An invitation to join us in Kansas City!
June 22-25, 2012
Country Club Congregational Church
205 West 65th St., Kansas City, MO 64113
Featuring:
Craig Courtney
Christopher Grundy
Paul Hobson Sadler
and Maren Tirabassi
Christopher Grundy is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, currently serving as Assistant Professor of Preaching and Worship and Director of the Chapel at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis. After earning degrees from Carleton College in Minnesota and Union Theological Seminary in New York, he served churches in Iowa and Kansas for eight years. He then returned to academic work, receiving M.T.S. and Ph.D degrees in liturgical studies from Garrett Theological Seminary. He is a co-author of The Work of the People: What We Do in Worship and Why, published by Alban Institute.
Christopher has also been writing and performing music for general synods and national youth events, as well as regional and local church gatherings, for nearly 20 years. His most recent recording, Stepping In, is entirely songs for worship. You can learn more about Christopher's music at www.christophergrundy.com. He is married to Carla Tellor Grundy and they have three remarkable boys: Ross, Liam, and Gabriel.
The Rev. Paul Sadler
Paul Hobson Sadler was born in Philadelphia and received his elementary and secondary education in the public schools of that city. He attended Howard University and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. He continued his education at the Howard University School of Divinity and earned the Master of Divinity Degree. Rev. Sadler has served United Church of Christ congregations in Washington, D.C., New Orleans, Louisiana and Chicago, Illinois.
Rev. Sadler served for nine years, as Minister of Evangelism for African American and Native American Indian Church Development, and ultimately as Assistant General Secretary of the Division of Evangelism and Local Church Development at the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries of the United Church of Christ. He currently serves as Pastor of Mt. Zion Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, one of the oldest African American Congregations in Cleveland, OH. From 2000 to 2004 he served as Adjunct Professor of Religious Studies, in the College of Arts and Sciences at Cleveland State University.
Considered a leading expert in the field of African American church growth, Rev. Sadler is widely sought after to provide seminars, workshops and lectures in seminaries, local congregations and denominational gatherings. Rev. Sadler is an eloquent preacher who is gifted with a resonant bass voice that he uses to sing and preach to the glory of God. He has performed in the theater, on the concert stage, and has appeared in several films.
Rev. Sadler is a prolific writer who has published numerous articles and contributed to several books. His most recent book is 52 Ways to Ignite Your Congregation -- Worship, published by The Pilgrim Press in 2011. Rev. Sadler serves on the National Religious Leaders Working Group for President Barack H. Obama.
Rev. Sadler is married to Kim Martin Sadler, who serves as Editorial Director of The Pilgrim Press, the oldest religious publishing house in America. They have two adult children, Robin Renee Sadler, a broadcast journalist and Paul Hobson Sadler, Jr.an entrepreneur. Rev. Sadler’s numerous hobbies include painting acrylic abstracts, physical fitness, collecting African American art and restoring classic automobiles
The Rev. Maren C. Tirabassi
Maren C. Tirabassi is the author of eighteen books. Gifts in Open Hands – More Resources for the Global Community is a June, 2011 title from The Pilgrim Press. Other recent titles include All Whom God Has Joined, Before the Amen – Resources for Worship, a new edition of Touch Holiness, and she currently is working on From Psalms to Twitter – Worship Resources for the Digital Age. Maren travels throughout the country facilitating workshops on creative worship and liturgical writing and she teaches memoir and poetry in a wide range of settings from high school to senior center, correctional facility to ESL class. Maren is the Pastor of Union Congregational UCC in Madbury, New Hampshire.
Guest Artist:
Mr. Craig Courtney
A native of Indiana, Craig Courtney began playing the piano at the age of three and the cello at the age of eleven. He received a Bachelors and a Masters degree in piano performance at the University of Cincinnati, studying piano under Raymond Dudley and chamber music under Walter Levin of the LaSalle Quartet. During that time, he was a member of the Pi Kappa Lambda Honorary Music Society.
Following a three-year stay in Milan, Italy, where Mr. Courtney studied the piano with Illonka Deckers, performed for the Associazione Musicale “Gustav Mahler”, and worked extensively as a vocal coach, he was invited to join the music faculty of the famed Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, serving as piano teacher and accompanist for the woodwind and brass department.
It was during this six-year period, while serving in the music ministry of the Salzburg International Baptist Church, that Mr. Courtney began directing a church choir and composing sacred choral music, due to the unavailability of English language music. In 1985, his compositions came to the attention of John Ness Beck through the publication of his octavo, Thy Will Be Done, initiating a close working relationship between the two men which continued until Mr. Beck’s death in 1987. In making plans for the ongoing of Beckenhorst Press, Mr. Beck appointed Craig Courtney to assume his responsibilities as staff composer and editor.
In addition to his duties at Beckenhorst Press, he works at Capital University where he accompanies Chapel Choir under the direction of Dr. Lynda Hasseler, teaches choral arranging and directs the men’s ensemble, Chordsmen.
At this point in time, Mr. Courtney’s published works include more than three hundred choral octavos, nine vocal collections, three piano solo collections and six extended works for choir and orchestra. His music is performed world-wide and has been translated into several foreign languages. He has been a frequent recipient of ASCAP achievement awards and his composition, Peace I Give to You, was awarded 1st place in the 2003 John Ness Beck Foundation competition.
In demand throughout the country as a choral clinician and featured composer, Craig Courtney now resides in Columbus, Ohio with his wife, Susan, and his fourth son, Nathan.
