Musicians
Polyphony – The Second Annual Conference of the Fellowship of Baptist Pastoral Musicians (FBPM) was held April 30 - May 2, 2009 at Wieuca Road Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA. Clinicians were Molly Marshall and Eric Nelson.
Connect with the FBPM group on Facebook.
For more information about FBPM, contact Doug Haney at dhaney@wilshirebc.org.
Celebrating Grace: Hymnal for Baptist Worship -a new hymnal for churches that value creativity and variety in congregational singing. Slated for release in spring 2010, the book will include more than 600 hymns and songs in a diversity of musical styles. An extensive online component will offer accompaniment resources for orchestras, keyboards, handbells, and choirs. Worship planning resources will also be available online. Along with the pew edition, there will be accompanist, pulpit, and loose-leaf choir editions. Visit the website at www.celebrating-grace.com for details.
Baptist Theological Seminary and Richmond provides courses in music and worship leadership through the School of Christian Ministry. Music and Worship courses help you build a strong foundation for music leadership in congregational worship. You will learn how to enrich congregational singing, explore your theology of music and worship, and learn how to develop practical skills for working with choirs. Learn more about the courses offered.
Cokesbury Music Service
For all your church music needs, visit www.cokesburymusic.com. They have choral anthems, collections, musicals, and cantatas, handbell anthems and collections, keyboard collections for piano, organ, or duets, sheet music, orchestrations, vocal solos, and more.
From Music Ministry to Mission Field
"I thought I would be a local church minister of music all my life. Ever since I was a junior in high school I knew that I wanted to lead music in the local church. I have had the opportunity to serve God in some wonderful churches. For fifteen years I was Minister of Music at First Baptist Church, Greenville, SC, and for eight years I led the music ministry at First Baptist Augusta, GA. However, at age 52, God has led me in another direction in the music ministry. After having visited the Gandhi School in Pecs, Hungary in the fall of 2005 and 2006 as members of a mission team from First Baptist Church, Greenville, SC, my wife Clista and I contacted CBF about serving as full time missionaries. Now we are living in Pecs, Hungary. My wife teaches English at the Gandhi School and I am establishing a choir program.
The Gandhi School is a residential public high school for Gypsy students. The Roma (Gypsy) people are the most neglected in the Hungarian society. Now that Hungary is a part of the European Union, they are required to raise the socio-economic level of their most neglected. The Gandhi School is a result of this EU membership requirement. There are 250 students at the school and Clista and I attempt to minister to them on a daily basis.
I am establishing a choir program at the school, and in just a few short months it has become one of the most fulfilling challenges of my career as a sacred musician. As the students learn songs like “Oh Happy Day” and a jazzy version of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” they sing with such enthusiasm that my soul is overwhelmed with joy. Even with very different backgrounds, I am able to relate to the Roma people through our joint love for music and making music. Therefore, the doors of opportunity to share the Gospel are opened. I am also learning a lot about Gypsy music, which I find fascinating.
Life on the mission field in Hungary is very different than life in the local church in the US. I admit that there are many things I miss, and sometimes I wish for the well established, dependable, and predictable church music ministry. However, serving as a music missionary among the Gypsy people has given me a renewed sense of what it means to follow the will of God. God has blessed me beyond measure. I hope and pray that through God’s leading I can make some difference in the lives of these beautiful and loving people called Gypsies."
Glen Adkins
Field Personnel in Pecs, Hungary
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
glenadkins@gmail.com
Photos - 1) Glen and Clista Adkins with their daughters Mary and Katie Beth, both visiting from the US, at the market in Budapest, Hungary. 2) Glen leading the Gandhi School's Choir's first perfomance. You can watch a video of their performance on the CBF blog, read the Adkins latest newsletter, or learn more about CBF Global Missions.