Success!!!

Hey folks! I've heard nothing but an overwhelming avalanche of praise for last night's show! This morning I received one call that summed it up nicely - they said they's never seen a show at White Bluff with more energy and that the kids did so well with their lines! I'm so proud of each and every one of our singers and I know you are, too! Next week's blog will have some information about what to expect in the new year (11 January 2009 we start again), but in the mean time, enjoy these pictures and have a very Merry Christmas!!!

BTW, you may want to come out and see our Bell services on the 28th - a Festival of Lessons and Carols featuring the Westminster Bells and our tone chimes at both the 8:30 and 11:00 services. See you Sunday! Blessings, R

Sunday - we're singing in worship!

Don't forget to have your singers in the Choir Room at 8am to sing for both worship services this Sunday, December 21. We'll be singing "The Perfect Ten" which seems to be everyone's favorite as well as "Come to the Manger." See you in your Pneuma shirt and khaki pants or skirts/dresses.

One Week til The Musical

Hey folks!

Just one more week til the production, which means 2 rehearsals left: Saturday and Sunday from 3-5pm (or 2-5 if you have a speaking part).

Above you'll see the poster we've made up for the show; feel free to right-click Save-As and open it in your favorite graphic program (like Paint or Vue-Print or my personal favorite Paint-Net) and print it out and put in some well traveled location (places you like to shop or your own business or wherever), or if you'd just like for your own house.

See you all Saturday!
Blessings,
R

E-letter: Remaining rehearsals

Hey everybody - we had a great rehearsal yesterday with the folks with speaking parts and we'll have some more time with just them each afternoon. Below is the text that I just sent to all Pneuma Parents and Staff, so if you didn't get this, please send me an e-mail at ronnalford@bellsouth.net so I can use your correct e-mail. Here's the letter:


Hey folks!

Just wanted to give you all a heads up about the remaining time our singers have together this year --

December 7, 14
Tentative Rehearsal – Saturday, December 20

Each of these rehearsals run from 3-5 or 2-5 for speaking parts.

Also, our 3rd Presentation in Worship Sunday at 8:30 and 11:00am (call times 8am and 10:45am) will be December 21 (Preview Sunday), with the
Children’s Christmas Musical itself at 5pm, Sunday, December 21 following a regular 3-5 rehearsal.

Thank you all for your support; it's going to be a great production!
Blessings,
Ronn

110308 - on to Act 2!!!

Our Pneuma Children’s Choirs sang through the first third of their Christmas musical (December 21), Angels Aware and did a great job. I am so proud of our kids! Next week we’ll be starting on the next third, which means our parents will be helping our singers memorize the words through the song “If It Were Up to Me.” Remember parents, the kids aren’t supposed to miss more than three rehearsals in a season, so we’ll need your help in getting our kids here on time – thanks for all your support!

Which Color Group Will Have the Most Singers with the New Song Memorized?

If the title doesn't make sense, send me an e-mail at ronnalford@bellsouth.net
(Artwork by Shelby)

Pneuma in the Gym

Hey folks! We had a fantastic morning of worship Sunday in the Gym, with kids leading in worship and singing the Call. You can see them on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pyoLQ5tvW8 As you can see from the picture below, the sanctuary is getting some much needed remodeling; soon we'll have new pews, new carpet, new lights and a new sound system! It's an exciting time for all of us!

I hope you all got this letter!

If you didn't receive the following letter and you're a Pneuma Parent or Staff, please shoot me an e-mail so that I can add you to the list or correct the address we have for you! I sent the letter at 3:20pm Monday, so you might give it a few hours to get to you. Funny how sometimes e-mail goes through instantly and other times it takes a day... Hope you're all well and enjoying the blog, R

Hello!

This e-mail will hopefully serve two purposes: 1) to give all details about this Sunday, October 12, Children's Sabbath and 2)to make sure that I have the right e-mails for all of you. To that end, if you receive this, just hit reply and send it back to me so I'll know you received the letter.

Sunday: We'll meet in the Choir Room both at 8:15am and at 10:45am, dressed in khaki trousers or skirts and our Pneuma T-shirts. We should have the new shirts by then, so if you haven't received one, you could come to the choir room early. If you slip in the sanctuary side door after 8:00 or 10:30am, you 'll see the new shirts on a table by the door, along with a list of the sizes for each singer. We'll be singing at the beginning of each service (to help teach the congregation a new hymn), so if you need to slip out with your singer after the 11:00 Call to Worship we'll understand. After each Call the singers will recess to join you in the congregation. Since we'll be in the gym for the next 3 weeks of services, pray that they'll be able to be heard well! Please feel free to e-mail me with any questions. Blessings,

Ronn Alford
Pneuma Director
White Bluff UMC


BTW the line drawing is by Amelia McCorvey and is :A Little Girl Singing "God with a Capital G", which was our musical last spring. Look here for more drawings each week and also in our church Newsletter!

Arrival activities

Just wanted to share a few pictures of the kids drawing - they were working on pictures of Angels at the time (seems very appropriate!). Don't forget, we're singing in worship not this coming Sunday (World Communion Sunday), but the next week, October 12. We'll be meeting in the Choir Room at 8:45 and 10:45am on that Sunday (Children's Sabbath) wearing khaki trousers/skirts and our Pneuma T-shirts (or at least dark blue shirts if they don't come in time). See you soon!

More pictures

Auditions!

Hey folks! I'm so proud of our kids. It's been awesome to watch these guys grow; physically getting taller and in watching their comfort zones expand and their singing and speaking abilities just getting better and better! This year's auditions were much harder for us - there are only 8 speaking parts and only a handful of solos which just makes it harder to choose from so many that did so very well... On to the results:

First, the speaking parts --
The Angel Gabriel........................Rebekah Branch
The Arch-angel Michael, head Angel.........Emily Brown
Sara, head of the Seraphim...............Natalie Lanier
Cherry, head of the Cherubim...............Anna Everly
Harold, head of the Herald Angels............Georgia Griffin
Moses...........Will Hobbs
Isaiah..........David Atkinson

Musical Solos --
Michael's Called a Meeting........................Rebekah Branch
"I" Trouble.......................................Amelia McCorvey
Jiswannano........................................Megan Snider
If It Were Up to Me..............Natalie Lanier, Kinsey Charnes,
Kathryn Haberman and Rachel Anderson
Close to Him......................................Emily Brown
Angels Aware!.....................................Rebekah Branch

Even if your singer didn't get a part there's still certainly a lot to memorize since the entire cast responds to some of the dialogue and of course the songs will need to be memorized as well. Things are shaping up just amazingly well and I know this is going to be a great year! Blessings, R

P.S. By now, you should all have scripts, Listening CD's and Singer Family Handbooks - let us know if you need something!

A couple of pictures from Last Sunday

Time to talk: What was the best thing you did all summer?

Rehearsal One

Hey folks! Yesterday we had our first rehearsal with 25 singers and I think it went really well. We gave out the scripts and started the audition process for our Christmas musical, Angels Aware. We hope we can have the Listening CD's in time for this Sunday's rehearsal (3-5pm), but we might have to wait another week for the post. In the meanwhile, you can listen to pieces of the songs at http://www.praisegathering.com/Site/Detail.asp?tid=4979

The younger singers (Joyful Noise!) who are from 4 years old through those entering the first grade this fall were able to learn some of the motions from the first few songs and seemed to especially enjoy the motions for "The Perfect 10." It's my favorite of the songs so far and I'm sure you'll love it as much as Joyful Noise! already seems to. I'm really looking forward to next week's rehearsal and I hope that all of our 28 registered singers will be there; or even more - if you'd like to register your singer with us, as with all of the groups at White Bluff UMC, all are welcome!

The picture above is from our Kickoff Banquet last week which was attended with fantastic food by Lisa McGalliard. If you don't know this great lady, be sure to take the time to say "Hello!" You'll be glad you did. In addition to enjoying some entertainment from our kids, we had the chance to see (and dance with) the Savannah Drama Club, led by Pastor Carl Gilliard. It was great to get to meet and worship with some of our neighbors in Christ! Our Singers Family Handbooks are still available; feel free to call or e-mail me at ronnalford@bellsouth.net if you would like one.

Each week I hope to bring you some highlights of the rehearsal and while the Newsletter will have details as well, expect to see even more depth written here. Comments are welcome and encouraged, especially of things you'd like to see on this blog!

Blessings,

Ronn

Under Construction

Hello!

This website will carry the news and events for the Pneuma Childrens' Music Ministry at White Bluff United Methodist Church in Savannah, GA. Please check back weekly for updates after our Kickoff Banquet, Sunday September 7 at 5:30pm. Please register by sending an email to ronnalford@bellsouth.net with the number for the dinner. If you would like to pre-register your child or children for 2008-2009 school year, you can do so at www.wbumc.org or by calling 912-925-5924. Thank you for your support. Blessings,

Ronn Alford
Director of Music Ministries
White Bluff UMC