Seeking Ways to Enrich Congregational Worship?

Get to Know the Celebrating Grace Family- We Can Help!

Each week, churches across the world tell the good news that Christ is Lord and through grace, we have been forgiven! You would think that simple message would be enough to capture and hold everyone’s attention for an eternity, especially given the alternative. However, with today’s frantic pace, and the ever increasing decibel level of sound bites, the church struggles to have its message heard.

Over the past six years, the creators of the Celebrating Grace family of resources have met with thousands of church leaders and laity across the United States and around the world, to listen to the needs of today’s congregation.

Some of the recurring themes from these meetings were: the church’s struggle to deliver interesting and theologically filled music; the ongoing search for creative, yet tastefully presented hymns; the ever present disconnects between the message and music; and the lack of resources to prepare the next generation for worship and music.

Celebrating Grace has listened to these needs and has responded to these concerns by creating the Celebrating Grace family of resources.

The Celebrating Grace Hymnal is a comprehensive and practical collection of 707 hymns, scripture, responsive readings and litanies that embrace the church’s heritage and adds to it new expressions, that assist telling the compelling Gospel story. Each hymn was individually reviewed for its musical contribution, theological soundness and poetic expression.

One of the main concerns heard repeatedly by the creators, was that certain topics were not adequately covered in most hymnals. This became an important focus for the editors of the Celebrating Grace Hymnal. You will find as a result of this focus, expanded selections on church seasons, such as Advent and Christmastide, as well as special occasions within the church such as baptism, child dedications and Lord’s Supper. All which will make your service richer and more interesting.

Accents Signature Music Resources was created to enrich hymns through changing the texture of the music while keeping the presentation unique and interesting. Arrangements for orchestra, handbells, piano and organ, and congregational singing have been thoughtfully developed. Some of the finest composers and arrangers have participated in creating this ever expanding collection. Accents becomes an easy solution to find outstanding hymn arrangements by reviewing the online catalog of over 1,200 titles. The benefit to you is that these arrangements are available by instant download- no more waiting (and wondering) on the mail to deliver your music!

Another concern that the creators heard was the disconnect that frequently occurs, between the message and the music. Our response to this dilemma is an online worship planning and research tool called Worship Matrix. This on line resource allows church leaders to collaborate on the message topic and plan and discover music that supports the topic. You can think of Worship Matrix as an on line concordance for the hymnal that also allow you to easily plan services, including instructions for lay participants, musicians and technology staff; time the elements of the service, and effectively communicate the service plans to worship leaders. The Worship Matrix has over 30 years of research and weekly use. It is certain to make your planning experience more thoughtful and effective.

As we listened to church leaders and laity, we continued to hear a growing concern that effective music and spiritual training for our children was quickly disappearing. Many of the resources that were once available have been discontinued either as casualties of the changing styles of worship or publishers that have “retired” from this product line.

Celebrating Grace is developing a children’s music and spiritual based curriculum, for growing worshipers in kindergarten through sixth grade. The Growing in Grace series will introduce and build on foundational music concepts, teaching students how to read and appreciate music, while strengthening spiritual training, reinforcing the message of God’s love and the lifelong relationship with God through music. This curriculum is being designed to support teachers who range from basic music training to music professionals. The course plans will help teachers deliver outstanding training, while having fun. This resource will be available Spring 2012.

We invite you to join us for the Celebrating Grace Worship and Music Leadership Conference, July 15 - 19, 2012. Participants will spend four days in Tennessee on the campus of Maryville College, in the foothills of the beautiful Smoky Mountains for concerts, workshops, worship, fellowship, and spiritual refreshment. The retreat is designed with Church Music and Worship Leaders in mind and includes activity sessions for adults, youth, and children. A special highlight of the Conference will be for Children’s Choir instructors as they learn about and participate in the new Growing in Grace Children's Choir Curriculum.

We would like to offer you a preview copy of the Celebrating Grace Hymnal so you can see for yourself how Celebrating Grace can enrich your worship. Go to our website www.celebrating-grace.com and order your copy at the special price of $7.50 ($14.95 retail.) This is a limited time offer.

Celebrating Grace remains committed to listening to the needs of the congregations we serve. We welcome your input and look forward to providing new resources to make your ministry more engaging.

About Celebrating Grace: Celebrating Grace is a not-for-profit organization that is committed to enriching and strengthening the Christian church through spiritual and musical expressions. The Celebrating Grace family extends across the United States and the world, and is not bounded by denominations.

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