Catherine Massey became music director of the church in 2002 and has enthusiastically embarked on expanding the diversity of the congregation's musical programming ever since. She takes pride in stating that "our congregation has moved from a very cautious and shy singing group to one that will enthusiastically sing anything I ask them to, from African chants to rounds and Jason Shelton's hymns." Catherine is not afraid to try new things nor to encourage others to do likewise, and counts as one of her strengths her willingness to learn and do what needs to be done. "I had never conducted a choir before I started one at our church, but I did so because the need was so great the need to have a choir sing on Sunday and the need for people to sing in a choir."

     Catherine was recently selected as one of the first ten candidates for certification as a music leader through UU Musicians Network - a distinction that should further enhance our musical programming. "I think this engages all of us in the spirit of learning and experiencing music as living worship. I need to find ways to grow from a support person to a programming leader by developing a music team, nurturing musicians in our congregation and hiring other musicians to fulfill support roles. I will need to learn how to step out of the role I've been in and be more of a team leader, overseeing a program which has grown beyond me alone. This is challenging and a bit scary since the weekly support tasks still have to be done. The challenge for me will be to engage in communication with our board and congregational leaders in order to help make this transition happen. I look forward to sharing steps of this process with you. And thank you for the good wishes you have given me so far."

     Additional information regarding our music programming can be found on the Musical Notes web page. Catherine may be contacted at MusicDirector.