Open Session Wrapped Up

Open session with the music ministry wrapped up on Tuesday May 7th and I wanted to share with you some of what we did this past 9 months as well as some feedback from participants.

"Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts." Colossians 3:16

Our open sessions have truly made Colossians 3:16 come to life. Since September we have spent an hour every Tuesday night living this verse.

Our sessions would usually begin with greeting one another. We have developed strong relationships and loved to hear about what was happening in each others lives. We then open with a song. Through the hour we would read scripture together that either was in a song, or that a song points to. We would discuss the handling of God's word by the song writer. We would sing the song again and see which lines spoke to our hearts. We took some time in January and February to work together on songwriting. We didn't finish a song to share but we all gained appreciation for the people who write the songs we sing. We looked at music theory as it applied to songs we sang, learning to read notes a little, recognize rests and find the repeats and codas. We all grew in our love for God and for one another. At the end of session we would often pray for one another.

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Some comments from participants:

Les: "These sessions have been open but with good direction, always going forward and growing. The songwriting was not my favourite, I found it very challenging but I'm glad to have been part. There are many nights when I am tired after work and not sure I want to leave the house again but I'm always glad I came. This group has become very special to me.

Johan: "Even though we did many different things it was all focused on the Lord."

Tatiana: "I appreciate learning more about the spiritual aspect of worship. I am grateful to be welcome to participate even though I'm not a music professional. Our sessions were focused on the word of God, we learned about hymnals, and congregational worship. The sessions we did on lament in the fall helped me to approach God in a new way, it was very powerful for me and I was able to use this in my ministry to other women.

Adam: "I enjoyed coming to sing informally with others. It was nice to think about the lyrics as often I'm just thinking about the beat. I also enjoyed being with others singing and not needing to always engage with each other in conversation."

Over all we all grew so much and I am so grateful for what God has done in us through song this year. I hope you will pray for this ministry as we take a summer break. Pray that we will continue in the fall, that God will continue to grow us as worshippers. Prayerfully consider if this would be something you would like to join in September.