Jim Hild

ALCM Board Member

Concurrent with our July conference, ALCM is sponsoring a children's choir camp led by nationally-recognized clinician Dr. Michael Burkhardt at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. The closing worship for our conference, on Saturday, July 8, will be held in Lansdale, led by Dr. Burkhardt and the young musicians who have participated in the camp. For more information or to register your child to attend, visit the ALCM website.

Would you like to contribute to ALCM and support our July conference in Philadelphia? Gifts are welcome to support the conference and all donors will be listed in the conference book. Donations may be made at ALCM website.

Hearts • Hands • Voices are local half- or full-day skills-based workshops organized and hosted by ALCM members. These events provide opportunities to learn new skills, share best practices, build relationships and support systems among musicians in your area, and introduce others to the ALCM community.

Come to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Lancaster, PA on Saturday, April 22 for a one-day event focused on current resources for enlivening the church’s song. Workshop sessions will focus on understanding and reporting copyright usage, exploring the new All Creation Sings worship resource, learning about resources for contemporary music, and nurturing relationships between pastors and pastoral musicians.

Be sure to check the ALCM website for additional locations and information!

As reported in the January 2023 issue of the e-newsletter, the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago is selling its building and moving to another location in Hyde Park. One of the concerns about this sale was what would be done with the chapel organ, which was built by Bigelow and Co., Inc., Organ Builders. Completed July 2, 2004 and dedicated November 4, 2004, the organ was named in gratitude for the ministry of Paul Manz, artist in residence and Christ Seminary Seminex Professor of Church Music at LSTC from 1983-92, and his wife, Ruth. LSTC recently released the following information regarding the sale of the organ:

Applications are now being accepted for the 2023 Norma Aamodt-Nelson Student Scholar Award. This award was established in 2021 to honor the legacy of Norma, a practicing church musician and Instrumental Acquisitions Editor for Augsburg Fortress from 1993 until her death in 2020. The establishment of this award encourages collegiate students as they prepare for a vocation in church music. Applicants must be enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate student as of Fall 2023. The recipient will receive a full scholarship for the 2023 ALCM biennial conference in Philadelphia, including housing and travel expenses, as well as a cash prize of $500. The recipient will also be invited to publicly play a piece or participate in worship at the conference. The deadline for submission is April 30.

Recognizing that virtual community IS real community, you are warmly invited to join "Fourth Friday Happy Hour with ALCM" on Zoom every fourth Friday. Moderated by President Nancy Raabe and Executive Director Jim Rindelaub, discussion will be oriented around a general theme each month, but the larger purpose is to encourage conversation, sharing, and community. Bring whatever thoughts, comments, or concerns are on your mind, and of course a libation of your choice. Click on this recurring link to join each month.

Enrollment is rolling for LSM 2023, but there’s still room for more. Know a young person who would benefit from the life-giving and joyful musical community at LSM? Hear from Omaldo Perez, Ryan Hostler, and Johanna Johnson on why you should nominate students for LSM! And nominate a student for LSM today at: lsmacademy.org/nominate. 

St. James Music Press will award a grant to a church starting or revitalizing a music program. The purpose of this grant is to support new choir programs or established music ministries that are adding a new element by offering resources and professional support.

Elements awarded in the grant include -

Do you have a story of "bumps along the way" in music ministry? We can relate to, laugh with, and take courage from people who know "the view from below" - stories of leaders who fail but grow stronger can teach, cheer, encourage, and unite us. If you have a winsome fiasco story or a more sober story of wisdom learned from experience with the worst and best of anything in church music and worship ministry, contact intempo@alcm.org for article guidelines and future inclusion of your 500-700 word story in In Tempo, ALCM’s practical resources magazine.

Kyries (prayer concerns) and Glorias (thanksgivings) are posted in the members area and on this page on the ALCM website. Kyries and Glorias for the following people have been recently posted:

Mark Bangert*

Timothy Guenther*

ALCM members are invited to submit Kyries and Glorias following the link in the members area of the website. Non-members may contact the ALCM office at office@alcm.org with information for posting.

Did you know that new member benefits are being added all the time to the members area of the ALCM website? You will want to log in whenever you visit the site to be sure that you have access to everything available to members. Can't remember your login information? In almost every case, your user name is your email address. You can change or reset your password by following the "Forgot your password?" link in the login box.

If you have any difficulty logging in or if you have questions or comments about the website or your membership, please feel free to contact us by email at office@alcm.org.

To be added, please email information to: office@alcm.org