Dear Oceanside Sanctuary family,
Since joining OSC as your Music Minister, I have worked hard to build a diverse, supportive, and talented group of folks in the Oceanside Sanctuary Music Ministry. You have entrusted me not only to facilitate worship, but also to foster a community of musicians and singers who come together for spiritual and musical growth.
The Oceanside Sanctuary Music Ministry is a lever of community, social justice, and spiritual development for both church members and nonmembers alike. Participants come together to create beautiful music that contributes to worship services each Sunday, in addition to seeking opportunities to spread God’s love and justice through music in the community. In addition, this ministry facilitates musical fulfillment and development to its participants. Our ministry vision is—
to create an inclusive and participatory musical community that promotes spiritual, as well as musical, fulfillment and development for its members
to promote congregational engagement and facilitate meaningful interactions with the Divine through contributions to Sunday morning worship services
to seek and find opportunities to promote social justice and God’s love outside of the church through musical outreach
From this ministry has sprouted The Sanctuary Band. I have had the honor of leading this band for most Sundays over the past year, as well as in two recent community events for LGBTQIA+ Pride. The time has come for us to lean into the gifting and calling of our band by creating opportunities for more folks to lead worship on Sundays. Now is also our time to focus on honing our music and improving technology. Our priority in this new season of refinement is to empower team members to lead where they are called, making particular efforts to uplift women and people of color as leaders in our community.
You will see different worship leaders stepping forward in the coming weeks. You will hear their testimonies and be led into worship in ways that honor their styles and backgrounds. This vision of shared leadership creates space to honor diverse voices and experiences. My role is to embolden and enable members of our Sanctuary Band to grow into their callings and lead with authenticity.
Are you interested in helping? We are in need of musicians, particularly guitarists, to help us fortify our music. To learn more, send me an email at joey@oceansidesanctuary.org.
Sincerely,
Joseph A. Pearson, M.S.Ed.
Music Minister