Good Church

I generally find church to be a good experience, but some days, for whatever reasons, it's better than others. Today was one of those days.

Before the service, we learned that a beloved member of our congregation passed away earlier this morning. He was one of those "salt of the earth" people. The loss is deep. Drew (our rector) decided we needed to adjust the plan for the service to include some moments of comfort. Gerald suggested our version of "Give Me Jesus" for the offertory. Monique had never heard our arrangement, but she caught on right away.

The whole service felt strong and moving. When we got to the offertory, we sang and play like a true trio. It felt like the right song at the right moment. During communion, we ended with Chris Tomlin's "Amazing Grace." For the final chorus of "My chains are gone," Gerald and Monique dropped out on instruments and we did a 3-part acapella vocal. Powerful!

Our team started in the craziness of Advent, but in the last two months, we've had a real chance to learn each other's strength's and gel as a team. It feels awesome, and I hope it ultimately means that we can provide amazing music that will help lead the people of St. John's in a vibrant time of worship on Sunday mornings.

In the afternoon, we grabbed Monique and Jason for lunch at Swatow in China Town, forgetting that today is the first day of Chinese New Year! There were celebrations up and down Spadina, and while we were eating, a dancing dragon came in our restaurant and danced around the tables. Just another reason why I love living in a multicultural city!

I saw Boni this afternoon and she gave me bags and bags of sheet music, song books, CDs, and Worship Leader magazines! I can't wait to spend an evening going through them. It's like I've been given free reign on a treasure chest!

Good church - good day!