Beyond the Pulpit 6.29.25
Hello Crozet UMC,
If you were with us in worship last Sunday, then you know we celebrated the ministry of Gary Bibens as Crozet UMC’s Director of Music & Arts. Gary resigned from this position in mid-June and is taking a position at another church in mid-July. With Gary’s departure on the horizon, I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you about next steps for music ministry at CUMC.
First of all, Gary will remain on staff through mid-July. He will be using vacation time and will also be doing administrative tasks that are helpful in this transition. He has chosen not to be present for worship. He continues to create worship slides, return and organize music, and provide much needed music-related resources such as procedures for ordering new music and covering licensing requirements for livestreaming. We are so grateful for his assistance with these tasks.
Our Church Council and I are working together to ensure that worship music continues as seamlessly as possible, for both services. To that end, our accompanist, Catherine Lowell, has graciously agreed to serve as CUMC’s Interim Director of Music & Arts, and has already stepped into the duties of this position. We are very grateful for her willingness and enthusiasm. She will also be leading the Music Station for VBS!
As with any staff transition, there is an opportunity to evaluate the priorities for ministry at CUMC. During this interim period, the Church Council will be working to discern these priorities and the resulting staffing needs related to music ministries. We value your input! So feel free to let us know your thoughts.
As we journey together, please join me in prayer for Gary, and for Catherine, and for Crozet UMC during this time of transition.
Thank you for your continued support of the music ministries here at CUMC. We are certainly grateful for those who have volunteered to share their musical gifts this summer during the 11am worship service. As always, if you have an interest in sharing your passion for music (or serve on our AV Team), please let us know. We’d love to get you connected!
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Christy