Volume 2, Issue 1

Celebrating with JMT
This past May, CAM celebrated its 5th Anniversary alongside of John Michael Talbot's 25th Anniversary in ministry. We welcomed visitors such as Billy Ray Hearn, founder of Sparrow Records, Dan O'Neill, President of Mercy Corps, Phil Keaggy, Terry Talbot, Barry McGuire, Tony Melendez , and Tom Booth, all there honoring JMT's tremendous service throughout these years. We had a full house and everyone enjoyed every minute of our time together!

International Membership
CAM is growing at the usual consistent pace with nearly 150 members around the world in Canada, Mexico, Australia, Spain, Italy, Germany and Ireland.

CAMA - Alberta, Canada
Denis Grady heads up CAMA, CAM in Alberta, Canada, doing much to gather and unite Catholic contemporary musicians in that country. Dave Brebner is just beginning to do similar work in Australia. Our friends in Italy, headed by Paola Mascio Bignoli regularly bring American and Canadian CAM artists to their events. Giovanni and Heidi Blarzino are coordinating in Germany. There is a worldwide effort to bring Catholic music to the Catholic Church in the efforts of "Multifestivalia", an international offshoot of CAM, headed by Luis Alfredo Diaz and his wife, Montserrat Pons, who also host the annual David Festival in Spain. There is so much happening in the church concerning contemporary music, it is difficult to keep up with it all!

CAM Regions
The US 'regions' are still in the formation stages. The Southeast had a concert in Nashville organized by Jordan Colletta and Katrina Rae. Maureen and Bill Hayes are organizing the second annual miniCAM for the northeast. Donna Lee held a very successful Gospelfest in San Diego, which was extremely well received and is already being planned again for next year! Greg Magirescu's Gospelfest in Kelowna, Canada is going into it's third year The mid-Atlantic states are hoping to get something going this January around the time of the March For Life in Washington DC.  Jordan Colletta and John Robert Hanna are working in the midwest on getting something together in Iowa. There have been numerous occasions of CAM artists inviting each other to their home churches to do concerts.

Upcoming National Conferences
CAM's involvement in national conferences around the country continues to grow. We participate in both events of the Catholic Marketing Network Trade Show and Conference, The National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM), The Southern California Renewal Conference (SCRC), The Religious Education Congress in Anaheim, CA. There are also regional conferences that we encourage members to attend such as the NE Catholic Family Conference and various religious education congresses around the country. We find that by being "out there" people who otherwise do not know about Catholic music, then have a way to hear it. It's amazing how many do not know good contemporary Catholic music exists!  Our CAM members share 'vendor' space at these conferences/shows and share all the expenses as well, thus enabling each other to make their CDs/products available. Often booth space is not affordable for an individual but when a few ministries get together and split the expenses it becomes affordable.

CAMchat
Last May made it a year since we formed CAMchat, an online egroup where all membership can meet to discuss music issues, ask questions of other members, post prayer requests or find the numerous music leads, tips, etc. On CAMchat, this past year, Nancy Scimone , monitored daily, a 30 day novena for the airwaves to be opened to Catholic music. As a result of that effort almost all Catholic stations (that play music) have invited us to send in our CDs for consideration and our playing our music.

NFCYM Membership
This year CAM became a collaborative member of the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry. In this capacity we will be providing a directory of our membership which will be directed to all diocesan leaders in NFCYM. Since there are CAM members in every diocese, the goal of the new directory is to encourage diocesan leaders to get to know local ministries, what musical styles they represent, experience, etc. and how to find them. This project has been underway since April and will ready for the membership meeting of NFCYM in San Diego this coming January.

CAM Songbook
The on line CAM songbook is still being planned. David Taylor Wright is notating all the songs that have been selected for the site. We are still accepting submissions so if you have a congregational song, easily sung, with stackable verses you'd like to send in, please do so. Remember it must be congregational and usable in Liturgy and services.

Catholic Artists for Relief
Many CAM members were offered the opportunity to be involved in a benefit project headed up by Katrina Rae and Ned Tonner , to assist military victims of the September 11 tragedy at the Pentagon. While this was not a "CAM" event, all but 2 of the members of the newly formed alliance, "Catholic Artists for Relief" just so happen to be CAM members. Thirteen of us converged upon Nashville one October weekend and learned and recorded a song titled "You Are Not Alone" by Canadian member, Greg Magirescu, quoting the words President George W. Bush has used many times when speaking to families of this atrocity. All revenue from the sale of the CD/video set will be paid directly to the Armed Services/YMCA Pentagon Survivor's Fund, which is administered by Navy Admiral Frank Gallo, (ret), in Springfield, VA. You may get all the details of this enormous effort by going to <www.CatholicArtistsForRelief.com.