We are looking forward to a wonderful time of collaboration and brainstorming in how we can make the coming Christmas season more impactful for our congregations. It can be quite easy for us to get into a routine where we are comfortable. This is “good enough” for us as the ones organizing, rehearsing, and leading the final product. However, sometimes we need to freshen things up a bit and make the effort to make it better and not the same old things we have done year over year.
If you are like me, it can be a struggle to produce new and fresh ideas every year. I have had to change the way I plan for future events over the years to bring people in to aid me in the creative process. I would like to share with you three ideas that can help you plan a fresh Christmas season of music at your church.
- Recruit help. There will never be a lack of resources and ideas available to you every Christmas. The problem is weeding through it all. And even bigger is the problem of time. Throughout the year I will often pull up a Christmas playlist on Spotify and listen to songs that could be used. I will open my notes app on my phone and jot down the title and artist of the song so I can reference it later. But there again is a problem of my time being limited. I have asked key people in our choir and music program to do the same thing. They email me a list at various times of the year to give me ideas. Some we use and some we do not. This is a simple way to engage people to help you weed through the abundance of resources available. So, what about putting it all together?
- Rehearse. I understand that today is November 9. But my experience has been to start early. There isn’t anything wrong with pulling out a Christmas song for your instrumentalists to rehearse in June. Or even a special group or soloist. We rehearsed a Christmas song in April with the choir from past musicals that I want to keep fresh in their minds come October and December. The point is that it is never too early to start.
- Recycle. The last idea I would like to share is using useful resources from the past. Our choir learns 10-12 new songs every fall leading up to our Christmas program in December. Those songs are a valuable resource for both your choir and congregation. We have pulled out a song from past musicals that is a medley of carols, and our congregation is led by our choir in corporate worship even using the soundtrack. If a song is good enough to use once, it is good enough to be used again.
Though this is not an exhaustive list, I hope it helps you both this year and planning out next year’s Christmas season.
We will be sharing more ideas at our virtual meeting tomorrow at 2:00 PM central time. See the information below:
Join us for a virtual collaboration meeting on November 10, at 2:00 PM. Whether you are a layperson or a full-time staff member, you will benefit in several ways by attending.
- Meet others in music ministry who will encourage and bless you.
- Discuss ideas specific to the coming Christmas season.
- Look for new and fresh ideas as a seasoned music director.
- Gain insight and learn from other’s experiences (or even mistakes).
- Leave with resources and links for your ministry.
Hope to see you all there