastoral
leadership. Debi blends her gifts in local church music, sacred music
publishing, and multicultural worship in her current appointment to Global
Praise. Her passion for engaging everyone in God’s songs that are sung
throughout the world is evident in all that she does in worship and in
workshops.
April 16 Schedule (optional overnight & bonus time with clinicians)
| 3:00 |
Check-in begins |
| 4:30 |
Bonus workshop with Mary Scifres: Understanding Postmoderns
What in the world is a postmodern world? “Postmodern” is simply a label that can help us categorize and understand the shifting worldview of people both in and outside of our church walls. In this discussion with workshop leader and coach Mary Scifres, we’ll explore the worldviews of young adults with postmodern attitudes. With an understanding of these emerging worldviews, we will discuss worship, preaching, and ministry approaches that reach new people while continuing to serve the spiritual and pastoral needs of our current congregations. |
| 6:00 |
Dinner |
| 7:15 |
Evening of Global Song with Debi Tyree: I'm Singing the Songs...
Gather for a fun and casual sing-along of several of the global songs you may already know and learn a few new ones as well - and hear some great stories about some of the songs. The evening program and closing vespers are open to the community with no charge and no registration required. |
| 8:30 |
Vespers |
April 17 Schedule
| 9:00 |
Opening Worship |
| 10:00 |
Plenary Address: (Mary Scifres)
"The Emergence of Possibilities in a Postmodern World of Worship"
Mary Scifres will explore new worship possibilities in worship conversations that refer to “emergent worship,” “postmodern worship,” or “emerging worship.” Rather than seeing these new expressions of worship as one more program or worship style to add to our local church schedules, Scifres invites us to integrate the possibilities for multi-sensory, participatory, communal spiritual disciplines emerging from these diverse worship conversations into our current worship. In doing so, our worship more easily connects with people both outside and inside the doors of the church. As we connect in new ways, Scifres sees “the breath of life flowing into the open church doors even as we offer the breath of life to a culture choked by loneliness and hopelessness.” With a refreshing look at our changing world, worship becomes an avenue for us to serve even as we are refreshed by God’s ever-moving Spirit. |
| 10:45 |
Break |
| 11:00 |
Plenary Address (Debi Tyree) "GlobALL: Being MulticulturALL in Worship"
Why should we sing, pray, and worship with the world? The plenary will engage the participants in discerning and articulating a deeper understanding of multiculturalism and its impact on our world and worship. |
| 12:00 |
Lunch |
| 1:00 |
Workshops
Debi: Transitions - Service Music with the World
Experience the many ways that choruses & refrains of global song can transition us from one place and move us into the next place in worship. Learn how you can "contemporize" your worship service with global song.
Mary: Designing Convergent Worship in a Postmodern World
As we explore the changing views of reality and values in our world today, we can design and lead worship that connects with people in transformative ways. In this workshop, Scifres will provide practical tools and ideas for integrating various worship elements and styles--including multisensory and multicultural resources--into our worship services. |
| 2:00 |
Break |
| 2:15 |
Workshops
Debi: Sing 'Round the World
We will learn several global songs and discover how to introduce them, teach them, and accompany them in worship. Participants will go home ready to teach & lead these global songs in their own worship settings!
Mary: Preaching Possibilities in a Postmodern World
Preaching in the 21st century challenges us to integrate old and new preaching styles and homiletic approaches to reach and engage the diverse worshippers in our congregations. No single preaching style is “the right way,” but each of us brings specific gifts to this challenge. In this workshop, we will enrich and strengthen our preaching skills by exploring various ways of preaching and communicating to reach both postmoderns and moderns in our congregations and in our world. |
| 3:15 |
Concluding Remarks |
| 3:30 |
Closing Worship |
| 4:00 |
Event concludes |
LARC is designed to maximize the opportunity for small group interaction with these nationally-known leaders. Space is limited, so click the green button below to register for LARC today!
click here to return to the LARC home page
