National Fellowship Council
2009-2011
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PRESIDENT
Shall be the representative of the organization to The United Methodist Church and preside at all meetings of The Fellowship and national council. Shall monitor the progress of the Nominating Committee and the Election Committee and serve ex officio on all other committees.
J. THOMAS (Tom) TAYLOR, is serving his 34th year as Director of Music Ministries at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Allison Park, PA, a northern suburb of Pittsburgh, where he designs worship and directs and oversees a program of 12 singing, ringing, instrumental and drama groups. Tom earned his bachelor’s degree from Edinboro State and his master’s degree from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He has served The Fellowship in many capacities at the local and jurisdictional level, including as president of the Western PA chapter and on the design team for several NEJ events. He recently completed a term as dean of the Pittsburgh Chapter of AGO and has served as clinician and guest director of numerous workshops and festival choirs. Under his direction, St. Paul’s choirs have appeared at Heinz Hall and Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh and have been featured with the North Pittsburgh Philharmonic Orchestra.
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PRESIDENT-ELECT
Shall preside in the absence of the President and monitor the following committees and/or awards: Seminarian Award, Roger Deschner Award Committee, Scholarship Committee, and Lloyd Pfautsch Memorial Anthem Committee.
WILLIAM P. (Bill) CARROLL is Associate Dean in the School of Music at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting from the University of Cincinnati, the Master of Music and the Master of Sacred Music degrees from Southern Methodist University, and the Bachelor of Music in piano from Millsaps College. Bill has served as guest conductor/clinician for more than 250 regional choral events—including on three occasions for The Fellowship at Music & Worship Arts Week at Lake Junaluska, NC. He served a fifteen-year tenure as conductor of the Choral Society of Greensboro and in 1997 became Editor for Hinshaw Music. In 2001, North Carolina ACDA presented Bill with the Hoggard Award for distinguished service to the choral art. Carroll received the 2005 Award of Merit for distinguished service to the cultural life of the community by the Euterpe Federated Music Club of Greensboro, NC.
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IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
Shall serve as the chair of the Nominating Committee and as chair and convener of the Past Presidents Council.
KEVIN BOGAN is in his sixth year as the Director of Traditional/Blended Music at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, KS, one of the fastest growing United Methodist congregations in the country. He has also served United Methodist churches in Florida and Arkansas. He was the Director of Music at First Presbyterian Church in Boca Raton, FL, for eleven years. Kevin has been very active in The Fellowship, serving as a district representative in the Florida Chapter, dean of the Youth Workshop for the Annual Church Music Workshop in Florida and as a frequent clinician at district and national events. Kevin was the design team chairman for the 50th anniversary national Fellowship convocation held in San Francisco, CA, in 2005
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RECORDING SECRETARY
Shall keep minutes of all Convention Business Meetings, Council Meetings, and Board Meetings, submit a summary of the annual Council meeting to the official publication of The Fellowship; manage correspondence to the Council, Boards, and others as directed by the President; coordinate the work of the Archives Committee; serve on the Program Board and the Finance/Personnel Board.
NANCY FARRINGTON is a music director at Stevensville United Methodist Church, Stevensville, MI, where she directs two adult handbell choirs, the preK-2nd grade choir, accompanies the youth choir and co-directs the adult choir and the praise team. Nancy grew up attending Fellowship convocations as a child with her family. She has been a member of The Fellowship since 1994. She served on the design team for the 2003 national convocation in Dearborn, MI. Nancy holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Therapy from Michigan State University, and has worked as a music therapist in Rochester, MN, and in southwestern Michigan. She currently lives in Stevensville, MI with her husband Mike and two children.
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CHAPTER COORDINATOR
Shall coordinate the work of the Chapter Coordinating Committee; monitor the annual Chapter Report process with the Executive Director; serve on the Program Board.
LAURA JAQUITH BARTLETT is a deacon in full connection who has served in music ministry in several different churches in the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference. Laura has a passion for planning and leading worship, finding ways to empower God's people to sing out their faith. She enjoys leading workshops and designing worship for events throughout the country. Laura has filled a variety of leadership roles in the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference, including chairing the Order of Deacons and serving as Conference Secretary. She has also been involved in camp and retreat ministry, helping to staff the conference's annual Choir Camp for most of its 24-year history. Her writing has appeared in a number of publications. Laura and her spouse, Todd, an ordained elder, have two daughters. They live at a United Methodist retreat center near Mt. Hood, where Todd is the director.
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EVENTS COMMITTEE CHAIR
Shall coordinate the work of the Events Committee; address any event-related concern as directed by the Program Board or Council; serve on the Program Board.
FRANK SHROYER began his career as an organist while a high school student in his native West Virginia. He has served United Methodist and American Baptist congregations ever since. Currently in “semi-retirement,” he directs handbell choirs and a small vocal ensemble at Arlington Heights UMC in Fort Worth, TX. Frank has attended and assisted with local, jurisdictional and national meetings and convocations of The Fellowship for the past twenty years. Prior to his present position as Events Committee chair, he served as South Central Representative to the National Council. He is on the Board of Directors of the Texas Conference Choir Clinic and currently serves as Dean. Beyond The United Methodist Church, Frank has been active with the Choristers Guild both locally and on the national level. He is a member of AGEHR and completed a three-year term on the board of the Greater Dallas Handbell Association. Frank is a graduate of Fairmont State College in Fairmont, WV, with degrees in choral music and theatre, and a M.A. in Theatre in directing from West Virginia University. His career path took him to New York City for some years where he was affiliated with Columbia Artists Management, Inc., and the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and Towers before a move to Texas brought him back into the world of church music and worship arts.
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MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE CHAIR
Shall coordinate the work of the Membership Committee; address any membership-related concern as directed by the Finance/Personnel Board or Council; shall serve on the Finance/Personnel Board.
QUINT HARRIS is the Director of Music Ministries at Paradise Valley United Methodist Church in Phoenix, AZ. He is in his third year in this role. Before living in the valley of the sun, Quint taught public school 9th-12th grade at Tupelo High School in Tupelo, MS. He has also taught public school 7th-12th grade in Birmingham, AL. Quint has been the music director at Alabaster First United Methodist Church in Alabaster, AL, as well as the music director at Fulton United Methodist Church in Fulton, MS. Quint holds the Bachelor in Music Education from the University of Mississippi and the Master of Music Education from the University of Alabama.
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MULTI-CULTURAL COMMITTEE CHAIR
Shall coordinate the work of the Multi-cultural Committee; address any multi-cultural concerns as directed by the Program Board or Council; serve on the Program Board.
LAVERNE JENKINS is a native of Orangeburg, SC, where she was nurtured in Trinity United Methodist Church. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bennett College, Greensboro, NC, and a Masters of Librarianship from the University of South Carolina, Columbia. Following 20 great years of military life, she moved to the Cleveland, OH, metropolitan area and became a member of Aldersgate United Methodist Church. For the past 10 years, she has served Aldersgate as Director of the Vision Choir (a senior adult choir), and is currently the associate music director. Laverne joined The Fellowship in 1999 and served on the Design Team for the 2005 convocation. She completed the certification program at SMU’s Perkins School of Theology in 2007, and currently serves on the Program Committee of the East Ohio Annual Conference. Laverne is Head of Library Technical Services for Cuyahoga Community College.
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MUSIC AREAS COORDINATOR
Shall coordinate assigned Interest Areas; submit reports to the Program Board and Council on the tasks and accomplishments of each assigned area; use the appropriate Interest Area to address any issues related to that area as they arise; foster leadership within each area; be aware of leaders that should be nominated for other positions in The Fellowship; serve on the Program Board.
MIKE MUZZO is currently the Minister of Worship and Music at West Chester United Methodist Church in West Chester, PA, where he oversees the worship ministry and coordinates a music ministry including ten ensembles. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from the University of Toledo in Toledo, OH, and a Master of Music degree in Church Music from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ. Mike has 25 years of full-time church music experience working with children, youth, adult and handbell choirs. He has also served churches in Williamsport, PA, and Roswell, GA.
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WORSHIP AREAS COORDINATOR
Shall coordinate assigned Interest Areas; submit reports to the Program Board and Council on the tasks and accomplishments of each assigned area; use the appropriate Interest Area to address any issues related to that area as they arise; foster leadership within each area; be aware of leaders that should be nominated for other positions in The Fellowship; serve on the Program Board.
MARY J. SCIFRES has been appointed Council Member-At-Large to coordinate the worship related Interest Areas. Mary is a United Methodist pastor, serving as an author and teacher in the areas of leadership, visioning, worship and evangelism. Rev. Scifres annually co-authors with David L. Bone The United Methodist Music and Worship Planner and Prepare! Also the author of Searching for Seekers: Ministry With a New Generation of the Unchurched, Scifres enjoys co-editing with her husband B. J. Beu another worship resource, The Abingdon Worship Annual. A former Thom Jones Scholar, Mary discovered The Fellowship during her seminary studies at Boston University. While participating in the New England chapter, Scifres received both a Masters of Divinity and a Masters of Sacred Music from B. U. But her roots are in Indiana, where she received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Indianapolis. Having served churches in Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Washington, Mary Scifres lives now in Laguna Beach, California, with her UCC-clergy spouse B. J. and their 12-year-old son Michael.
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ARTS AREAS COORDINATOR
Shall coordinate assigned Interest Areas; submit reports to the Program Board and Council on the tasks and accomplishments of each assigned area; use the appropriate Interest Area to address any issues related to that area as they arise; foster leadership within each area; be aware of leaders that should be nominated for other positions in The Fellowship; serve on the Program Board.
ROSALIE BENT BRANIGAN is a certified director of music, specializing in dance and the worship arts. Past Fellowship involvement includes serving as vice president, convocation chair and jurisdictional representative, and currently she is a Worship Arts columnist. She authored the chapter on dance in Worship Matters: A United Methodist Guide to Worship. Rosalie has a BA in Music from the University of Arkansas, has served on church staffs as Director of Dance Ministry at Claremont UMC, Claremont,CA, Broadmoor UMC, Baton Rouge, LA, and Central UMC, Albuquerque, NM. Rosalie has nearly 50 years of experience as a dance teacher, and for 20 years directed children's and youth church choirs. Rosalie has worked as a dance Artist-in-the-Schools and taught high school music and drama. In 2003, Rosalie received The Fellowship’s Roger Deschner Award. She resides in Port Townsend, WA.
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FINANCIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE CHAIR
Shall address any financial concern as directed by the Finance/Personnel Board or Council; coordinate the work of the Financial Advisory Committee; coordinate the work of the Annual Fund Committee; serve on the Finance/ Personnel Board.
Due to a resignation, the duties of this position have been reassigned to the President and President-Elect for the remainder of the 2009-2011 term.
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