Music Ministries

Traditional: Thomas M. Brantigan

The "Tradition" moves forward, supporting the mission of Central, as it has done for many years here and for centuries in the greater community of Christ. J.S. Bach signed all his manuscripts with "Soli Deo Gloria" - To God Alone be Praise!

Counting your blessings at this time of year is a favorite activity and this past year provides many examples. The theme of the year seems to be how seeds planted grow in unexpected ways!

First, someone planted a seed by donating the new hymnal. A very caring group of people led by Steve and Betsy Nelson spent many hours going through all the available hymnals to pick out exactly the right one for Central and its congregation. With the leadership of Amy Killian, the hymnal was presented to the congregation and celebrated through an all-music service to celebrate the rich culture of traditional hymns in Christ's Church. Given our lack of a Senior Pastor, Steve Nelson took on the task of picking hymns for Sunday mornings and has brought to us a wealth of new and old hymns that are wonderful to sing, meaningful in worship, and of wider variety than I have ever seen when actually chosen by the clergy!

Another seed was planted in 2002 in the form of a set of hand-bells donated to the church. Through the leadership of Chrissy Hoffner, a new bell choir was formed and out came beautiful music, particularly during the Christmas season. I wish everyone could have seen Chrissy's face during the Christmas Brass Concert as her group performed. That smile is infectious with the pride of growing into her new ministry. A seed was planted. Chrissy and her group made it grow to the glory of God. We look forward to great things from the bell choir in the coming year and I personally hope to see the activity spread into a bell choir for the youth of the church! You can help the seed to grow by calling Chrissy and joining the bell choir!

A seed planted by Phil Munds and Carol Corey, Sundays at Central, finished its first year and started its second. The goal was to create an outreach program to bring people from the community into Central. To say that the series has been a success is an understatement. Sundays at Central fills the sanctuary by offering both traditional and eclectic professional musical experiences including brass ensembles and Chris Norman playing Celtic music. The recent Festival of Christmas Brass packed the sanctuary to overflowing with people coming to worship God and others coming to find out what He is all about! This seed, planted in faith alone, is blooming!

My greatest personal blessing and ministry is the Chancel Choir and their ministry to the "traditional" congregation and service. We rehearse each week; pray together; worship together; and lead the congregation in praise of God. We are the longest running "small group" at Central. This year has seen the strength of the choir grow as we prepared for the Christmas season. Jay Biddison joined us again as our organist and accompanist and continues to be a tremendous blessing to me personally and to the choir and congregation. The Chancel Choir is an active cultivator of seeds planted. Come plant yourself in the choir! I would love to see that choir loft filled every Sunday.

Speaking of choirs, this was the first year of the Central Summer Family Choir who blessed our worship every Sunday during the summer months. God doesn't take the summer off, so we didn't either! My thanks to everyone who participated and I encourage everyone to do it again.

The most special among special disciples of Christ is Carol Corey, the real life behind the Chancel Choir and just about anything else that relates to "traditional" music at Central. I cannot say enough about how her ministry plants seeds and how her efforts make things grow.

We thank God for our blessings and talents and you, the congregation for your support of our efforts. -- Soli Deo Gloria

8:15 Contemporary Service: John Pusateri

Something special is happening at the early service! While change always presents challenges, and we have experienced plenty of change, the consensus is that we are on the upswing in many areas involving worship at 8:15. The worship team now includes about 35+ dedicated musicians, vocalists and technical folks, some who have been faithful over many years, as well as many new faces. We are coming together to cast a vision for renewal and excellence in worship.

The Session called Neil Pohlhaus to act as Worship Director when Alida announced her departure. John Pusateri was called by the Session as our 8:15 Service Music Director and we are blessed to have his leadership, skill and heart for worship. Several worship team members participated in a leadership skills class this fall. There are plans for some new music and additional instruments to enhance the worship experience. We are exploring ways to give children an added presence and participation in worship. We have also seen new faces and families at the service over the last few months and that helps us press on in fulfilling the mission of Central, which is building disciples. Watch for more evidence of how the Holy Spirit is moving at first light on Sundays!

EPIC Contemporary Service: Eileen Gathman

God continues to bless Central Presbyterian Church with the EPIC Service. This year has seen growth in total attendance, mostly among young adults, as we strive to bring an integrated worship service that is faithful to the full gospel of Jesus Christ. Each Sunday we see well over 250 people in a service, with more than 150 coming from the college and young adult communities.

One of the biggest changes in the last year is within the leadership of the EPIC team. In February, Scott Bolonda stepped in to lead the planning team when Chuck Wetherington left after leading the team since EPIC's inception. And when Alida Oosthuizen announced her departure in August, Eileen Gathman stepped in to help with the transition and in November was hired as Music Director for the EPIC Service.

Over the past 12 months we have seen the worship team grow from a small yet committed team of about 10 people to a diverse team of 30 dedicated individuals that all seek to bring worship to God with their unique gifts. The team is now comprised of worship leaders, vocalists, guitarists, bassists, keyboard and piano players, flutists, percussionists, drummers, dancers, a drama team, visual artists who create original graphics, PowerPoint operators, greeters, and ushers.

The Planning Team has been very focused on recruiting, training and discipling this strong group of talented artists. We believe that the key to bringing excellent worship to God is bringing excellent disciples to Him first, and encourage every team member to seek God's plan for their gifts. We are very excited that God has chosen so many people to be a part of this congregation!

This next year can only bring great things according to God's promise for His people. We will be focused on training even more people to work with us, encouraging them to use their musical and artistic gifts to worship the Almighty God. We look forward to seeing even more faces in the congregation to share in the experience that we have come to know and love. Pray that God will use EPIC for His glory and not our own, and that He would use His servants to bring people into the deeper knowledge, love and worship of Him.