WorshipArts January-February 2014

Related websites http://thresholdchoir.org/

http://www.huffi ngtonpost.com/2013/05/02/deathbed-singers- threshold-choirs-death_n_3187291.html

http://www.nacc.org/vision/2013-Nov-Dec/From-singing-at-the- bedside-to-commissioning-the-CEO-by-Carey-Landry.aspx

http://hearttoheartsongs.wordpress.com/ http://www.songs4thejourney.org/index.html http://www.cancer.org/index

in the nearby nursing homes and care centers. His home church in the Midwest had long sponsored a Bedside Music Ministry, training choir members, instrumentalists, and individual singers in the basics of visitation ministry so that they could bring their giſt s of music and song to people who were homebound, hospitalized, living in care centers and nursing homes, or simply lonely. On Fox Island, WA, the

youth Christmas caroling tradi- tion has always been a visita- tion outreach, with youth piling into vans on even the rainiest of December evenings to travel to the homebound and sick church mem- bers, bringing the giſt s of youth- ful energy and joy-fi lled holiday songs. During my spouse’s 13 years as pastor of that congregation, the caroling ministry expanded to include church members of all ages – always led by the youth and children. Eventually, the carolers began visiting local care centers in addition to the individual homes of church members. However, one of the most precious memories we carry is the December when the youth planned a surprise trip to the home of their youth choir di- rector, who was homebound with a newborn baby. T e joy in her eyes and the excitement of her older children when the entire youth group and most of the adult choir walked into her living room still brings tears to my eyes.

In any church – your church

– sharing the giſt of music in a visitation setting can become a valuable and meaningful ministry. • Talk with your choir members or the group of people who faith- fully show up for Christmas caroling each year.

• Find a person willing to coordi- nate the visitors and the people who want a musical visit.

• Recruit and compile a list of people who want to learn and commit to sharing their music at the bedside of the sick or in the homes of the lonely.

• Invite your pastor or a local chaplain to off er training about protocol for visiting care centers or hospitals and basic informa- tion on methods for off ering comfort and compassion appro- priately when visiting people in their homes or care centers.

• Invite your choir director or a song leader to compile a small songbook of favorite, familiar hymns and songs and then teach those songs to the people who will be singing at bedsides.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________ January-February 2014 • WorshipArts • www.UMFellowship.org

• T en, put the word out in your church and community that your church is ready to bring music to those who need it most. Advertise in your church news- letter, your website, and on your social media sites. Invite the local newspaper to write an article on this new outreach of music and visitation, and let people know who to contact to request a visit.

works as a national consultant and teacher in leadership, worship and cultural shifts. Rev. Scifres graduated from University of Indianapolis with a B.A. in music and philosophy. She received her Master of Sacred Music and Master of Divinity from Boston University, supported by The Fellow- ship’s Thom Jones Scholarship. She has written extensively in the areas of music and worship, including The Abingdon Worship Annual, Just In Time Special Services, Searching for Seekers and The United Meth- odist Music and Worship Planner, which she co-authors with David L. Bone. Mary and her spouse B. J. Beu (a UCC pastor), along with their teenage son Michael, enjoy hosting a retreat and workshop ministry from their Top of the World Retreat home in Laguna Beach.

11 a long-time F

• Encourage your pastor to connect you with church members who would benefi t from musical visits. T en, take your instruments

or your songs out into the world to sing God’s song where it’s needed most – in the foreign lands of ill- ness, loneliness, grief, and death. In this giſt , we can help people to sing with the psalmist: “You changed my mourning into dancing. You took off my funeral clothes and dressed me up in joy so that my whole being might sing praises to you and never stop” (Psalm 30:11).

NOTES 1 Munger, Kate, “How We Started,” T reshold Choir. ©2012 T reshold Choir. http:// thresholdchoir.org/solutions/how-we-started

2 “Music T erapy.” American Cancer Society, ©2013 T e American Cancer Society, Inc. http://www.cancer.org/index

All scripture quotes are from Common English Bible, ©2011

M a

MARY J. SCIFRES, a United M

Methodist p

a long-time Fellowsh pastor in the

Cal-Pac Annual Conference and wship member,

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