Presbyterian Association of Musicians is ready to welcome nearly 1,400 people to its Worship & Music Conference
‘Clothed in Love’ is the theme of this year’s gathering, held each year at Montreat Conference Center
MONTREAT, North Carolina — This year’s Presbyterian Association of Musicians’ Worship & Music Conference, “Clothed in Love,” gets underway at Montreat Conference Center Sunday evening with opening worship. It’s a moment that a dedicated team of planners and organizers have worked hard to bring about, and they’re eager to greet the nearly 1,400 people who are set to arrive Sunday afternoon and on June 22 for Week 2 of the gathering.
“Worship is so important to our identity, and this is where we come to be renewed, get creative ideas and be inspired to lead our churches,” said the Rev. Elizabeth Deibert, who serves alongside Amy Cerniglia as co-director of the Worship & Music Conference, the largest annual gathering of Presbyterians. “This is the conference I’ve always found the most beneficial in my ministry.”
About one-fourth of those attending are under the age of 20, Cerniglia noted, and many of them will help lead worship each day of the conference. Young people are “the future of church music and worship life in the church,” she said, and conferees will have ample opportunity to witness “weaving younger church members into worship.”
“Children and youth know they belong when they’re asked to be leaders,” Deibert said.
The co-directors served together on the staff of Peace Presbyterian Church in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, before Deibert’s retirement. Cerniglia is now the interim congregational accompanist at First Presbyterian Church in Iowa City, Iowa, and is communications coordinator for the Covenant Network of Presbyterians. Deibert is now PAM’s development manager.
During an interview Sunday morning with Presbyterian News Service, the co-directors pointed to a number of expected highlights over the next two weeks. On Monday — traditionally the night of an organ concert — organist and composer Tom Trenney and guitarist and singer David LaMotte will perform both individually and together.
The Rev. Kendra Buckwalter Smith and Dr. Eric Wall are leading a first call community for pastors and musicians who are serving on the staff of a faith community for the first time. This year, meet-up gatherings are being offered to young adults, those who belong to small churches, BIPOC conferees and LGBTQIA+ attendees.
By popular demand, both drumming and dancing classes are being offered this year, and both are being incorporated in daily worship.
Attendees have donated more than $2,000 to the Presbyterian Giving Catalog’s Links of Love activity to purchase sewing machines for Ugandans who need them. “Because we are 'clothed in love,'” Cerniglia said, “we wanted to make sure we are clothing the world as well as ourselves.”
Rides on golf carts are being offered to people who need transportation at hilly Montreat Conference Center. “We’re excited for the mobility that will offer conferees,” Deibert said.
2025 is “a big year for the fine arts,” she said, including a class on understanding Eastern church iconography.
The conference features the preaching of Dr. Margaret Aymer, Vice President for Academic Affairs at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. The Rev. Dr. David Gambrell, the PC(USA)’s Associate for Worship, penned the liturgy.
“Margaret has come to this conference and rung handbells,” Deibert noted. “She says this is her favorite conference, and she was hoping for the opportunity to preach.”
The co-directors praised Montreat Conference Center staff and contractors for all their work since Hurricane Helene’s devastation last fall. “We were so impressed and grateful for the restoration work, and for all the donations that made that possible,” Cerniglia said.
PAM’s Worship & Music Conference by the numbers:
- 1,387 people have registered for one of the two weeks. About 86% of those conferees are Presbyterians, while 101 Methodists have registered. Thirty-nine states are represented, with South Carolina (333) and North Carolina (290) topping the list.
- 574 conferees attend churches with 200-500 in worship each week, while 429 are in churches with 100-200 worshipers present. 165 conferees worship alongside 50-100 others, and 120 are in churches with 50 or fewer in worship each week. 91 conference attendees are in churches with an average of 500 or more in worship.
- Ninety-five percent of conferees are white. About 2% are Black or African American, with 1.3% Asian or Asian American and another 1.3% Hispanic, Latino, Latina or Latinx.
- After the 25% who are under 20 years old, the next largest group is people 70 and older, who are 20% of conferees. About 17% are 60-69, with about 13% 40-49. 333 are first-time attendees.
Presbyterian News Service will be reporting on the Worship & Music Conference throughout the week.
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