A workshop for song leaders, worship leaders, worship teams, accompanists, pastors, and all who choose and lead music in worship.

November 6, 2010, 9:45 AM – 12:30 PM
Canadian Mennonite University

Almost all congregations include people with different tastes in music. These musical tastes (what some call our ‘soul music’) are usually formed when we’re young and, once formed, rarely change. This can create some significant cultural ‘gaps’ between people in congregations—and some very real challenges for today’s worship leaders and song leaders. How do we navigate the differences in musical taste in our congregations, so that disagreements over musical style don’t distract us from our worship of God?

Many congregations have responded by trying to blend a variety of different worship music styles in each service. But—as anyone who has tried it knows well—blending music in worship is not easy.

This workshop will look at some of the questions a ‘blended music’ approach to worship often raises, including:

• Is it possible to use a variety of different musical styles in the same worship service (or the same set of songs), or are different styles like oil and water – they just don’t mix!
• Why is it that ‘blended’ services rarely stay ‘blended,” but often just keep getting more and more ‘contemporary’ over time?
• How do you include a variety of musical styles in the same service when accompanists aren’t comfortable playing in different styles?
• How can ‘traditional’ congregations begin to add some ‘contemporary’ songs without alienating people in the pews?
• How do different worship music styles function in worship? Where/how can they be used most effectively?

If you are interested in exploring some practical ideas about how to effectively incorporate diverse musical styles in worship, then join Dr. Christine Longhurst for:

Blending Music in Worship
Saturday, November 6, 9:45-12:30
Canadian Mennonite University
Laudamus Auditorium, North Campus
500 Shaftesbury Blvd.
Winnipeg

The workshop will be accompanied by Robert Neufeld (organ/piano)
and members of the CMU Worship Band.

Cost for the workshop

$35 (general)

$30 (registrants from the same congregation)

$20 (students; seniors over 65).

Workshop Schedule

  9:45   Registration

10:00  Session I

11:15  Refreshment break

11:30  Session II

12:30  Workshop ends

For more information, or to register, call Shirley Thiessen at 487-3300
or visit the CMU or FaithForum websites.

For a downloadable brochure about the event, click here.

For more information about Christine Longhurst, click here.

To locate the Auditorium and nearby parking, explore the North campus on this interactive map of the CMU campus. 

Click here to see a street map of the area surrounding the CMU campus, courtesy of Map Quest.

Blending Music in Worship is a joint venture of
FaithForum and Canadian Mennonite University

Comments from previous workshop participants

• “I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed your workshop. It was a powerful and spiritual experience. Thank your for sharing your wisdom, and your obvious love for the church.”
• “A great morning! Worthwhile! Christine is a wealth of knowledge, skill & joy. Inspirational.”
• “Christine is an excellent communicator, passionate about the church and about good worship . . . she transmits significant theological ideas in practical 'down to earth ways'.”
• “It was an excellent event—much appreciated by the range of people present from our congregation—song leaders, praise team members, pianists, worship leaders and planners! For me, there is a real sense of potential to take next steps because we have shared this learning experience.”
• “The workshop was jam-packed with a wide variety of information—so good! I’m usually a very hard person to please at workshops, but this was fabulous! Thanks, Christine.”
• “An excellent workshop! Very organized & informative. Thank you!”

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