The start of the 2009 Summer Worship Series at Montreat Conference Center is months away, but on a recent wet, chilly afternoon in December, plans were already being made. “Few people realize how early we start planning,” explained Worship Team member and Vice President of Program Development and Marketing Merri Bass. “Some of the finest preachers in the country are invited to be our guests for worship each summer, and we often begin making our contacts two years in advance.” Bass went on to say that a team from Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC – Ron Davis, Andrew Morehead, and Porter Stokes – will coordinate the music for each of the eleven summer services in 2009. “Bob Keener, former Summer Music Director at Montreat, worked tirelessly for over two decades to enhance our summer worship experience with talented choirs and musicians,” said Bass. “We are deeply grateful for the gift of Bob’s ministry. Our partnership with Presbyterian College will continue Montreat’s tradition of excellence in new and exciting ways.”
A passion for engaged hymn singing brings Dr. Ron Davis to Montreat Conference Center. Associate Professor of Music, Music Theory, and Organ at Presbyterian College, Davis has served as a church musician and organist for more than 30 years. Andrew Morehead, a Sacred Music major from Greer, SC, is currently studying organ, harpsichord, and voice. He has served as a substitute organist and vocalist in churches around the Upstate. Dr. Porter Stokes is the Chair of the Department of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Presbyterian College. He holds degrees from the University of South Carolina and the College-Conservatory of Music of the University of Cincinnati, and brings more than thirty years of experience in church choral work to the summer worship experience at Montreat. The conference center is also pleased to have Josh Robinson, a senior M.Div. student at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, serving as summer liturgy writer.
“Each element of a worship service – the sermon, the liturgy, and the music – enhances our worship of God and influences us as worshipers,” said the Reverend Dr. Pete Peery, President of Montreat Conference Center. “I am very thankful to have a gifted team like this working with us on worship for the summer of 2009.”
Learn more about summer worship at Montreat Conference Center.
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