NNPM 2018 Conference
‘Forgive Us, Lord, As We Forgive’

The theme of the conference is always chosen to help church musicians see their ministry as part of the whole Christian mission rather than as an end in itself. ‘ Our task is to clothe the Gospel in song, so that message can be heard and taken to heart - by ourselves first, then by others who benefit from our music.’

This year the topic was ‘Forgive us, Lord, as we forgive’, forgiveness being a commandment given to us by Jesus in the prayer he taught us.

The two main speakers were John Bell and Marty Haugen, John Bell emphasised the utterly forgiving nature of God which was obscured by the strict theology of his upbringing and its emphasis both on sin and the harsh inflexible image of the divine which saw misfortunes such as disability as evidence of God’s anger. The Gospels show quite the opposite. Jesus heals the sick without any reference to the sick person's sinfulness, and he forgives sin freely in anyone who reaches out to him in faith. Marty Haugen illustrated this point by analysing the story of Jesus eating in the house of Simon the Pharisee (Luke 7:36-50) when a woman, ‘a sinner’, anoints Jesus’ feet with precious ointment and, to the chagrin of the host, is forgiven.

Other musical highlights included a ‘Big Sing' by Geradine Latty,

The presence of a nine-strong contingent of teenage singers from Dockhead parish in Southwark was greatly appreciated.

There were just over a hundred residents at the conference and 35 day visitors on the Saturday. The next one will be held in 2020, Watch this space.

NNPM 2016 Conference

“Handing it On…”

Nurturing the next generation of pastoral musicians…

High Leigh Hoddesdon Hertfordshire --- a few thoughts on the Spirit and song  of an NNPM gathering

‘God welcomes all, strangers and friends’, using the words of John Bell we wove our voices together, young and old from all over England and Wales. Led by Jan Brind and Bryony Davis into our Opening Worship our motorway stress faded away. With a welcome from Stephen Dean the weekend began in the Mulberry Room at High Leigh.  Next door in Yew Tree Hall music and book shops were set up by Decani Music and Ennerdale Music and we assembled there for a big singing session with Andrew Maries- and friends! We tackled a wide variety of music choices on our theme from the different workshop leaders, in parts, in unison and on a screen to save paper.

Later on we enjoyed catching up with old friends, meeting newcomers and sharing experiences in our Church music life. The excellent 24-7 coffee machines were a hit – as well as the bar. Well done and thanks to High Leigh staff for all the facilities.

Over 40 Saturday delegates joined us from 9am and as one we sang Bernadette Farrell’s ‘All that is hidden will be made clear’, was this a hope for the day itself?

Keynote speaker Tom Daggett inspired us with his singing outreach work in the schools and communities of East London. His confidence and determination was an example to us all. He encouraged each of us to remember how we had become Church musicians, who had instructed us, what we had heard or seen or felt. This could be the key to how we hand our gifts on to the next generation.

After coffee seven different prayer and music workshops were available in three sessions around the centre. They were all given by people with practical experience to share and hand on. Furthest to find was the Cherry Room, an oasis, a sacred place created by Jan Brind and Bryony Davis with suggestions for ways of praying using physical actions-  making, cutting, weaving,  pressing, writing,  looking. Frances Novillo presented in conjunction with two young people that she has worked with, who then took leading roles in our Saturday final worship. Julie McCann’s session centred on running a Taize service which welcomes families, children, young people and all comers, creating a beautiful space to pray in what you see and hear. Christopher Walker looked at music from 11th-21st century and reminded us that all music had once been ‘new’ .  With  ‘Pilgrimage in song’ Wendy and Richard Hubbard described several one –day walking and singing events they have run,  visiting local Churches on the route, good for mind and body, and involving those who might not usually venture inside a Church. For more information on this visit   www.cantusfirmus.org.uk

Bill Tamblyn’s Saturday afternoon Big Sing focussed on the work of Bernard Huijbers, one of the great pioneers, writing modern accessible liturgical music for the assembly in Holland from the early 1960’s.

As only Bill can, he had us singing in Dutch and in a round! ‘Dan nog Klamp ik mij’ (Even then I’ll cling to you).

Looking at how we got here gives us some of the answers to the question, How do we hand it on?

Frances’s young cantor led us in to our Saturday final worship with great accomplishment. We wrote down what our gift to our Church was, what we did very week, and on leaving we took someone else’s paper – to pray for them and give them the strength to keep going. Another handing…

Our 20th Anniversary cake was cut and shared by all, a highlight of the evenings socialising was a performance by our two cellists of ‘Swan a ‘L’Orange’ a Bach/Saint Seans (I think!) mash-up involving an actual orange !!!!

Morning Prayer was a mini-pilgrimage led by Richard Hubbard with his hat and drum! An umbrella was also useful to keep off the strong sunshine. We walked and sung through the grounds with a prayer pause at a wooden cross.

Christopher Walker took us on tour – this time musical – remembering those composers who have gone before us, in particular,  Peter Jones (Coventry Gloria) and Ernest Sands (May the choirs of Angels). He presented his own ‘Always forward, never back!’ and reminded us that we may never know the outcome of what we hand on to others.

In the NNPM forum Stephen Dean invited the workshop leaders and speakers to feed back on their sessions. Christine Howes (Accord Secretary) encouraged us to send in news of Church music workshops, services and events from around the country, to help us ‘Hand it on’ . Vicky Dearing NNPM Membership Secretary and Treasurer reminded us to join the network, organise local events, and to ask for advice and sponsorship. She also announced a Subscription rise to £15 per two years to build up the funds to do this and cover increased postage costs.

In our final worship led by Jane Porter and Martin Foster we managed singing and signing in a round

‘What we have received from the Lord Jesus Christ, this we pass on’  (Martin Foster www.bearmusic.info).

Then Marty Haugen’s ‘A great cloud of witnesses’ brought to mind all those who have handed on to us, we spoke and listened to each other about our hopes for how we would be handing on our gifts and skills in the coming months and years of the future.

A huge thank you to Jennifer Burridge for her fantastic organising skills which produced such a smooth running, enjoyable and positive conference experience.

Reflection on the NNPM conference from Sophy Cartledge

This was my first attendance at the NNPM conference for many years and this time I decided to bring my harp with me.  I am very glad I did because I was able to join in with much of the music because I am able to follow a melody line with some chords on it (like guitar).

I enjoyed the singing sessions and the huge enthusiasm exuding from the composers, and I loved hearing Christopher Walker talking and singing and coaching us, and his session gave a window into his deep faith and love of music and people!

I was also taken by Tom Daggett's talk and how he has involved himself with the wider community in coaching choirs outside of the 'church'.

I also admired Mag Shepherd's faithfulness to be available for whatever was 'thrown' at her - and as a musician myself, I know that she had a very challenging time with some very difficult musical accompaniments on the piano - but which she nevertheless managed with great accomplishment.  As I sat near her - (often for moral support myself) I was aware of her sensitive musicality, often adapting at a second's notice, for all the different styles of music that we were singing and playing.  As a piano accompanist, a person is often overlooked - but I want to say that a good accompanist is someone who is a servant of others and who takes a 'back seat', burying their own ego for the benefit and sake of the others.  Therefore I would like to applaud Mag for her hard and beautiful work that weekend.

link to a blog from Marion Hill

https://marions30dayswild.wordpress.com/2016/07/31/conference-at-high-leigh/

2014 NNPM Conference
'Act Justly'
18-20 July 2014 Chester.

Songs to Build Bridges between Worship and World

NNPM Music Day at Potters Bar February 2015

We came from a mix of Christian traditions, from the local area, and from South London to South Cambridgeshire.

Frances Novillo led us- assisted by Stephen Dean.

the Decani music bookshop and support a Fairtrade stall run by children from Pope Paul Primary school.

A wide selection of new music was learnt and sung, from John Bell, Graham Kendrick, Margaret Rizza and many more, it was also a chance to look at ‘old’ songs in new ways and consider how we share the words we are singing, in particular actually paying attention to words we have sung many times.

The day brought together groups, choirs and individuals to sing and pray with words and melodies to help us reach out to the world around us and be of service.

Songs to Sing in the Darkness
and Music to Light up our Lives
4th May 2013

We had hoped to gather on the 19th January but God had other plans as heavy snow fell across much of England on the 18th.

So it was good to eventually meet up with 40 singers and instrumentalists at Our Lady Queen of Apostles Church in Welwyn Garden City on a sunny day in May.

Stephen Dean, NNPM president, led us through an introductory session, focusing on Jesus Christ, Light of the World, looking at a round of many parts ‘Come Light of the World’ by Martin Foster and Marty Haugen’s Holden Evening Prayer. We also discussed the use of Latin in the liturgy, it is a universal language, but using it may exclude those with no knowledge of it. We tried out the Belmont Our Father from Christopher Walker, which is in a chant style.

Frances Novillo, RSCM Area Music Advisor and Pastoral Musician in Barnet Parish led the next two sessions with the singers while Jane Porter, School Lay Chaplain in Luton and Pastoral Musician rehearsed the instrumentalists in the Church.

Frances gave us practical tips on warming up, encouraging our own Church groups and praying through our singing. We thought about our own times of darkness, the things that made us anxious and afraid and wrote them down. We remembered that with the grace of God we can get through these times through prayer, sung and spoken.

We sang music of different types from four part hymns such as Be still my soul, to the syncopated swing rhythms of ‘You bring peace’ by Sam Hargreaves, and from Taize, ‘Kindle a flame’.

The Parish run ‘Pomegranate Café’ at Welwyn Garden City provided an agreeable space for eating lunch and sharing our experiences and the delightful Peace Garden was a welcome place to see the May sunshine and flowers, this was created and is maintained by Welwyn Garden City Parish as part of the 100 days of peace campaign for the 2012 Olympics.

Singers and instrumentalists joined together in the Church for a ‘putting it together’ session followed by a candlelit Evening Worship Service.

Thanks to everyone who came and made it a memorable day of praise.

2012 - Let the peoples praise you O God

Worth Abbey was the place and the Psalms were the subject for the 2012 conference of the National Network of Pastoral Musicians. We travelled from all parts of England, Scotland and Wales to praise God in the songs of the Psalter in many and various ways. The Benedictine community of monks, who pray the psalms five times a day, welcomed us to their beautiful site overlooking the South Downs. We were lucky to have reasonably fine weather as a conference at Worth involves some walking around between venues.

On Friday evening Philip Jakob encouraged us to sing quietly, yet with conviction, to pray the words that we sing. Early on Saturday morning we joined the monks in the Abbey for morning prayer, a great privilege

We welcomed over 100 day visitors for a keynote address from John Bell, who spoke of psalms as offerings to God in times of despair, anger and injustice when we are unable to pray in any other way.

He introduced psalms set to music in diverse styles and asked us to consider that the range of emotion encountered across the psalms required different types of settings.

Then we dispersed for the first of three workshops. A variety of subjects included, conducting and leading, new mass settings and an insight from a monk on how praying the psalms helped him in his work in a nearby detention centre.

It was a great opportunity to learn from experts and each other in smaller groups.

For the ‘Big Sing’ Geraldine Latty had 200 of us stomping and singing Gospel Praise in the awe-inspiring Worth Abbey acoustics.

Saturday evening was an oasis of calm as Andrew Maries led us into stillness and listening. Sunday morning brought beautiful sunshine and Easter (in July??) as our Eucharist with Gary O’Neill celebrated the feast of St. Mary Magdalen, the woman who was first to hear of and believe in the Resurrection.

Our keynote presenter on Sunday was Nicola Slee who spoke powerfully on the link between contemporary poetry and psalms and how they communicate the joy, despair, anger and sadness we experience.

We planted nasturtium seeds with Richard Hubbard at our Sunday morning worship which was bursting with the splendour of God’s creation.

We hope that the seed of God’s word in the psalms has fallen on fertile ground in us- and that we can spread the joy and ‘positive rumours’ from our time together at Worth to our respective communities and all the people we meet.

Potters Bar - 12th February 2011

Over 80 instrumental players and singers gathered at Our Lady and St. Vincent’s Catholic Church in Potters Bar, Herts for a day of music making, praising God and sharing experience, as the Choir Director Stephen Dean pointed out, ‘not mutually exclusive activities’.

Both NNPM members and interested musicians came from far and near – Worcestershire, Solihull, Cambrige, North and South London and very helpful Potters Bar parishioners from around the corner! New hymns and psalm settings were learnt and lots of tea and biscuits consumed.

The singers and instrumentalists, led by Bill Tamblyn, rehearsed separately in the morning and then we put it all together in the afternoon. Listening to each other’s contribution to the sound was a valuable encounter. The day concluded with Evening Prayer and as the incense rose in the Church it was lit by some rare February sunshine coming through the colourful stained glass.

Potter Bar Church was an inspiring venue – if we visit again we will make use of the antiphonal design.

By Vicky Dearing 

NNPM National Conference

Chester University

Friday 23rd July to Sunday 25th July 2010

Pilgrims on a Journey

This year's conference had the theme "Pilgrims on a Journey". It was based at Chester University.

Attending the conference were: Bernadette Farrell, Chris Walker, Gary O' Neill, Andrew Maries, Richard Hubbard, Stephen Dean, Martin Foster and a couple of hundred pastoral musicians - the often ‘unsung heroes’ of many a successful liturgy.

Here is one person’s take on it - do you have your own story to tell?

Chester 2010  ‘Pilgrims on a Journey’

A conversation overheard before the last morning session at Chester this year

‘it’s hard to explain how good the conference is – you have to get people to come and experience it for themselves.’

Here is my attempt to put into words some elements of the Chester NNPM 2010 weekend.

I arrived by train and was able to see the famous city walls of Chester, the Canal and the Cathedral before I headed to the University Campus. A spacious central building was where we set up to welcome people from all over the UK during Friday afternoon. At dinner I chatted to newcomers to the conference and returners, we told of our respective journeys, that had brought us around the table that evening.

We had a welcome from the Bishop of Chester, who spoke to us about the development of Chester University from an Anglican Theological college and we then moved to the University Chapel which had been built by a previous generation of students.

Night prayer followed, the first of several worship times filled with song, prayer, music and poetry interspersed with silence. We heard the unique combination of our voices for the first time.

Then, straight into a rehearsal with Christopher Walker for the next day’s morning prayer, after which many of us headed to the Student Union Bar to continue getting to know each other.

On the Saturday we were joined by about another 100 day visitors for a busy programme of workshops and talks.

I learnt a lot from the entertaining double-act of Martin Foster and Stephen Dean – considering the I/We, you /they, he/she aspects of the grammar used in hymns and prayers, they put the question ‘Who is the I ’ when you are singing a psalm, and asked us to consider ‘who are you talking to?’ at various points in the Mass.

Bernadette Farrell gave a very moving account of how music inspires people to join together to try to build the Kingdom of God here on earth in different ways.

Our keynote speaker – or in some ways keynote singer -Kathy Galloway echoed this theme as she described how songs are deeply embedded in our cultural memory and tell of journeys to freedom through great struggle. A particular example was ‘Freedom is coming’ that came out of the struggle against apartheid in South Africa and was taken up around the world.

We came together for a Big Sing, with more new music from Philip Jakob, and a Final Worship before saying farewell to the Saturday visitors. The Sound Blessing from Philip Roderick on the Hang Drum was mysterious and all-encompassing.    It was energising to be singing together in harmony with such a big group of musicians worshipping God.

Slightly fewer in number we made our way to the chapel for the Vigil Evening Mass for the 17th Sunday. We sang a setting of the Gloria by Christopher Walker using the new translation of the Roman Missal and also a Recessional Plainchant  ‘Send us out, O Lord with the love of Christ in our minds and hearts.’

After dinner we were entertained by ‘The Pilgrim Troupe’ led by Stella McGann.

We were brought ‘into the round’ and into the drama, song and poetry of the greatest story – from Creation to Pentecost. We were led through this presentation by a large all-age and talented cast, with clever use of costumes, lighting and minimal props. The ‘audience’ became participants as we sang well known hymns together at intervals in the action.

On Sunday we had a challenging talk from Dot Gosling about Christian youth work and the training of new leaders in this area. She asked us to support the young people we met in our music ministry and the Youth Workers in our Parishes.

Then a round up of the workshops from all the leaders made for a friendly and informal final session. Sorry to say that I had to leave to catch a train as the last worship time got under way.

I met some remarkable people, sang lots of marvellous new music and came back with great memories and a couple of new books from Decani Music!

Text: Vicky Dearing      NNPM membership secretary

Cancelled due to the Covid 19 Restrictions

PLEASE NOTE NEW DATES 30TH JULY - 1ST AUGUST 2021

SOME DETAILS MAY CHANGE DUE TO NEW CIRCUMSTANCES]

MESSY MESSIAH Richard & Wendy Hubbard.

‘Handel’s Messiah with 150 children? Surely not!’ Last year a group of churches in Ipswich embarked on a unique project in partnership with a cathedral, an inter-church choir, four primary schools and a professional orchestra, to perform Handel’s Messiah to an audience who would never normally go to a classical concert or to church. This workshop explores the project and the resources used, showing how schools and churches can engage with this choral classic as a mission opportunity. Richard and Wendy are a husband and wife team. Richard is a Lecturer in Music and Worship at London School of Theology and Music Development Director at St Edmundsbury Cathedral. Wendy teaches piano, and works for Cantus Firmus Trust, which runs inter-church choirs in Suffolk and Essex.

NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US Christopher Walker.

Not height, nor depth, not things present or to come – not pitch nor rhythm, nothing can separate us.... Let’s explore how music can reconcile differences, reunite us from self-absorption, ‘I am right-ism’ and 'head in sand-ism'. Chris Walker, a former Director of Music at Clifton Cathedral, lives in California but is familiar in Britain and internationally, much in demand for his insights, enthusiasm, and inspiring compositions.

WORSHIPPING, WORKING AND WITNESSING AS A ‘FIELD HOSPITAL ’ CHURCH Marty Haugen.

Pope Francis has described his vision of the Catholic Church: ‘Sometimes, I speak of the Church as if it were a field hospital... So many people need their wounds healed! This is its mission: to heal the wounds of the heart, to open doors, ...to say that God
is good, God forgives all, God is the Father, God is affectionate, God always waits for us. It’s true, we have to help and create organizations that help in this... but when we forget this mission, forget poverty, forget the apostolic zeal and instead, place our hope in these human means, the Church... becomes a beautiful organization: Powerful, but not evangelical, because it lacks ...that power to heal.’ Let’s explore how life as Christians in community and worship can be yoked to our ministry as servants and apostles to a broken world. Marty Haugen is a composer, writer and pastoral musician from Minneapolis, USA.

YOUNG AND OLD JOIN HANDS Julie McCann

Inspired by ‘Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds’ on Channel 4 and the joy music brought to her dad who had dementia, Julie has set up a regular ‘60 Minute Sing’ in her local church in south London. Seniors and carers with toddlers come together to sing and play rhythm games for an hour once a week followed by a sociable tea and cake session. Come and hear what Julie and friends get up to, learn some new songs and games to play with all age groups. No co-ordination or music reading needed, just an openness to seeing how young and old can inspire and support one another through music. Julie is a child therapist and liturgical musician living in south London.

ENACTING LAUDATO SI LITURGICALLY Bob Hurd

Can Pope Francis’s call to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor shape the way we celebrate the Eucharist? Not only can the encyclical be applied liturgically, but the paschal mystery we celebrate compels us to do so! Bob will illustrate this by sharing musical resources and suggestions for preaching. Bob Hurd teaches in the Graduate School of Theology and Ministry at Seattle University and leads workshops and retreats. His recent book on the spirituality of the liturgy, Compassionate Christ, Compassionate People, is available from the Liturgical Press.

A SONG FOR THE EARTH Andrew Maries.

What hymns and songs could enable our worship to echo the great global cry for climate justice? Andrew is experienced in music and worship matters across denominations and worship styles. He is a former Chairman of the RSCM Devon Area and is currently a member of the Worship, Prayer and Spirituality Group in Exeter Diocese representing the worship resource agency Praxis South West.

TALKING, LISTENING AND SINGING Martin Foster.

We will look at principles of dialogue and then see how the liturgy and liturgical music reflect this - such as listening and responding. Are we missing something if we are just singing music sung by all the whole time? Martin is Director of the Liturgy Office of the Catholic Bishops' Conference, a composer and pastoral musician.

UNITY IN LITURGY Peter McGrail.

Our congregation may include people with opposing or even incompatible views, political and otherwise. How can we overcome this and put Christ first? Dr Peter McGrail, a priest of Liverpool archdiocese, is Associate Professor of Theology at Liverpool Hope university and a leading liturgical scholar.