Association of Lutheran Church Musicians
August 1, 2016 e-newsletter

Greetings!
 
Transitions. We are constantly managing transitions in our personal and family lives, our places of volunteering and employment, in our schools, churches, communities and in our nation. Transitions happen all the time. Some come as surprises, while others are well-planned and carefully thought out.
 
A big transition is soon to occur for the ALCM Board of Directors. Having served as president for the past three years, I will move to the position of past-president for one year, beginning on September 1. Julie Grindle has spent the past two years as president-elect; she will move into the role of president on September 1. Next spring/summer the organization will elect a new president-elect, and the six-year cycle will continue. It's a good system, one that provides helpful continuity in leadership, providing ample time for both on-ramping and off-ramping.

As I finish my term of office as president, I would like to express heartfelt thanks for the opportunity to have served ALCM, working alongside such faithful and committed colleagues. It has been a joy and an honor.
 
God's blessings to each of you as we transition from summer into the fall program year.

Anne
 
Anne Krentz Organ
President, Association of Lutheran Church Musicians

Two "Easy" Ways to Support ALCM

Did you know that there are two ways for you to support ALCM financially without making a gift yourself? They are Amazon Smile and Thrivent Choice.

 If you shop at amazon.com, simply start at smile.amazon.com and Amazon will give a portion of your purchase to a charity that you designate, including ALCM. 

For more information, visit smile.amazon.com. Then, whenever you shop at Amazon, don't forget to make your purchases through smile.amazon.com!

Thrivent Financial supports certain non-profits by allowing its eligible members to direct charitable funds to the organization through its "Thrivent Choice" program. If you are a member of Thrivent and are eligible to direct "Choice Dollars," please select ALCM as a recipient. There are two ways to do this:
  1. Go to Thrivent.com and log in to your account. Go to the "Search Organizations" page and type: "association of lu" in the organization name box and click the "Search" button. Select "Association of Lutheran Church Musicians" and follow the instructions for directing your Choice Dollars to ALCM.
  2. Call 1-800-847-4836 and say "Thrivent Choice" after the greeting.
 
We thank Amazon and Thrivent Financial for this support, and all our members who direct dollars our way through these programs. Of course, we also thank everyone who makes a gift to ALCM themselves!
Prayer Request

We continue to ask for prayers on behalf of Michael Burkhardt. After playing a wonderful hymn festival for the Region 3 conference in Chicago, later that evening he was admitted to the University of Chicago hospital. A clot had formed due to a cardiac procedure he had on July 19, causing a heart attack on the evening of July 27. The good news is he was hospitalized within minutes of the event, making prompt intervention possible. The doctors indicated the clot was going to happen no matter where he was and no matter what he was doing. It is truly a blessing he was with friends and close to excellent care when it happened. At home in Michigan now, his activities will be restricted as he begins cardiac rehab. Thank you for your prayers and support.
Conference Handouts Posted

Handouts from some of the regional conference workshops and plenaries have been posted in the Members Area of the website. The handouts are include in the section "Non-Musical Resources." A link to that section is included towards the bottom of the main Members Area page. Additional handouts will be posted as they become available.

Can't remember your password? DO NOT use the "Lost your password?" link; it is not functioning correctly and will likely lock you out of the system. Initially, access to the Members Area was set up using your 5-digit zip code as the password. Try using that first. If it doesn't work, send an email to office@alcm.org or, during regular office hours, call us at 800-624-2526.