something new

::: today we did something new...featuring a mix of modern and traditional songs framed in an extended format for responsive worship, kotomi and i kicked off an afternoon worship service that will take place every other month...

...the something-new part of this service is the desire to see our church members strike more of a balance between the form of worship, on one hand, and the freedom of worship, on the other hand...while our current emphasis on worship form adds much needed clarity and cohesion to our services, it also seems to restrict the childlike (yes, even undignified) freedom to worship God in a variety of expressions...

...as we pray for this balance to take shape, we also want God to draw people from the community...in that vein, kotomi and i are striving for musical excellence as well, which, in the absence of other musicians, has meant spending more time sequencing music on the keyboard...so much fun...

...a few highlights for us...

...first, worshiping and taking communion together with our friends, carlos, jennifer, and caden...

...second, seeing kotomi grow in her gifts for worship leading...so cool how the body of christ works together...

...and third, seeing mr. m's father for the first time...mr. m is a member of our church...he's also our weekly language tutor...during our language sessions, mr. m often talks about his father's ongoing battle with alzheimers...we pray for mr. m's dad every day...so it was such a wonderful surprise and joy today in celebrating mr. m's birthday and getting to know his dad...

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