From the President, Rich Ferguson <><
Summergrass was great. We made a lot of friends and did a lot of pickin’. Our speaker for the Sunday Service was Mike Johnson from The Rock Church in San Diego. Mike Nadolson, from Tricopolis Records, helped us with the music. We had plenty of good jamming at the booth. Josh Miller from Newfound Road stopped by to jam with us and show off photos of his new son.
Deb and I are getting ready for Hobbs Grove and then to IBMA in Nashville. Please let me know if you are going to be there, or just stop by our booth at Fan Fest.
A brand new festival is coming next year at the end of June 2010. We will be there with a Bluegrass Church. Watch for it on our calendar. It will be in Susanville.
We are considering having a Bluegrass Retreat in 2010. If you know of any good locations to have an event like this, please let me know. It should be able to accommodate campers and trailers. It will be similar to a campout with a lot of pickin’. We also hope to have some bible study and some workshops.
Carol Harper from South Gate Baptist Church in Tennessee, has contacted me and is offering to help out any of our bands if they are going to be in her area. She is very nice and would be happy to talk to you. Check their web site: http://sgbcchoir.homestead.com/SGBC-OutdoorStage.html
South Gate Baptist Church |
Carol Harper |
From Carol: The only things we ask are... Opportunities for Fall 2009: |
|
Glory to God in all that we do.
Rich Ferguson <><
510-568-0887
rich@christianbluegrassassociation.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the President, Rich Ferguson <><
We just got back from a 7,000 mile trip across the country. We hit 15 states and had a great time and met a lot of nice people. I can’t wait until we get to do it again. We met up with Bryan Bridges in VA and did some picking at the hotel for the DIVCO Milk Truck Club of America, Convention. Then on Sunday we played some music at Bryan’s church. Also while we were in VA we visited with Geoff Stelling and he gave us a very nice tour of the Stelling Banjo Works. Geoff donated a resonator to the Christian Bluegrass Association to use for a Prayer Request Box.
Thanks Geoff.
I am trying to get this newsletter out before we leave for Summergrass. This should be a fun festival. We have never been to it and look forward to meeting some brothers and sisters in Christ and hope to minister there. Maybe we’ll even get a lot of new members in the Southern California Area. Please be praying for us.
We have a new Membership Secretary. Nancy Dalton has volunteered to take over our Membership Secretary job. Thank you Nancy and welcome to the team. I will try to get her info on the website soon so you can meet her. You will probably be contacted by her when it is time to renew your membership. Also soon on the website you will see a link to an article from our Treasurer about The Benefits of Membership. Check it out.
We have no nominations for the upcoming election of board members. If there are no nominations we will not have a voting process this year.
Glory to God in all that we do.
Rich Ferguson <><
510-568-0887
rich@christianbluegrassassociation.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the President, Rich Ferguson <><
We had a great time in Maggie Valley, NC. We were treated like royalty there. Met a lot of people and made a lot of friends. The weather was good and the bluegrass was excellent. I have posted photos on the web site: www.christianbluegrassassociation.com.
I would like to welcome Keven and Camile Carroll. They live in Welcome, NC and Keven is now our North Carolina Director. Keven has a heart for God and he is all fired up about building the Christian Bluegrass Association in the NC area.
Parkfield was a good one again. This one is on Mother’s day each year and it is quite out of the way, but I always have a good time. I finally got to meet Greg Cahill.
Kathleen Rushing is our nomination committee. We will be having our first election this year. We will be accepting nominations for the 5 board member positions. If you would like to run or nominate someone, please contact Kathleen: kafween@msn.com
We will be providing Bluegrass Church at the Summergrass Festival in San Diego, August 21-23.
We will not be having a booth at the CBA Grass Valley Festival this year, but we will have our all-member board meeting there at the Gospel Creek Campsite on Friday, June 19, 1:00 PM. Bluegrass Church Sunday Morning 8:00 AM on the Pioneer’s Stage.
Glory to God in all that we do.
Rich Ferguson <><
510-568-0887
rich@christianbluegrassassociation.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the President, Rich Ferguson <><
The Turlock Campout was good. Earl Pitman was our speaker that Sunday for Bluegrass Church. We had about half the attendance that we had there last year. This year was about 36 people. The weather was great and the pickin was plentiful. I have posted some photos on the web site.
The next event is the Parkfield CA Festival. This is the earthquake capitol, Be here when it happens. LeRoy Mack will be there and Rich & Debra will be there also.
We have gotten some very exciting possibilities in North Carolina. Debra and I will be going there to meet up with our new members there, Keven & Camile Carroll. We will be putting on a Bluegrass Church and Gospel Jam at the Old New and Blue Festival in Maggie Valley NC http://www.outdoormissioncamp.org/assets/ONBFlyer.pdf.
As some of you already know, we have been sending out renewal notices. We have been encouraged by some of the donations that have been sent in along with the renewals. Thank you. You will receive a donation summery in January for tax deductions.
We will not be at the CBA Grass Valley Festival this year. Our board decided to skip it this year because some people have complained that the California Bluegrass Association had some connection with our organization and they were giving us special favors. We want to maintain our friendly relation with the CBA. LeRoy Mack will still be putting on the Bluegrass Church Service on Sunday. Maybe next year we will be back with an information booth.
Check our calendar to see where we will be www.christianbluegrassassociation.com
Glory to God in all that we do.
Rich Ferguson <><
510-568-0887
rich@christianbluegrassassociation.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the President, Rich Ferguson <><
The CBA Spring Camp Out in Turlock will be our first event this year. Debra and I will be there. We won't have the milk truck with us this time. I burned up the motor last year on the way home from the camp out. Not fixed yet.
Tom Nechville, of Nechville Musical Products, donated a banjo pot assembly to us. We will be making a donation/prayer request box out of it. Thanks Tom.
We had a little trouble with our calendar on the web site. The calendar started to show dates that we did not put there. We are going to have to find a new way to list our events on the web site.
Membership renewals are starting. I encourage you to renew and keep this ministry strong. The economy is hurting and I have heard that other bluegrass organizations are struggling to get their members to renew. Please hang in there with us.
We have a half page ad that is scheduled to appear in the April issue of Bluegrass Unlimited. Please watch for it and tell you friends about it. I am hoping we get some interest in some different areas of the country.
This summer we are going to start our first election with a nominating committee that will begin in June. The election and vote will happen in November and the new Board of Directors will start their term in January 2010.
We are still looking for a Membership Secretary. Let me know if you think you would like to serve here. We are also looking for someone to handle the nomination committee duties for our first election. As always, if you want to become more active with The Christian Bluegrass Association please let us know.
Glory to God in all that we do.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the President Rich Ferguson <><
We are nearing the end of our first year of operation. We have accomplished a lot: We have a membership of a little more than 100. We have provided Bluegrass Church at 12 festivals (Debra and I were at 11 of those). We made a good showing at IBMA in Nashville. We have become a tax exempt 501 (c) (3) charity organization. One of the highlights for me was the Hobbs Grove Festival. We connected with a lot of nice people there and it was a blessing and encouragement for me.
What's next?
When we started I predicted we would get 100 members each year for the first three years. We have reached our first year goal. I think it is going to be quite a task to continue at this pace, and also to get all of the current members to renew. I would like us to start expanding in Washington and Oregon this coming year. Also Southern California should be a good place to expand. We will hold our first election next year as stated in our by-laws. I still firmly believe that this is a good ministry and is worth the effort to serve the bluegrass community and glorify God. I encourage you to hang in there with us and press on. Psalm 108:1, My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing and make music with all my soul.
Welcome to all of the new members, and welcome to all of the people who signed up for the newsletter at IBMA. Please check out our web site at: www.christianbluegrassassociation.com. I have posted a lot of new photos (maybe you are in one of them). There were about 120 people at the Bluegrass Church at IBMA. LeRoy and Jan gave the message, and Paul Williams and the Victory Trio did the music.
If you would like to become part of this ministry just go to the web site and become a member. If you would like to see this ministry in your part of the country just give me a call and we can get things started.
Rich Ferguson <><
From the Vice President
Debra Ferguson
It has been an exciting year for the Christian Bluegrass Association. We have set and met goals. We have done what the Lord has set before us, and we have seen God working in the lives of people. This is God's ministry and we are excited to see what He has accomplished. Many seeds have been planted and many hearts blessed and encouraged through this ministry. We look forward to seeing what Go will do next year.
Thank you for all the support this year..prayer, encouragement, financial and labor. It has been appreciated and multiplied to the ministry. Be praying about how you can continue to support this ministry in 2009.
Debra
Philippians 4:4-9
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We had a good time in Washington at the Willapa Hills Festival. The membership sign up was very disappointing. We need members in Washington, Oregon and Southern California. Call your friends. Frank Ray from Cedar Hill Bluegrass, is a new member. Keep Cedar Hill in your prayers for safe travel.
The Scott Valley festival in Etna, CA was a great festival. It began with a jam on Main Street. They blocked off the whole street for bluegrass. We had about 40 people at the Bluegrass Church Sunday, with Randy Winton delivering the message. They put us in a very nice spot that was on the field in front of the main stage. The first band was a no-show so we were asked to do the first set. I look forward to next year and hope the smoke is gone.
I would like to welcome Mike Faast to our staff. Mike is taking over as Washington/Oregon Director. Becky Thornton decided to step down because she must devote her time to caring for her mom and dad. I will get Mike’s info out on our web site soon. His band is The Cascade Mountain Boys http://wowestern.com/cmb-index.html.
Our friends in Colorado at www.gospelgrass.com are busy with some very ambitious projects. Gospel Grass is dedicated to promoting Gospel Festivals. Now they have just started their own radio station which can be found on their web site. Pretty nice.
There is also a new site that is dedicated to listing all of the gospel jams across the country. http://bluegrassgospeljam.wordpress.com/ & http://bluegrassgospeljam.com/ Ron Camerrer ron@pursuitofpeace.net.
Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival in Hollister was fun. We had the smallest Bluegrass Church thus far. We were Bluegrass Church on the hill. We were right next to the road, and when Chris Smith sang “Do not pass me by” a very loud motorcycle roared past. I hope we get a chance to go to GOF again next year.
We have just received our tax exempt status from the IRS. We are officially a 501(c) (3) tax exempt organization. Any donations made, starting back in 6/1/2008, are tax deductible. So now you no longer have to hesitate sending in those big donations.
I recently made contact with some very nice people on the east coast. Mike and Mary Robinson are doing much the same thing as us on the east coast. They are providing church service at approximately 25 festivals each year. They are very dedicated to this mission and are willing to help us in any way. You can contact them through their web site: Bluegrass Gospel Sing and Jam - http://home.earthlink.net/~michaelcrobinson/index.html
Festivals coming up:
Plymouth, Bluegrassin’ in the Foothills. We will have a booth and Brian Anderson will deliver the message. Church at 8:45 AM Sunday September 21, main stage.
Hobbs Grove Festival. Booth and Bluegrass Church 8:45, September 28.
IBMA – We will have our booth at space #118 Fan Fest, October 3 & 4. Bluegrass Church with LeRoy Mack will be Sunday October 5.
CAB Fall Camp Out. October 9-12. We will have our booth, and Bluegrass Church Sunday morning.
If you have time to send me an e-mail, I would like to know if any of you will be at the upcoming festivals.
We are still looking for a volunteer to be inventory secretary, and a volunteer for membership secretary.
Rich Ferguson <><
rich@christianbluegrassassociation.com~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the President,
Rich Ferguson <><
Welcome to all the new members that joined at Grass Valley. Thank you for supporting this ministry. I have posted some photos on the web site.
Debra and I are heading up to Washington for the Willapa Hills Festival. We will meet up with our director Becky Thornton and some of our members up there to man the Christian Bluegrass Association booth. I hope we meet a lot of people and sign up a lot of new members in the Washington area. We are planning to vacation up north during the week and then go to the Scott Valley Festival in Etna, CA. We will be meeting up with Ed & Cindy Baker there.
I just applied for a table at the IBMA Fan Fest in Nashville. We will be there October 3 & 4, and LeRoy Mack will present Bluegrass Church Sunday morning. If you are planning to go, please stop by the table and visit.
If you are a member, please let me know when you are planning to attend one of the festivals we are involved with and if you can spend some time manning the booth. We can usually use the help.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the President,
Rich Ferguson <><
We had a very good time in Turlock at the CBA Campout. The Bluegrass Church went well with about 75 people attending. We had some very good bluegrass music from Randy Weese, Cliff Compton, Genie Ramos, Ed Baker, Debra and me. I put a few photos on the web site.
We got a few donations and prayer requests. We also signed up quite a few new members. I think we are off to a good start.
Next was Parkfield. It was a very good festival (not rude). We met a lot of people and picked and prayed, what could be better? We did not pick up many new members here for some reason. The Bluegrass Church with LeRoy & Jan Mack and the group was very well attended and liked. I will try to get photos up soon.
Deb and I are going to attend the Gospel Fest 2008 at Mineral Lake Washington, May 24 & 25. We will meet up with Becky Thornton and Randy Weese to run the booth and do some pickin’. We will be playing at 2:00 PM Sunday also.
Don’t forget to become a member. You can do that from the web site or at an event.
We are looking for someone to keep track of our inventory. If you think you would like to help in this way let us know.
Keep checking the website calendar. I have added quite a few events, and more to come.
See you at the CBA Father’s Day Festival in Grass Valley.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rich Ferguson <><
We are going to have a message from time to time from our Bluegrass Chaplain, Brian Anderson. It is called “Stay Tuned” and will be available on the web site and in this newsletter.
See you at the Campout.
“Little children, guard yourselves from idols.” (1Jn.5:21)
For this first Stay Tuned article, I thought I would discuss how we can honor God with our music. This is and always has been a real concern of mine. By nature I am a driven individual, and, left to myself, tend to become too preoccupied with my music, to the point of neglecting the Lord. I began playing the banjo in 1977. I soon began playing 3 hours or more a day, and sometimes 8 hours a day on weekends. After a couple of years, I joined a full-time gospel bluegrass band, Gloryland. During my one year stint with Gloryland, we played in churches and festivals throughoutIt has only been in the last 7 years, that I have felt the freedom to begin playing the banjo again. However, I need to be very careful that my music doesn’t usurp Christ’s rightful place in my life. If I’m not careful, I can easily allow my music to take the dominant place in my thoughts and hearts – the place which Christ alone should have! I suspect what is true about me is probably also true about you.
The very first of the 10 Commandments is, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Ex.20:3). Our God is that which we serve and worship, the master-passion of our lives. What is your master passion? If Jesus Christ is not your master passion, then you have embraced another god above the true and living God of Scripture.
The apostle Paul describes the heathen as those that “worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator” (Rom.1:25). If our music is more important to us than our service to Christ, we are worshipping the gift over the Giver of the gift. This is no light matter, but one we need to consider very carefully.
Make a commitment that you will not allow your music to take priority over your service to Jesus Christ. If you are practicing on your instrument regularly, but are not making time to read the Scriptures and pray, your priorities are out of balance. If you can make time to be at jam sessions and bluegrass festivals, but can’t make time to be involved regularly in a local church, something is wrong.
Seek to use your music as a way to serve Christ and proclaim the good news of the gospel. I regularly play my banjo out in public. When a curious bystander comes close to listen, I’ll give them a smile and a gospel tract to read. Would it be possible for you to find other like-minded Christian bluegrass musicians, and form a band which could minister the gospel? You could go to public parks, convalescent hospitals, and shopping centers. One of the benefits of bluegrass music is that it is possible to play without the use of a sound system, allowing you to be far more mobile than bands with electric instruments. You could sing Christ-exalting songs, speak a word for Him between songs, and distribute gospel literature to those that stopped to hear you.
Well, hopefully that will give you something to think and pray over. Truly, if Christ is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all. He is worthy of all of our worship, service, and labor. Let’s dedicate our musical ability, our time, our energy, and our lives as a sacrifice of praise to Him!
You can subscribe to our newsletter without becoming a member:
California Bluegrass Association Father’s Day Festival
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California Bluegrass Association Spring Camp Out
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California Bluegrass Association Fall Camp Out
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Parkfield Bluegrass Festival, CA
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IBMA World of Bluegrass, TN
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Willapa Hills Bluegrass Festival, WA
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Gospel Festival, Mineral Lake, WA
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Mayberry Days, Mt. Airy, NC
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Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival
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Bluegrasin' in th Foothills
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Scott Valley Bluegrass Festival
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