Christmas comes to life with the words and music of the season. You are invited on Saturday, December 14, at 5:00pm or 7:30pm to the Sanctuary to hear our youth choirs, Lightshine and Starfire, our adult choir, New Covenant, the Creekside Worship Band, and the LAUMC orchestra fill the Sanctuary with familiar carols and new Christmas anthems. This year, the Festival will feature the world premiere of Dirk Damonte’s new work, Benedictus. Come for an evening of wonderful, inspiring, hope-filled music!
Archive for music
Hello dear church,
The time has come for a new chapter of my artistic journey! I wanted to write a quick thank-you for our year together and share what’s next for me.
I have had a wonderful time creating and sharing music here. It was a full year, from summer camp songs to the Changemaker Fellowship to visioning at ministry retreats. We raised more than $65,000 for fire relief efforts at benefits that I organized. And for more than 30 Sundays, I was here with you, using poetry to blend our stories together and pour hope into the future. I hope you’ve been encouraged and blessed by a song, story, or poem. I feel love for Pastor Kathi and the rest of the staff and everyone that shared what the music has meant to you. I hope we continue to carve out space for new sacred art to shape our faith culture.
The future is bright! I am working on an album of new songs, many of which I wrote during this residency. It’s called “Bon Voyage,” a collection of songs and stories about saying yes to the chapters of our lives that require courage and change. You have experienced my music the most this past year, and I’d love to have you be a part of its journey into the world. You can find out more on my website about how to support the album.
I’ll be in the Bay Area for a little longer, but I recently purchased a small place in Vancouver, Washington (near Portland, Oregon), that I hope to use as an artist retreat center, a place where artists and writers can take a guided journey back to their muse. Please pray for this exciting work.
Finally, I hope to see you again soon! The staff and I are already talking about possible ideas, so this isn’t goodbye forever, more like goodbye for now. If you’d like to stay in touch, you can email me or visit my website for information on my new record, upcoming shows, and more.
With love and hope,
Bobby Jo Valentine
It’s hard to believe that little over a year has passed since Bobby Jo Valentine began his artist in residency with us. We have been so blessed by the music, the stories, the wisdom, and Bobby’s creative spirit. He has deepened our experiences of worship with heartfelt music and deeply insightful words. He promises that he will always think of LAUMC as another home, but we will miss his regular presence here—in worship, in concert, and in community. And we are grateful for all that we have shared. On Sunday, June 2, come to Creekside Center at 5:00pm to hear Bobby and celebrate his music at a “farewell” concert and worship experience.
Whether you’ve sung in a high school musical, collegiate a cappella group, Carnegie Hall, church choir, the car on your way to work, or a late Friday night at karaoke, you know you love singing—and God knows that, too! How about sharing that gift with us all during worship? A new choir is forming at LAUMC, and all are welcome! Being a part of LAUMC’s beautiful and diverse music will take you to a new spiritual level of worship as well as bringing you into a warm and loving musical community.
The new adult choir will sing a variety of music that needs a full spectrum of vocal ranges and styles. The choir will rehearse on Tuesday nights, starting August 28 at 7:15pm in the Choir Room. On Sundays the choir will rotate singing at the two morning service times on a monthly basis. In September (starting September 9) the choir will sing at the 10:00am service; in October it will sing at the 8:30am service.
There are no auditions required to participate in this choir. You are invited to participate in a sectional gathering with other singers in your voice range for some voice blending, group bonding, and dessert. Basses (the lowest voices) will gather on August 9, altos (second-highest voices) on August 16, sopranos (highest voices) on August 30, and tenors (medium-low voices) on September 6.
Not sure where your voice fits in? No worries! Contact Director Bill Golden (408-656-4453), and he will sit down with you briefly to hear which voice level would be best for you.
Note: Bill is on a mission trip in Mexico through August 6. During that time, please contact Kathy Marshall (650-815-1720) if you have questions about the new choir.
We are excited and delighted to announce that singer-songwriter Bobby Jo Valentine will be taking up a year-long residency at LAUMC, beginning in mid-April. Bobby will bring his music to many church events, will interact with the LAUMC community and beyond in many ways, and will offer a variety of gifts and experiences from coffee-house to concert series. We are so excited to have this LAUMC favorite with us for a whole year!
HELP: As part of his residency, we are looking for a place for Bobby to stay. If you have, or know of someone who has, a living space with bed, living area, and kitchen, with an independent entry, that is available for a year beginning April 8 or soon after, please contact Pastor Dirk Damonte.