Some Highlights from the Symposium

I've had a few days to try to digest some of what I learned at the conference...I can't say that I have completed this task--in some ways I wonder if I have even started. But, regardless, here are a few highlights...

We were "introduced" to a man named Pablo Sosa from Argentina. He led a workshop on "Just Worship" where we asked questions about how to worship in the midst of injustice. I don't know that I have any answers to those questions. I don't know if we can encounter God in worship without also becoming more aware of the depravity of our world, realizing that the gospel message is one about justice and restoration, as well as salvation. Pablo shared with us some of his music, which we also sang in worship throughout the weekend. I have rarely encountered a person so enthusiastic in his worship leading. One song, in particular, moved me to tears. He explained that there are 30,000 people missing in Argentina. He and some other people wanted to walk in protest to the person's house who has played a large role in these people disappearing, but they didn't want to stop there--they wanted to be able to walk on from there with hope. And so, he wrote a song that announces that this is the moment when those stiffled voices will cry out. Powerful music. Powerful truth. If you speak Spanish, you'll really enjoy his music. If you don't speak Spanish, no worries--he prints the English words on the cd covers, too.

Another highlight...
I went to a workshop on "Crafting prayers and other words for worship". One thing the speaker talked about was how we tend to use the same metaphors over and over for God. In so doing, we also use the same verbs. So, she made a list of other names for God in scripture and had us write prayers using those names. She was right--as we used different names for God, we also used different verbs. It makes me wonder if in our corporate worship we limit our perception of God because we limit our language. (Of course, our language is limited when it comes to God, anyway, but maybe we limit ourselves more than we need to?)