Spiritual Flavours

Grace and Peace to you, in the Name of our Creator, who gives life,

Jesus, the Son, who loves life, and the Holy Spirit, who is the fire of life.

Worship

Psalm 34: Verse 8 says: "O taste and see that the Lord is good;
    happy are those who take refuge in him".

There are many ways in which human beings connect with Spirit, with God, with the Holy… For some, it's through nature...the beauty of God's Creation.  For others, it's through the universal language of music.  Some connect most deeply through meditation and prayer and contemplation, and for others the connection to God is through storytelling, movement and the arts.

You probably have your “usual” ways of connecting with God, which is great… Over the next 6 weeks, we will offer…explore…experience…taste…a variety of different "flavours" of worship...ways you too can taste and see that the Lord is good. Some of these themes might resonate more with you than others, some may seem familiar and others may be new to you. Each one is an invitation to do as Jesus said in John 1 verse 39, "Come and See".

We begin this series with the theme of Resilience of Spirit ...knowing that despite the state of the world these days...there is still strength of spirit, hope and love rising....and these themes are often themes found through the language of jazz, blues, and gospel music with its rich African-American history and deep roots emerging from that.

Because this is a service with music as a thread through it, the lyrics to some of the pieces that will be performed are attached to this post. Perhaps meditating on the words will also speak to your soul…and, when you get to the service, if you know these songs, DO sing along!

Connecting in Prayer

Prayer: by Jennifer Swanson

God of Hope,

stir in us the whisperings of Your deep and abiding Love.

Wake us up to the voices that often don’t get heard.

Teach us new ways to think, to act, to serve.

Help us all to breathe in Your Spirit.

As we move into the rest of our day,

remind us of Your presence among every single one of Your children

on this planet….in every moment.

May we, as followers of Jesus, seek fervently to bring Your Kin-dom into view

as Jesus imagined it…

And may we live into Your vision of a far more gentle,

kind, just, compassionate and loving world.

For this we so desperately pray.

Amen.