GospelJelly96InitialQuery
From Christian Collegiate A Cappella Notes
transcribed from an email from Matt Libby
Contents |
I. The Idea
At the last pitches' retreat (around Columbus Day '95), in the process of deciding who would host the subsequent Gospel Jam, the question was raised of whether it would be possible or desirable to hold a GJam in the Fall (typically, it's a spring event).
It was recognized that such a fall GJam would necessarily be significantly different from a spring GJam, given the needs and abilities of most groups at that time of year. It was also recognized that such an event could be an outstanding opportunity for the attending groups. To fully appreciate this, you need to consider the typical development of a "collegiate Christian a cappella group" throughtout the year.
In the Fall, there are usually brand new members in any group, and returning members may be rusty from a summer on their own. There is often uncertainty and unfamiliarity in the group, due to such various things as new officers, new circumstances at school, and a general lack of experience together. The members haven't yet learned how their team (i.e., the group) works. But there is also a great deal of flexibility and adaptibility, and a fresh enthusiasm and eagerness for the coming year, which is more or less a blank slate. The Fall is an excellent time to focus on building up the group, laying the foundation for the rest of the year.
Ideally, in the Spring, group members are more experienced and mature; they know each other better, and they know better what's expected of them. The group becomes somewhat less flexible, in a good way, because now its members know "what works"... they've found a groove and have settled into it, and they've developed some habits. To some extent, the group has figured out what it wants to do and how to do it. In the Spring, the group is ready to accomplish great things, having focused and sharpened their abilities, their sense of purpose, and their commitment, thus becoming more useful to God.
The idea discussed at the last pitches' retreat was that we would like for there to be organized Gospel Jam-esque events in both the Spring and the Fall, to match the different needs and opportunities of these two periods. The spring Gospel Jams have produced some excellent opportunities to build relationships between and within groups, to learn from others' experiences and to share your own own, to produce an excellent, powerful concert through which the Lord has stirred the hearts of both audience and performers; in general, a spring Gospel Jam is a great way to top off the year, sort of a culmination.
On the other hand, we'd like to try having a fall Gospel Jam-type event which would build up groups for the coming year, sort of a foundation. Out of this event, we hope that folks will emerge with (among other things) a clearer understanding of how God can use them as a Christian artist, a common vision and mission for their singing group, a little more experience in working as a team within their group, stronger relationships within the group and between groups, and motivation and momentum for the year to come. Hopefully, the lessons learned at this event will serve as a solid basis for a group's activities for the rest of the year, bringing new meaning to the things they do and allowing them to reach a very high level of development later in the year.
II. The Plan
At the pitch retreat, it was agreed that the MIT Cross Products would host this event, this coming Fall.
We (the Cross Products) are very excited about this project; we are eager to see it through to completion and to see it benefit the collegiate Christian a cappella community. We hope that you, too, will become similarly interested and excited about it, because the success of this project will require that folks get interested in it, prepare for it, and, ultimately, come with their group to the event.
For now, at least, we're calling this event the "Gospel Jelly", because it's a counterpart to the "Gospel Jam", and because of a couple of other hokey reasons (come on... it's cute).
The Gospel Jelly will be held at one place (MIT, in Boston) and at one time (this Fall), i.e., it's not going to be a split event. The feeling was that, although it does mean a lot of logistical work for the hosts, the benefits of having everyone there will be substantial, particulary since one intended purpose of the GJelly is to build community among all the groups. The Cross Products' goal is that attendees will be exposed only to the positive aspects of having so many groups there, and so the CPs are trying to be so on top of logistics that they are effectively transparent (the logistics, that is... ).
(Just a note: given the rate at which new groups are starting, this may well be our last chance to have a non-split event).
The date of the GJelly is not precisely set yet; we're entertaining a couple of possibilities. Obviously it will be some date in the Fall, definitely on a weekend. Right now, the most attractive weekend appears to be Columbus Day Weekend, October 11-14; having the 14th off from school (as most schools do) should make traveling much easier for groups that are farther away.
The specific events & agenda of the GJelly are also still being planned, but we will be sending out a significant amount of information as more things are decided and as the GJelly approaches. It is our goal that the pitches of the attending groups will be able to use the GJelly as a tool in developing their groups, and so we want to be sure they have all needed, useful information well in advance of the actual event. We also welcome your input about the GJelly, particularly suggestions of how to make it more useful to you.
III. What YOU need to do (IMPORTANT)
You received this email because you are either listed as the official contact for your group on the list-of-groups WWW page (http://ccacappella.net/gateway.html) or because we've used you as a contact before.
The information we would like from each contact is
- group name and school,
- contact name,
- summer email address,
- summer phone number,
- summer mailing address,
- whether or not you are also the pitch or business manager for your group.
How Can I Help?
- We could use prayer, and a lot of it. As specific things come up, we'll try to keep you posted, but, until then, pray for this whole project, in general.
- If you have members in your group who are keenly interested in this kind of stuff (e.g., your pitch, or business manager, or just anyone), but who won't necessarily be acting as the official group contact, please feel free to send us their name & contact info, and we'll send out general information to them, too, as it becomes available, so they can think about it and send suggestions and comments, too. Interested people usually make good prayer-people, too.
Thank you!
In Him,
The Gospel Jelly '96 Planning Committee
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