This informative 67 minute DVD, created with those who serve on church organ committees in mind, gives the viewer a concise and easy to understand introduction to organ design and function, along with many helpful recommendations that will ensure success as you and your committee leads your congregation to procure an instrument that will be both musically satisfying and functional.

Organbuilder Patrick Murphy and consultant Dr. James Hammann offers sound advice as well as a guided walk through of a recent instrument at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton R.C. Church in Carnegie, Pennsylvania. 

For a free copy and for more information email [email protected] .

"Sing a New Song: The Cosmos in Praise and Lament" is the theme for the 2015 gathering of the Institute of Liturgical Studies at Valparaiso University. This conference will take us face to face with our quickly changing life: its cultures, physical environments, and, finally, the entire cosmos. We will look at the difficult reality of living in a world whose fragility is becoming increasingly clear. Through plenary presentations, seminars and workshops, we will approach our relationship to the cosmos as both an occasion for both praise and lament. We will hear from composers, ethicists, theologians and musicians about the care needed for our worship choices. In worship we will sing new songs alongside our treasured songs, and hear them speak together. Seeking wise choices for our personal and corporate life, we will challenge the ways we steward the gifts of creation.

Plenary speaker Larry Rasmussen, emeritus professor at Union Theological Seminary, will address the conference on "Sin, Song and Sacrament in the Anthropocene."  Mary Louise Bringle, of Brevard College, will present "Timely or Time-bound? A Challenge in Creating & Incorporating New Songs."  Benjamin Stewart, of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, will speak on "All Creatures Look to You for Food in Due Season: Prayers We Have in Common with Other Creatures."

Participants may sign up for Monday afternoon 3-hour seminars which explore a singular topic in greater depth. Seminars are offered by Mary Louise Bringle, Diane Jacobson, Gail Ramshaw, Larry Rasmussen, Robert Rimbo, and Benjamin Stewart.

For further information, and to register, visit the website at www.valpo.edu/ils. Early registration fee of $250 is available until January 31, 2015.

Lorraine Brugh
Director

Roger W. Anderson, Jr., husband of ALCM member Arletta Anderson (Queen Anne, Seattle) died suddenly on Sunday, October 19th of a massive heart attack. Roger is also survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Brita & Nick DiTola, one-year-old granddaughter Luciana of Aurora, Illinois; his sister and brother-in-law Pastor Kathleen Anderson (Christ the King, Snohomish) & Pastor Bob Lewis (Faith, Redmond); and Arletta's brother and sister-in-law Fergus & Pastor Jane Prestbye (Kent Lutheran).