Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with clanging cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that breathes praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD! (Psalm 150:4-5)
The picture above is that of the Taiko Drummers. These Japanese drummers provided a powerful opening prelude to Tuesday morning's worship service. Indeed, they praised the Lord with the sound of loud drums!
Perhaps if you have been following some of the news articles, or even some of these blogs, you might think that the only thing we do at General Assembly is sit in very long and at times perhaps unendurable meetings. The reality is quite different.
This entire week is bathed in worship and prayer. This is so much more than simply affirming that all our meetings are required to be opened and closed in prayer. There is a very real sense that all that we do here is imbued in worship and in our deeply held belief that God is present.
Daily worship services are both inspirational and challenging. We have been reminded that our God does not only often move in mysterious ways, but often in mischievous ways! We have learned about meeting God in the "thin places" of life. (This comes from the rich spirituality of the Celtic tradition). In these thin places the immanent (the created world) comes close to the transcendent. Such places are all around us and we can probably name several in each of our lives. I believe that this General Assembly is one of those thin places!
David Endriss
2 comments:
Dave,
Thanks so much for this:
"Daily worship services are both inspirational and challenging. We have been reminded that our God does not only often move in mysterious ways, but often in mischievous ways! We have learned about meeting God in the "thin places" of life. (This comes from the rich spirituality of the Celtic tradition). In these thin places the immanent (the created world) comes close to the transcendent. Such places are all around us and we can probably name several in each of our lives. I believe that this General Assembly is one of those thin places!"
I have experienced meeting God in the "thin places" and coming close to the transcendent.
Especially glad to hear about God's mischievous ways!
Dave, I find your reports most iteresting, and you should indeed be finding GA a most meaningful experience that you can share with the congregation when you return. Al
Post a Comment