July 14-15, 2024
Third Presbyterian Church, 617 22nd St S, Birmingham, AL 35233
Cost: $35/person

Church music is in crisis. But the church's grasp of the crisis is superficial, a simple conflict of new v. old.

Some, eager to be relevant, opt for lightly Christianized versions of pop music. Others, eager to be rooted, opt for unreflective revival of the past.

We need a reformation of liturgical music, but we can't get there without addressing a massive knot of other questions:

• What is worship?
• What is the political economy of music production, including Christian music production?
• How do technological changes affect music's availability and consumption?
• What, at the end of the day, is liturgical music, and what is it for, and how does it differ from the purposes of art music?

The 2025 Theopolitan Ministry Conference on July 14-15, 2025 will dig to the roots of our musical chaos.

Keynote speakers include John Ahern, Director of Theopolis's Te Deum Music Fellows Program; Joshua Appel, Steven Guthrie, Professor, Belmont University; and Peter Leithart, President of Theopolis.

Registration will open in January, 2025.

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The conference will begin with a Matins service at 11:00am on Monday, followed by lunch provided by Theopolis. The conference will conclude with a Vespers service on Tuesday afternoon.