United Methodist Communications
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www.umcpresscenter.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 3, 2017
NASHVILLE, Tennessee: Raymond Trapp, Director of Music at Vanderveer Park United Methodist Church in Brooklyn, New York, and New York Annual Conference Music Director for the past five years, has been named Worship and Music Director for the 2020 United Methodist General Conference by the Commission on the General Conference.
“Raymond will be responsible for developing the overall worship and music programming and also for providing musical leadership for the General Conference when we meet in 2020,” said Sara Hotchkiss, Business Manager of The United Methodist General Conference.
As Director of Music and Organist at Vanderveer Park UMC, Trapp conducts four choirs, selects and arranges music for all musical productions and annual choral concerts, and developed and implemented a concert series consisting of eight musical performances for the year. His work for the New York Annual Conference has included selecting choral repertoire for the conference choir, as well as working with the Worship Committee in planning all worship services.
In his role as Worship and Music Director for General Conference 2020, Trapp will be responsible for designing and coordinating the worship experience and music in conjunction with a theme to be chosen by the Commission on the General Conference. He also will be responsible for music leadership in the plenary sessions and will work with the Council of Bishops' General Conference Worship Committee and Discipleship Ministries staff members in planning worship services. Trapp and his team will audition and choose choirs to perform during the 10-day event.
“Raymond brings to this position not only unique gifts and life experiences, but also a deep spirituality that we believe will be a tremendous blessing to our global church during the 2020 session of General Conference,” said Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi from the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference and the Council of Bishops representative to the Commission on General Conference’s Worship and Music Director selection task team.
“I appreciate Raymond’s understanding of what a worship service means for such a diverse community as we have at General Conference, with a conviction that the uniting power of God will be working among the delegates.” said Helene Bindl, lay member of the Austria Provisional Conference and member of the selection task team.
“Raymond Trapp displays a deep awareness of the richness of our diversity along with a gentleness of spirit that will serve our 2020 General Conference well,” said Taylor Burton-Edwards, a member of the selection task team who is Director of Worship Resources at Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church.
“I am so excited about this role that I’m already doing run-throughs in my head and reading and looking back at clips from previous general conferences. The research has definitely started,” Trapp said.
“In terms of General Conference, I look forward to many gifts coming together for one purpose, and that purpose is to ‘Lift High the Cross,’” he said. “My prayer is that, in all the worship services, we meet people at their point of need. We need to be decreased and Christ increased,” he said. ”To accomplish that is my number one goal.”
Trapp has been a music educator, creating and teaching curriculum for grades Kindergarten through 8th grade. He also has developed and supervised all aspects of music ministry at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church when he served as Music Director and Organist at the Brooklyn church. Trapp received a Master’s Degree in Sacred Music, Choral Conducting from Westminster Choir College and has also studied at Juilliard School in New York City.
About General Conference
General Conference is the top policy-making body of The United Methodist Church. The assembly meets at the beginning of each quadrennium to consider revisions to church law, as well as adopt resolutions on current moral, social, public policy and economic issues. It also approves plans and budgets for church-wide programs for the next four years. General Conference 2020 will take place May 5-15, 2020, at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis. A special session of the General Conference has been called for February 23-26, 2019, and will meet in the Greater St. Louis Area.
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