The role music plays in developing and growing your ministry cannot be overstated. The worship experience is not only about hearing a message from a minister or learning a new interpretation of Scripture; a complete and fulfilling worship experience involves community-building, bonding and creating atmosphere through physical vibration as only music can. Read full article.
The Grace Note Award
The Grace Note Award is given annually by Unity Worldwide Ministries for outstanding contribution to New Thought Music. Recipients are chosen by the Music Ministry Team. The award is presented at the emPower Music Festival.
Music Ministry Team
Sue Riley is a co-founder of emPower Music & Arts, dedicated to offering music resources to our ministries. As music director for Unity Church of Clearwater, FL for the past 18 years, Sue sees the power of positive music on a weekly basis. She also served as the Music Team Leader for Unity Worldwide Ministries’ Music Team, helping to create a large body of New Thought songbooks and other resources. A singer/songwriter with 8 CDs of her original music, Sue travels the country as part of the PosiPalooza! concerts. Passionate about the power of music, she says: “I know that music has the power to change lives for the better. Together we can do great things!”
Claudia is a Music Director for Unity Christ Church of Bon Air in Richmond, VA and have served this community for 14 years. For the past 12 years she has developed and managed a music program & recording studio in Richmond, Virginia that serves at-risk teenagers (living in a residential treatment center). This job brings her great joy and satisfaction and she's glad to teach the hip hop generation.
Glen is a one-of-a-kind artist, gifted vocalist, and wonderfully musical acoustic guitarist. His rich baritone-tenor, effortless fretting, and vibrant personality light up stages solo, in an ensemble, and when he accompanies others. He is an award-winning songwriter and a real crowd-pleaser, having electrified juried showcases for Folk Alliance, S.M.A.F., Falcon Ridge Folk Fest, Cape May Singer-Songwriter Fest, Posi Music Fest, and more. Glen sings memoirs, anecdotes, tender love songs, and anthemic calls for unity and empowerment. He is a beloved national PosiMusic artist, a popular instructor at SummerSongs songwriter retreats (summersongs.com), a record producer, and a sing-along master.
David is a composer, arranger, conductor and webmaster. After a career as a high school, college and community orchestra director, primarily serving African-American communities in South Carolina, he retired in 2006. In 2007 he founded Heart Wind Music, which offers online distribution of New Thought sheet music and audio. Also in 2007, he joined the Music Ministry Team. In 2012, Unity Worldwide Ministries selected Heart Wind Music to host its Online Choral Library. David has been a church music director since 1983, and is now at Unity of Columbia, S.C.
Kim-Char Meredith is the music director at Unity in Naperville, Illinois, in addition to being a gifted singer/songwriter. Kim-Char also owns the Pahzee recording studio.
Jeff English is the music director at Unity Spiritual Center of Lansing, Michigan.
Richard Mekdeci is an ordained Unity Minister (2018) whose life has been all about service to the Unity movement since 1986 when he became the music director at First Church Unity (now Unity of Nashville, TN).
He served UWM as the Sacred Music Resources coordinator as well as the Creative Arts Coordinator for Unity Village retreats. Richard is the co-founder of empower Music & Arts and has seven CDs of mostly original songs which are well-known throughout the Unity movement.
Online Music Library
The Online Music Library (downloadable) was established by Unity Worldwide Ministries with leadership from UWM's Music Ministry Team. Since 2012, choral and vocal ensemble selections have been available from the library. Beginning in 2014, congregational songs are also included in the library.
You can browse the list of selections, view a sample of the sheet music, and for most of the songs listen to a recording. For one single purchase you have the right to make the copies needed for your ministry. Because the music is downloadable, you can instantly have music that you can use.
emPower Music & Arts
emPower Music & Arts is a live and online community dedicated to creating positive global change through music, writing and the spoken word. We are Musicians, Song Writers, Artists, Authors, Speakers, Performers, Ministers, Music Directors, Networkers, Ministries and congregations; dedicated to creating positive global change through the power of positive music, writing and the spoken word.
Our online store contains thousands of digital downloads, albums, songbooks, sheet music and performance tracks to enhance and empower your music ministry. And it’s all easily searchable by artist, song name, or theme.
Useful Information for Your Music Program
- Equipment help - Recommended Equipment and Tips on Using It
- Church Presenter Agreement Form — Customizable form to be used with every presenter
- Guest Musician Agreement - Designing an Invitation Agreement Between Guest Musicians and Unity/New Thought Centers and Churches
- Hiring a Music Director
- How to Host a Successful Special Event - Hosting a guest musician for your morning music and/or a concert is a perfect way to create an interfaith event, draw new folks to your church, and uplift and inspire your music ministry.
- Job description for a Music Director
- Order of Service Suggestions
- Music Program How-To
- Arranging Tips - Writing arrangements can help a music director to enable music volunteers to perform at their best
- Choir Tips: Selection, Voicing, Rehearsals and Children’s Choir
- Congregational Singing Tips
- Songleading Techniques
- Theater Ministry - How to build and maintain a theatre ministry
- Christmas Carols - Eleven Christmas Carols with Suggested Alternate Words
- Easter Choral Music Suggestions
- Music Products - We offer songbooks of New Thought music especially chosen for our Unity communities. Many of these songbooks come with sampler or accompaniment CDs
- Online Music Library
- Sheet Music - free sheet music attachments from past Sound Connections newsletters. You can also type in the name of an artist or song in the "Search Keyword" box if you are looking for something specific
- Songbook Index - Listed by song title, author/s and the Unity Worldwide Ministries songbook in which the song appears
- Copyright Issues - Churches and Music Copyright Law - Music Copyright FAQs from CSL - FAQ Church Copyright Law
- Music Can Work Magic
- Posi Music Festival
- Sound Connections Newsletter Archive