Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Worship (corporate) (10/04/07)
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TITLE: Silent Worship | Previous Challenge Entry
By Debbie Wistrom
10/09/07 -
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Ecclesiastes 5:7 (A calendar version-not disclosed)
Scheduled in June, the service became the target of much discussion during the summer. October weather was for the most part predictable and being outside was a delight again. Pleasant temperatures and clear blue skies were more frequent than the occasional rain, so the date was perfect for an outdoor service at the lake. During harvest time, rain on Saturday can bring more farmers into church on Sunday. I prayed for rain the week before.
The day broke in all of God’s glory. Going alone, early, to set up chairs was pure joy. Wind did not disturb the handouts that I placed on each seat. Ashamedly, it seems that most of us are just too busy to stop and enjoy the benefits of summer. Now, the humidity was bearable and the mosquitoes were scarce, being outside would come as a welcomed change. I could not wait to see the reactions to this splendid outdoor sanctuary.
For this service to accomplish its goal, the adults had to be free of children. The youth leaders dropped off the chairs yesterday and got the scavenger hunt ready. A make shift nursery was set up in the pavilion just down the hill. So the leaders could experience the main service, the older youth took charge of both the nursery and the scavenger hunt. Much excitement and discussion from their classroom led me to believe they were ready and able.
The members of the congregation started to arrive and mill about, dropping off covered dishes at the pavilion and kids at designated areas. As the adults took their seats in the mellow sunshine and turned off cell phones, a peaceful hush descended on the crowd as they took in their surroundings. The motionless lake allowed the reflection to take over and the show-stopping blaze of fall colors adorning the trees that crowded the opposite shore was breath taking. There was more awe in the clearing at that moment than we had felt in the sanctuary for months. The Holy Spirit was present and ready for a change.
Though this service was going to be unlike any others, we continued in tradition and began with prayer and then onto calling God into our collective midst and into individual hearts with praise. With the song of the woods as our only accompaniment, the multitude of our voices rang across the open meadow, rustling the sparrows into action from a nearby tree. A cappela never sounded as good as it did that day with God’s creation as our auditorium. The echo resounded joyfully in exquisite harmony as the Amen ended.
Individuals communing with God, each deep in thought, spent worship time in a manner that will be stored in many memories. One valuable hour out of the week where we were not compelled to speak to those around us, a time where our tired ears could rest and wait for God to speak. A treasured sixty minutes that was diverse for each of us, created a memory we all stored away for recall during future season of our lives, to relive and ask God again for the peace of His creation to fill us.
For those needing a bit of structure, we created a list of scriptures to help focus wandering thoughts. This service would be difficult, but I had felt from the very first vision, that it was imperative to our growth. The congregation was so used to instructions for when to stand, when to sit, when to sing and when to pray on Sunday mornings that I was a bit tentative to make this leap. However, God had made it clear this was to happen, I so I jumped.
As if the need to speak had finally overwhelmed the group, the closing hymn bubbled with enthusiasm usually saved for Holy days. After the final prayer, meal preparation began and the revelry that ensued was a stark contrast to the past hour spent in a common solitude, but just as welcomed and as necessary.
As time to depart drew near, I started to feel a hint of hesitation, mine as well as many others. I, myself, was in no hurry to return to familiar surroundings and the tasks calling for attention. Feeling the need to stay connected, we wanted more. My prayer at that time was for His continued peace in our lives.
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"With the song of the woods as our only accompaniment, the multitude of our voices rang across the open meadow, rustling the sparrows into action from a nearby tree. A cappela never sounded as good as it did that day with God’s creation as our auditorium. The echo resounded joyfully in exquisite harmony as the Amen ended." Ah...Let the "Amens" begin, I say...