Big Beaver United Methodist Church
Caring! Serving! Making a difference through Christ!
 

 

CHANCEL CHOIR (Director, Larry Wolf)

Members of the Chancel Choir make a serious commitment to God of our time and our talents. We sing each week, September through mid-June, as a part of our 11:15 worship service.

Advent/Christmas

We prepare and present a cantata in early December. In 2011 our cantata was "Hope is Born... Emmanuel," from the contemporary talents of Randy Vader and Jay Rouse, including piano, guitar and percussion.
For the past three Decembers we have participated in the "Carols and Choirs Festival," joining with 4 or 5 other Troy church choirs for an evening of Advent and Christmas anthems culminating in a combined performance of Handel's "Hallelujah."
We sing for two Christmas Eve services at our church.

Lent/Easter

On April 5, 2012, we presented a Tenebrae cantata entitled "Shadows of Sacrifice" by John Purifoy, which used narrators and music to recall the days preceding Jesus' crucifixion."

Other Ministries

We sing for our SOS (South Oakland Shelter) guests during their week at our church, usually in September. Last year we sang at some retirement homes to honor some of our senior members living there.

Our Purpose

Choir members come together with willing and expectant hearts, contributing their good spirits and personal warmth to the fellowship of friends that constitutes our choir family. We work diligently to provide the best performance and singing we can achieve, as we direct our personalities and our talents toward serving our church and our God. We take this job seriously and we do it in love.

Join Us!

Singers are welcome. You may contact our church office by phone (248-689-1932) or by email (bbumc@bbumchurch.org).

LIVING WATER WORSHIP TEAM
Suzanne Bianchi, Director

Our Living Water Worship service, a contemporary format, is held at 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning, and offers an alternative to our Traditional Worship experience. While remaining Christ-centered, our musical worship of God is done primarily through Praise and Worship songs, led by our singers and a full band, including keyboard, drums, guitar, bass guitar, trumpet and flute The musicians often share the task of introducing the music and leading the worship service. This team-led worship experience is dependent on the gifts and graces of our singers and instrumentalists as well as people proficient in the use of sound equipment and computers.

The Living Water Worship Team musicians rehearse in the sanctuary on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. All are welcome to be a part of this team experience that allows for our worship of God through praising Jesus Christ.

There are also opportunities for service by providing help with sound and projection, jobs which rotate on a weekly basis. The words for songs are compiled during the week and finalized after the Wednesday rehearsal. Our projection software package easily allows for changes prior to the service on Sunday morning.

Available team members meet on a monthly basis to select the music for the following month. Pastor Jack provides the message titles and scriptures for each week in addition to a theme that reflects the emphasis for each Sunday. Given this information the team then selects appropriate music for each Sunday.

The Worship Team is directed by Suzanne Bianchi, who has been our church's Organist since 1992.

If you are interested in being a part of this ministry, please contact Suzanne by calling the church office at 248-689-1932, and leaving your name and contact information.

PRAISE BAND (All ages)

Our multi-generational Praise Band is open to all instrument players (including string players) who are willing to attend the rehearsals and learn the music. We perform for worship services 3 or 4 times during the year.

The Process:

A Sunday target date is selected and three one-hour rehearsals are scheduled (usually late Sunday afternoons).

Next Performance:

June 17. Guest Director: Ed Morris.

Rehearsals:

May 13, May 27, June 3 and June 10 from 5:30-6:30 pm. Wind or string instruments are welcome. Contact Larry Wolf 248-549-6176 or church office 248-689-1932. Please consider joining us!

Our Director

Keith Kohring, our regular band director, is a gifted and perceptive musician who knows how to "make it work" with a random group of instruments and with players of diverse ages and experience. A professional musician and band director, Keith brings a friendly, helpful manner along with his expertise.

VESPER BELLS

Members of the Vesper Bells rehearse on Sunday mornings from 10:15 to 10:45 in the sanctuary balcony. They perform at our 11:15 service once a month, and they perform quite well! They are a friendly team of people who enjoy one another's company and help each other when needed, such as calling out the measure number when someone has gotten lost.

Our Director

Julie Kohring, our volunteer bell choir director, is a public school music teacher. An excellent musician and an effective leader, she has good rapport with her group, who respect and esteem her highly. The music she selects can be challenging, but under her leadership the group rises to the occasion and pulls it off beautifully.

CRUSADER CHOIR (Grades 3-6)

Crusader Choir rehearse 45 minutes a week during LOGOS, our church's after-school program that lasts from October through March. The choir sings for a worship service once each month until February, when its members begin to learn the songs and staging of the annual children's musical.

On Sunday, March 25th the Crusader Choir presented the 40 minute musical, "Old Testament Fast Forward" by Allen Pote, at both worship services.

Our Director

LeAnn Wolf, our volunteer Crusader Choir director, brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her work, from her years as an elementary music teacher and as the director of this choir. She helps the children find the beauty that God put into their voices, and selects music that will provide an opportunity for them to use their voices to give God glory.
 

 

YOUTH PERFORMERS: SINGERS, BELL RINGERS, ACTORS (Grades 7-12)

This group meets on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. as part of our church's after school LOGOS program (October through March.) The young people provide leadership in worship services each month, singing, playing bells, or performing skits.

Our Director

Julie Kohring, our volunteer Youth Performers director, brings confident, loving leadership to our youth and has not only introduced them to the joys of bell ringing, but has brought them to an impressive level of competence. A public school music teacher, Julie has a special appreciation and understanding of young people, their talents, and their interests.

CHERUB CHOIR (Grades K, 1, 2)

Cherub Choir members gather for 30 minutes a week during our church's Wednesday after-school LOGOS program, from October through March. They sing for our 11:15 worship service each month. The children bring their boisterous good spirits and willing hearts to each practice and to the task of learning songs to sing together for God's glory.

Our Directors

Steve Moilanen, our volunteer Cherub Choir director, and Brianne Dear, our volunteer co-director, are two people who have a special love for children of this age and who truly enjoy working with them. The children feel and respond to this love. Steve and Brianne also bring their fine singing voices to the group.