“Did you know this is PCN’s approach to worship?”
by Pastor Tony and Art Maramba
Greetings, Presbyterian Church of Novato church family. Before Pastor Tony joined you for this season of Transition Ministry, he was given two documents that the Session had approved that captured PCN’s new approach to a “Wholistic Music Program:” a larger document created in June 2024 that represented the work of a special Task Team, and a single-page document that served as a summary of that larger document, were approved by the Session in July 2024.
Below is the official single-page document approved in July 2024, sharing the new approach for a “Wholistic Music Program.”
“WHOLISTIC” MUSIC PROGRAM
Approved by the Session on July 17, 2024
GOAL: A music program that is:
- CELEBRATIONAL: inspiring “joyful noise” and reverence
- HIGHEST QUALITY: excellence in performance
- ENGAGING: active congregation participation and enthusiasm, singable
- VARIED: includes wide range of music genres and media
- INCLUSIVE: involves youth and children
- SUPPORTIVE: enhanced connection to sermon message
- ATTRACTIVE: to visitors, outsiders, newcomers; visible and creates buzz
ELEMENTS OF PROPOSED PROGRAM:
- Music Director:
- Builds the new wholistic program, providing leadership to the entire program
- Networks, recruits talent (builds a pool of volunteers as well), selects music (coordinated with pastor message), includes musical elements within worship, leads performances (or delegates), engages the congregation
- Implements high quality standards, including auditions for all singers and instrumentalists, in a non-threatening, competitive way, that welcomes volunteers
- May be full-time or part-time
- Lead vocalists:
- Vocalists (e.g., section leaders) to be the lead singers, providing professional-level strength and foundation.
- Music Director conducts auditions to satisfy excellence expectations. This quality and foundation will encourage volunteers to join in backup positions
- Instrumentalists:
- 1-4 paid instrumentalists as needed (as determined by Music Director) and auditioned by Director
- Selection:
- Music selected by Music Director to support pastor message
- Music sung by congregation to be familiar (e.g. from a repertoire) or easily learned
- Music may be sourced from outside PCN as well (visiting musicians, video, etc.)
- Range:
- Music drawn from multiple genres and media, not limited to/defined as “contemporary” vs. “traditional,” intended to create a sense of variety yet a unity of program, i.e., across a spectrum
- Music includes bell choir and youth/children’s music
- Congregational Leader:
- Music Director or designee is responsible for leading the congregation in singing, drawing from repertoire (e.g. 10 favorites) or teaching the song in service
- Sound Tech:
- Person dedicated to high-quality sound, in person and online
- Updated sound equipment updated to support the program, on-site and online.
- Visibility:
- Plan a visibility campaign to increase awareness, possibly including concerts, featured at various events, or putting on an event (concert) in the community every year, which may also act as a fundraiser for PCN.
Art Maramba has been working on realizing this vision for worship at PCN. There are elements from the larger document created in June 2024 that include having a larger staff team of vocalists, sound equipment updates, and instrument purchases that have not yet been realized.
As you read through the single-page capture document, you might say to yourself that the language of a “wholistic music program” is a bit uncommon. Many churches call the approach used in weekly worship a ‘blended approach.’ One of the challenges of blended worship gatherings is that people who come from defined worship traditions, like “traditional worship” or “contemporary worship” have a difficult time observing their traditions present within the blend. In the future, we will include specific pieces that express traditional and contemporary approaches directly, as well as pieces that bring these elements together, and even pieces that don’t fit into either approach. We recognize that experiencing those things in distinct ways has been challenging for members of the congregation.
Art, the Transition Pastor, and key staff members will collaborate with the Worship Team to clarify how the weekly worship experience integrates multiple genres and traditions of worship approaches on Sundays. Please look for future PresPress news articles from the Worship Team and staff on worship, special email blasts, a Town Hall discussion item coming up, and other congregational communication resources from worship in the months to come. We hope this news article is received by you as the ‘first of many’ intentional, transparent communications about how we worship at the Presbyterian Church of Novato.
With joy and great expectation for the future of worship at PCN,
Pastor Tony and Art Maramba