Ch.Mtg. Sept. '07

Chapter Meeting: Combining Parish Choirs
	September 24, 2007 St. Andrew by the Bay, Annapolis Presenter: Kathleen DeJardin, Director of Music and Liturgy, St. Andrew by the Bay, Annapolis
After a pre-meeting Chew-and-Chat, our first meeting of the season began with Koinonia--or fellowship. A delicious pomegranate punch accompanied seasonal desserts and veggies as new and returning members had the opportunity to catch up after the summer months. The meeting began with an opening prayer and official welcome by our new Chapter Director, Michael Ruzicki. Each of the seventeen members present were able to introduce themselves before the business portion of the meeting took place. The Board Members took this opportunity to present a "state of the chapter" report.

MEMBERSHIP-- Assistant Director for Membership, JoAnne Ibex, encouraged all those present to speak with other parish musicians about joining the chapter. JoAnne also spoke to the benefits of joining the National Association.
PLANNING-- Coordinator for Planning, Kathy DeJardin, presented this year's calendar of events and pointed out how ministers, at any level of service, can benefit from attending chapter functions.
KOINONIA-- Animator of Koinonia, Beth Pugliese, defined the word koinonia and explained the important roll it holds in the life of the chapter. She has invited willing members of the chapter to assist with refreshments and prayer at future events.
TREASURY-- Chapter Treasurer, Carolyn Weglein, gave a report on the state of the chapter account and budget. Reminded of our deadline to pay dues, she encourages all to submit a new registration form and their dues payment as soon as possible.
SECRETARY-- Chapter Secretary, Tom Bozek, updated on two changes to the calendar of events. The Organ Event on October 1, 2007 will begin at 7pm with the carpool leaving Resurrection of Our Lord in Laurel at 6pm. Also, registration forms for the 2008 NPM-Regional Conventions will be due at the April meeting in order to receive the group discount rate.
COMMUNICATION-- Chapter Director, Michael Ruzicki, reminded the group of the difference between the MembersList e-mail list and the NPM_Balt Yahoo Group. Whereas the Yahoo Group is good for conversational topics, the MembersList (allcontacts@npmbalt.org) is the official e-mail list of the Baltimore Chapter. Also, a Newsletter Editor is still needed. Michael stated that the editor would not be required to format the newsletter if they did not want to.

The meeting continued with the feature topic of the evening: Combining Parish Choirs. Director of Music and Liturgy at St. Andrew by the Bay Parish and our very own chapter Coordinator of Planning, Kathy DeJardin was the presenter of the topic. Below is material from her presentation and the group discussion.

Following the presentation, Brendan Walls introduced a new program for the Baltimore Chapter. He would be organizing monthly luncheons for the chapter located throughout the Archdiocese. Stay tuned to the Calendar of Events for the schedule.

Finally, the meeting was closed with Closing Prayer, led by the new Administrator of St. Andrew by the Bay Parish, Fr. Martin Burnham. Within the prayer, a special blessing was imposed upon outgoing Chapter Director, Kevin Clemens, and those in attendance prayed over the new board members.

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