Bridget’s love
of music originates from her first listen to the
great jazz singers: Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn,
and Ella Fitzgerald. She grew up with her mother
singing the songs of Billie Holiday, Bonnie Raitt,
and Barbara Streisand. Her influences vary from
those jazz greats to Eric Clapton and James Taylor.
Bridget loves a good melody and is evident in her
songs with strong melodic lines.
While taking a voice class at San Diego State University
just for fun, her teacher had commented that he
would pay to hear her sing. That class in 1995 stirred
up in Bridget a desire to study music. She realized
that it wasn’t too late to develop her gift.
It was in 1996 that she seriously pursued the development
of her craft in music by taking private piano and
guitar lessons and the Lord began to give her songs.
After a serious shoulder injury in 2002, she was
unable to continue playing the guitar, but still
hopes to pick it up again soon.
She has either participated as a keyboardist and/or
vocalist on worship teams with her mentor Chris
Falson, as well as with Gary Arthur of The Way,
and Chariya Bissonette and is currently a keyboardist
on the church worship team lead by Mark Perez.
Aside from being a help mate to her husband of
twelve years, Mercier Willard, a pastor and head
of Pardoned Prodigals, Bridget's main gifting and
calling is for leading worship and exhorting and
encouraging believers to be active with their gifts
and callings from the Lord. She has lead worship
with children, teens, and women as well as in prayer
meetings, retreats, and small group Bible studies
since 1996.
Bridget has taught children, teens, and women's
Bible studies including organizing, facilitating,
teaching, and leading worship for several women's
retreats.
Mercier and Bridget's home church is Calvary Chapel
San Juan Capistrano where most of her songs were
written and where she blossomed into a worship leader
in Children's and Women's Ministry.
She is part of an outreach called Pardoned Prodigals
that has been reaching out to the community of Anaheim
for the past few years at the Friday Night Motel
Outreach through song, prayer, and Bible class for
children, depending on the season and the move of
the Spirit
She is also an author and her essays and poems
are posted on her site moreofjesus.com along with
chord charts, song lyrics, mp3 samples, and song
stories from her debut CD.
Bridget is also working on the final stages of
a devotional journey for worship leaders entitled
ON THE MOUNTAIN.
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