Association of Lutheran Church Musicians

August 1, 2024 e-newsletter

Dear ALCM Colleagues and Friends,

Somewhere over the course of my years in ministry, I remember hearing or reading the phrase, “Worship is the heartbeat of the Church.” The ongoing beat of the heart enables the body to continue and experience all of the joys of life and God’s call to us.

All of us know that we have better life experiences when we have healthy hearts. I see my cardiologist once or twice a year. He reminds me of those things that I can do to maintain a strong heart. Do this! Don’t do that! Eat this! Don’t eat that! And so it goes.

In a real way, ALCM provides many wonderful ways for us to lead, encourage, and enable the “Heartbeat of the Church . . . Worship.” Our ability to help nurture and “lead the Church’s song” is strengthened and empowered when we share ideas, hear and read about the experiences and joys of others who do exactly what all of us do in one form or another, come together for support, and experience the heartbeat of the Church when we share in glorious worship.

This past week at Valparaiso, our conference, “From Generation to Generation – Ponder Anew,” offered those wonderful opportunities either in person or virtually through the efforts of many ALCM members and friends. Thank you to Adam Hughes for his hard work in making all the pieces come together. Capping a wonderful week of events was the inspiring presentation of J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion under the leadership of Dr. Christopher Cock. If you were not able to participate in this year’s conference, I encourage you to begin your plans now to attend the 2025 ALCM National Worship and Music Conference, “For All That Is to Be,” in Raleigh-Durham, NC, August 4-8, 2025.

Worship IS the heartbeat of the Church and when we strengthen our “hearts” individually, we are able to help strengthen the heart of the Church at large!

God bless you all in your ministries.

Wallace Horton

ALCM Board Member  

Join Us in 2025!

When I think about what happens at an ALCM conference, these are just some of the words that come to mind: inspiration, singing, learning, enriching worship, new ideas, fellowship, and many others.

These areas of focus and others are helping to guide the plans for our 2025 national conference in Raleigh-Durham, and it’s not too early to think about joining us.

With Tom Trenney, Raleigh Ringers, and VOCES8 as just a few of our key presenters, the conference will be one you don’t want to miss!. So, mark your 2025 calendars now for August 4-8 and plan to register in the “Early, Early” category, which will offer substantial savings. Registration will open in September. 

Jeremy Bankson

2025 Conference Chair

As a result of the election held in May and early June*, we are pleased to announce the election of directors Karla Devine, Matthew Frable, and Omaldo Perez to the ALCM board. In additon, Mike Krentz was re-elected to the position of Secretary/Treasurer. You can view pics and bios of all board members on the ALCM website.

Sadly, the addition of new directors to the board means that we must also say goodbye to out-going directors Carol Churchill and Kim Cramer. We are grateful for your service and contributions to the board, and we wish you well in future endeavors!

*With apologies, this notice should have been included in the July e-newsletter.

Putting a conference together takes a large number of people working together, and we want to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who worked to make From Generation to Generation: Ponder Anew a success. 

• To our worship leaders: thank you for leading us in worship, proclaiming the gospel, and fostering our communal song.
• To our presenters: thank you for sharing from your experience and encouraging community around church music. 
• To our exhibitors: thank you for bringing your wares and leading us in reading sessions.
• To our St. John Passion musicians: thank you for an evening of sublime music.
• To our planning committee: thank you for the careful thought given to the details and schedule for the week.
• To our generous donors: thank you for supporting all this work and the fruit it bears throughout the whole church.
• To our conference attendees: thank you for bringing your own expertise, questions, and energy to the week.
• And, finally, to Lutheran Summer Music: we know that our presence during your festival week added another level of complexity to an already complex program and schedule, and we are grateful to you for sharing it with us. Our entire experience was made much richer by your presence.

WELS Comings and Goings . . .

Board Meeting - July 25, 2024

Following the conclusion of the ALCM conference held at Valparaiso University, ALCM’s Board of Directors met on July 25 in a face-to-face meeting. At this meeting the Board thanked outgoing members Carol Churchill and Kim Cramer. Omaldo Perez was re-elected to a term on the Board, and the Board also welcomed new members Matthew Frable and Karla Devine. Their terms will begin on August 1.

The Board also

• heard about plans being made by an anniversary committee for a celebration of ALCM’s 40^th anniversary (which is in 2026); the Board affirmed those plans; more information will be coming as we launch a three-year celebration in 2025;
• reviewed the results of the survey of members taken several months ago;
• learned from the Scholarship Committee about plans to bring as many students as possible to our 2025 conference, and to continue to award grants;
• received with regret (for us) but joy (for her) the resignation/retirement of Linda Borecki as editor of In Tempo;
• engaged in discussion of what to do in the summer of 2026; the Board noted the richness that meeting where Lutheran Summer Music is meeting brought to our 2022 and 2024 conferences.

The Board thanks all members and staff for their involvement in ALCM, their work for our association, and for everyone's financial support.

The Raabe Prize at 25!

This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the Raabe Prize for Excellence in Sacred Composition. Endowed in 1999 by Dr. William and Pr. Nancy Raabe of Philadelphia, this prize is awarded every two years for a single musical work that reflects a larger history of excellence on the part of a composer. Its aim is to recognize and encourage significant accomplishments in composition contributing to the body of sacred music for the church in the Lutheran heritage. Throughout 2024, ALCM will highlight each prizewinner with a video describing the piece, its significance and, where possible, featuring a conversation with the composer. Watch for composer highlights in upcoming issues of the e-newsletter.

Rewatch LSM 2024 in the LSM Livestream Archives

Did you miss LSM 2024? Don’t worry! You are invited to revisit over 30 concerts, recitals, and worship services from LSM 2024 on demand in LSM’s Livestream Archive: LSMacademy.org/24archive. With so many great performances and inspiring services, you don’t want to miss out. 

Kyries & Glorias

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:

Kyrie

Mark & Kathy Helge

Bob & Lois Rimbo

Bob Hobby*

Jenny Hobby

John Ferguson*

Gloria

Bryan Gerlach (on his retirement)

In memoriam

Rev. Marty Schaefer

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.

* indicates a Charter Member

Fourth Friday Happy Hour with ALCM

Friday, August 23 - 6:00 pm Eastern

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.

Post your own event!

Adding your local event to the calendar is easy. Just log in to the members area of the ALCM website and select "Add an event to the calendar" under "What would you like to do?" Click on the "Post Your Event" button and complete the form. Your event will appear on the main event calendar, on the main page of the website, and in the e-newsletter for the month in which the event will take place. Good advertising - and it's free to ALCM members!

Hymn Resources

As summer winds down and your worship planning kicks into high gear, be sure to check your hymn selections against the list of Hymn Settings in the members area of the website. (See the link under the "Quick Links" heading.) There are hundreds of hymn settings to support congregational singing.

Here are two hymn settings included in that section:

LAND OF REST - Boehler (brass parts)

LAND OF REST - Otte harmonization

Having difficulty logging in to the members area? First check to be sure that you are using the email address that we have on file (the address at which you receive copies of the newsletter). Click on the "Forgot your password?" link in the login box and follow the instructions to reset your password. If you still have difficulty logging in, send an email to office@alcm.org and we'll be happy to help.

You are invited to freely make use of the ALCM virtual hymn "O Day Full of Grace" during summer and other times. Share the hymn with everyone. All copyright restrictions are waived. If you own a One License subscription and offer the hymn recording in worship, please include it when submitting your One License report.  

Are you getting the most out of your ALCM membership?

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 username is your email address. You can change or reset your password by following the "Forgot your password?" link in the login box.

Items in the members area are available for unlimited use as long as your membership remains active. Here are a few items for members only:

• All issues of CrossAccent (from the very beginning) and In Tempo are available for viewing. These items are for sale in the Marketplace to non-members;
• Advertise your local events on ALCM's calendar;
• Listen to all ALCM CD recordings for free;
• Hymns, accompaniments, descants, concertatos, and hymn stanza alternations for choir;
• Other free downloadable seasonal and non-seasonal resources;
• Discounted registration fee for ALCM-sponsored webinars and conferences;
• Past issues of ALCM's original practical resource, Grace Notes, from 1997-2011;
• Discounts on purchases of CDs and other items in the Marketplace; and
• A host of other resources free for viewing and downloading.

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.