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       Millwood Christian Church Music Department

            Purpose   ~    Vision   ~    Mission   ~  

• Committed to a common purpose

  Our main purpose in doing music at Millwood is, "to lead worship and perform music in a relevant manner, for the purpose of glorifying God, to celebrate the gift of music, and through our music help all who attend our church have a meaningful encounter with the presence of God."

  A large part of the the mission for the Music Department here at Millwood is to make every effort to regain and sustain our sense of awe and wonder as we return to the source of all creativity!  Our desire is to be a church that celebrates the connection between spirituality and art! Consequently, our hope and prayer is that joy will be re-discovered in our art, our music, and in all of our lives!! 

  A poem/prayer by Arthur Foote expresses this so beautifully!

  "Let me be…. observant of the perpetual miracle of life and love on this fragment of a star flung across the infinity of space; appreciative of earth’s symphony of color, harmony of shape, and ubiquity of beauty…to every intimation of divinity in the lives around me…
  
  Let me be…tuned in to all the varied music of the world: to man-made melodies, and to the songs of wind and water, insect and bird…the "still, sad music of humanity": the falling of human tears, the anguish wrenched from human hearts…
  
  Let me be…receptive to unfamiliar thoughts, to strange viewpoints, and brand-new ideas, making doubly certain to give fair hearing to all that challenges my complacency, my prejudgments, my unexamined assumptions."

  The Hymn, "Sing Alleluia" states:

  When in our music God is glorified,
  And adoration leaves no room for pride,
  It is as though the whole creation cried:
  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
  
  Music is God's creation. In the words of Martin Luther music, "comes from the sphere of miraculous audible things, just like the word of God." In response to the gifts of God, we see nothing but God's love for us and for the world he created and therefore we rejoice and sing. 
  
  How oft, in making music, we have found
  A new dimension in the world of sound,
  As worship moved us to a more profound
  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
  
  Just as fine architecture, beautiful windows and glowing candles can hush the noises and dim the glare of our busy world reminding us that we are in the house of God, so music can communicate and express in ways that are beyond our words and our senses. Music can capture our imaginations and lead us into the mysteries of God and his gracious will. When music is cultivated at the highest levels of artistic excellence, the perfect goodness and wisdom of God are displayed through this marvelous gift.
  
  Join with us, as we celebrate our common faith and sing unto the Lord a new song! 
  
  Let every instrument be tuned for praise;
  Let all rejoice who have a voice to raise;
  And may God give us faith to sing always:
  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! 

• Committed to common vision

  Our vision is to embrace diversity and a wide variety of musical styles and tastes. So at Millwood you will find music that is contemporary as well as traditional, Hymns and Worship Choruses. Utilizing praise team vocalists, musical instruments, and choir are a large part of how we carry out our vision. 

  Our future plans include having " Jazz Vespers" on a periodic basis. The focus of Jazz Vespers is on opening people to experiencing the story of faith first-hand on many different levels, using aspects from our everyday lives as catalysts. We will draw heavily upon the visual arts, music (primarily jazz), drama, dialogs, and multimedia technology to add depth and texture, creating a truly multi-sensory experience of worship. Our Jazz Vespers service will be formulated to accommodate “fringe” folks, for those not normally comfortable in a regular church service. 
   The service will be an eclectic mix of corporate prayer, spoken 
  verse, and music with a jazz flavoring.

• Committed to team-oriented ministry

  Our outlook is that with God, there are no little people, nor no little places!  All those who are "in Christ" are "one body". This new humanity in Christ completely destroys social boundaries and this equality in Christ creates a new social reality! Working together as a team involves treating one another with respect and humility! There is room for people to participate in the music ministry here at Millwood!! As we move into the new building we will be looking to formulate a choir and to add more singers and musicians to the Music Ministry team! 

• Committed to excellence
  
  We are definitely committed to using the gifts and talents that God has given us with a emphasis on excellence! That means we strive to do our very best when we play and sing our music to the glory of God!

Fresh Fire

We are thankful to have the Christian vocal group, " resh Fire" to help lead us in worship! They help make up the praise team at Millwood on Sunday Morning. They just happen to all be part of our Music Director's family! They sing with a fresh sound in a variety of musical styles. Fresh Fire endeavors to sing music that appeals to a very wide age group. Fresh Fire provides songs that are uplifting and edifying to believers. They also sing songs that minister to the "seeker sensitive" individuals who are in search of an encounter with God. (Thanks, Aaron, Gina, Dannette, Jesse, and Michelle Arivett for your faithfulness and commitment to providing such wonderful inspiring music!!)

                        Music Director          David Arivett has been our music director for nearly four years. We are very proud to have him as our music director! (Below is a brief Biography.)

Whether it's Jazz, Caribbean, Choral, or Gospel,   David Arivett has written and performed it. He writes music that truly evokes an emotional response. Songs of hope and healing, feelin' alright songs, his music has a profound emotional effect on listeners.

David has written music for television, radio jingles, production libraries and he has produced many custom recordings of choral and gospel music. Piano and Keyboards are David's main instruments. In addition, David is a superb vocalist, arranger and clinician.

David presently operates Songs Of David Studio where he produces and records his music as well as other clients. Songs Of David also publishes both worship and choral music ( over 100 original worship and choral songs!) He is also actively involved in celebrating the gift of music and creativity in churches, concerts, and workshops. David directs and sings with recording artists, "Fresh Fire" a Christian Vocal group who sing in a wide variety of styles.

David is also founder of the Christian Jazz Artists Network. Organized in 2002 the CJA promotes Christian Jazz Artists, their music, and their faith. The CJA has a new CD compilation of "jazzed up" arrangements of classic hymns! David has developed a radio station and programming for, "Smooth Pizzazz" that features Christian Jazz Artists, other top jazz artists, and inspirational quotes.

In 2002 David produced "Island Fun" which has received rave reviews as a "tropical flavored" Smooth Jazz recording. David produced a very popular "live" worship CD in 1991, "Exuberant Praise" that has touched the lives of thousands! Other best sellers are "Keyboard Meditations", and "Prayerful Meditations", which contain David's beautiful piano and keyboard skills.

Work is underway for a book about David's search and journey for God. To sample his writing read his articles: The Wonder Of Creativity  or Are You Really Listening?

A very beautiful devotional, "Listen To Your Life" Mp3 with David's background music can be heard here

Many other articles, CD's, and sheet music can be found on his web site at:

www.songsofdavid.com

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