This Is My Story: Catherine Wilson

Welcome to "This Is My Story," a new blog series dedicated to highlighting the journeys of individuals within the Polyphony Music Resources family.

In these posts, we turn the spotlight on some of our dedicated church musicians. Through personal anecdotes and professional milestones, we’ll learn a little more about them and hopefully, get to know one another better.

This series aims to inspire and celebrate the invaluable contributions of our musical leaders. Join us as we delve into their stories and continue to strengthen our connections.

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Meet Catherine Wilson

Director of Music and Worship - Decatur First United Methodist Church, Decatur, GA

Hometown - Macon, GA

Education:

• East Carolina University (began bachelor of music)

• Indiana University: Bachelor of Music - organ performance, 2011

• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Master of Music - organ performance, 2013

Tell us about your family.

My husband, Casey, and I married in September of 2020- the height of the pandemic. I brought to the marriage our grey cat, Dibley (named for the britcom the Vicar of Dibley). In July of 2021, we welcomed our son Callum into our little family. He loves music, reading, and moving 24/7! Our latest addition, Murphy the black cat, arrived the day of the church’s 2023 Christmas concert dress rehearsal when a Sunday school friend found him in front of North Decatur UMC.

Favorite hobbies?

Reading (I love a trip to the library!), hiking, mini crossword puzzles, and my newest hobby is sewing.

How have you participated in Polyphony?

I attended the 2025 Polyphony conference—it was fabulous!

What do you think God is up to in your life right now?

So many folks in the church I serve are looking for creative ways to process the state of the world. After multiple artists and musicians have reached out asking how they can offer their gifts to the church community, I am feeling a strong nudge to explore intentional music and arts programming that utilizes these talented individuals as leaders to help connect congregants to each other, their own creativity, and to God.

Tell us about your faith journey.

I grew up from birth through high school attending Mulberry Street United Methodist Church in Macon, GA. The music program at that time was rich with a graded children’s choir program and a youth ensemble (in addition to a vibrant adult choir). Music was an integral part of my family’s life and the worship life of the church. I grew up hearing my dad and aunt sing solos in church, participated in every choir I could, and then when I was old enough, assisted my aunt in leading the oldest children’s choir. I’m so grateful for the leaders of the church, especially Cam Bishop, who at the time was the Minister of Music and organist, and later became my first organ teacher. Because of my exposure to scripture through hymns and anthems, I  was able to internalize the Bible stories and form what I like to call “my singing faith”.

Something interesting most people would not know about you.

Most people don’t know that I’m a total nerd. I love reading sci-fi and fantasy novels (J.R.R Tolkien is one of my favorites authors), as well as playing Nintendo hit video games with my husband.

What adjectives best describe you?

Dependable, funny, ambitious