Bread for the Journey -- member bios

	Member Bios Mary Preus Tom Witt Bret Hesla Linda Breitag Ray Makeever Antonio Machado

Mary Preus E-mail Mary		Mary Preus is a singer, song leader and choir director. Her experience ranges from church choirs (directing and singing) to jazz ensembles. She focuses her current music research on diverse singing styles and on the worship and singing life of justice centered communities of faith around the world. Mary is music director at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in the Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minn. and can sometimes be found hosting lunch at St. Martin's Table bookstore and restaurant. Besides Bread for the Journey's recordings, Mary's voice can be heard on recordings by liturgical composers Ray Makeever and Marty Haugen. Mary is a member of the ecumenical Community of St. Martin in Minneapolis, Minn.

Tom Witt E-mail Tom		Tom Witt has been keyboardist, worship leader, songleader for a wide variety of Lutheran church events. He has a depth of resources in worship planning and leads workshops on music, liturgy and contemporary society. In addition to his current work with Bread for the Journey, Tom serves as a worship and music consultant for the ELCA's Global Mission Unit and is a member of the Living Liturgy teaching team (www.livingliturgy.com). He has released a CD recording of his own instrumental improvisations on hymns in the Lutheran Book of Worship, entitled Dusting Off the Green Book.

Bret Hesla E-mail Bret		Bret Hesla has been performing, songleading, and writing music for over 15 years. Aside from his regular community roles as a worship leader and music teacher, Bret has recently been working as a songleader for Advocating Change Together, a group of people with developmental disabilities who are working on issues of self-advocacy and civil rights. In addition to working with Bread for the Journey since its inception in the early 1990’s, Bret’s past endeavors include collaborating with the Land Stewardship Project of Minnesota to develop a participatory musical program highlighting care of the land, as well as a highly popular sing-a-long workshop with fellow musician and songwriter Larry Dittberner. His original songs of faith, care of the earth, and social justice appear in numerous publications and recordings. Outside of the music world, Bret is a cofounder of a rural land/housing coop in southern Minnesota, where he gets to hone his skills as a facilitator, consensus builder, parent, and neighbor while exploring the rewarding and and sometimes difficult realities of community living.

Linda Breitag E-mail Linda .		Linda Breitag is a singer/songwriter, fiddler, visual artist, and folklorist with an M.A. in ethnomusicology. Her musical past runs the gamut from the St. Olaf Choir to a Cajun/Zydeco band based in Quebec City. These days she is most interested in composing call-response-type songs that get people to move their bodies -- in church! Linda also writes songs about life as a person who strives to understand and remain hopeful. She was recently named a Master Fiddler by the Minnesota State Arts Board, and has a CD and cassette called Feet to the Fire, featuring fiddle tunes and original songs. Linda is a certified leader of InterPlay, a practice which reunites body and soul through improvisation in movement, music, and story-telling,with the goal of experiencing grace, fun, and community. Besides Bread for the Journey, Linda performs in schools and folk venues, and in churches and conferences around the country with her husband, composer Ray Makeever. She's also a stepdancer and fledgling body percussionist. Linda is a member of the Community of St. Martin in Minneapolis. Her current life path centers on intense daily sessions with her spiritual director, Sophia, almost two years old

Ray Makeever E-mail Ray		Ray Makeever, a graduate of Luther Seminary, left the pastoral ministry to take up folk singing in his mid-thirties. After a few years away from the institutional church, he returned to the fold and began writing biblically-based songs and liturgical music for worship and congregational life. He self-published three books of songs before Augsburg Fortress released Dancing at the Harvest, a book and CD collection of his work, in 1997. As a singer, guitarist, flautist, and song-and-worship leader, Ray travels to congregations and conferences to teach and lead the songs he has written. Currently employed as a lay Associate for Music and Worship with Augsburg College campus ministry and at as musician at Westwood Lutheran Church, Ray is a member of the Community of St. Martin, a certified massage therapist, and a joyful juggler. His life at present revolves around the blossoming of his lovely daughter, Sophia Ray, born January 17, l997, and who he is raising with his wife, Linda Breitag. He is also the proud father of 29-year old, Anya Jane.

Antonio Machado E-mail Antonio		Antonio Machado is a Lutheran (ELCA) pastor serving at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN as Coordinator of Vocational Formation. Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, and raised in New York City, Antonio plays percussion of all kinds and is featured on Bread for the Journey's recordings.