Imagine, Music & Word - Day 1

I’m writing at 1:35 in the morning. I’m pretty much in the middle of nowhere, or at least it seems that way. I drove here in the dark and rain. There were deer waiting on the side of the road to jump in front of my car.

So, what does all this mean?

After supper tonight, I drove out to Ancaster to spend the weekend at the Imagine, Music and Word conference. We’re located at lovely Canterbury Hills Conference Centre, which is a camp-style conference centre. We’re all staying in cabins, and I’ve ended up in the party cabin. We have six ladies sharing one bathroom, and at 1:38am, none of us have made it to bed yet.

The evening started with an introduction to the theme “Colouring Outside the Lines” - how do we find new and innovative forms of worship. Over the weekend, creativity will be paramount.

Our evening worship started with prayer, and then a leader started playing a djembe. As the drumming continued, lots and lots of drums were brought out, and before long, everyone had a drum in their hands. We hit a rhythm as the drumming circle grew. Every minute or so, someone would walk up to the mic to read a prayer or scripture. The drumming would get softer, but the rhythm never ceased. The whole experience was organic and awesome.

After a little socializing, the jam session began. I really don’t know anyone here (just a few people I’ve met in passing), but I knew if I didn’t jump in tonight, I’d regret it. Our band topped out at 9 or 10 people, singing and playing worship songs. Then most people drifted off to bed, so we just kept going. After a while, we switched to classic pop songs. And then I realized - I still hadn’t found my cabin, much less unpacked yet.

So here I am, 1:45 in the morning, not quite in the middle of nowhere - in a warm cabin, with my bunk bed ready for me, surrounded by a wonderful group of musicians, and soon-to-be friends.

I think we’re about to have late night pie...

(After note: Late night pie didn’t happen because the ladies decided they wanted to get up at 7:00 am to take an early morning hike. I respectfully declined.)