church has left the building

Join Us In Creating the Future

2007-04-16T15:23:00.000-07:00

For information on the ongoing Mustard Seed Associates Journey visit our new and updated blogs The Mustard Seed Journey for information on the ongoing work of Mustard Seed Associates
The Mustard Seed Home for information about our Seattle Community
GodSpace - Christine Sine's blog about spiritual rhythms
Eliacin - Eliacin Rosario Cruz's blog

More Coming From Mustard Seed Associates

2007-04-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Tom and I were discussing MSA’s whirlwind activity of the past 12 months with our staff. Two things immediately came to mind—how incredibly productive and strategic our work has been in spite of some big challenges and painful losses; and how grateful we are for friends like you who’ve enabled us to partner with God to teach others how to simplify their faith and lifestyle and build the kingdom of God—one person and one church at time.

Here’s a snapshot of an amazing year.

Our April conference brought together an enthusiastic intergenerational, interdenominational group from the US, Canada, Britain and Australia who created new ideas for life, ministry and worship.

We continue receiving inspiring reports from people as far afield as Kenya and New Zealand who now use the spiritual liturgies and articles we’ve written to enrich their faith and develop new forms of Christian ministry based on putting God’s purposes first.

We’ve challenged hundreds of young people face-to-face, one-on-one at our workshops and conferences in the US, Canada, Spain and Britain—a new generation of disciples who have rededicated their lives to serving God with passion and simplicity.

Tom recently completed the first draft of his book Join the Conspiracy: Creating the Future One Mustard Seed at a Time. We’re all looking forward to its publication in 2007.

Our August Celtic retreat spurred new interest in the development of a Celtic Community on Camano Island. Since then monthly work parties have been visiting the land to pray and work.

Exciting and cutting edge? We pray so. We face some daunting challenges in our world today. Not only the poor but the middle class are being squeezed by the pressures of our fast-paced, globalized world. These challenges all provide exciting opportunities for Mustard Seed Associates to develop resources and host events that raise awareness and enable us to be part God’s loving response.

This is your invitation to join us in creating the future one mustard seed at a time. We have some exciting events planned for the summer of 2007 and hope that you will join us in our current blog the Mustard Seed Journey to find out the details.

church has left the building

2006-07-14T12:55:00.000-07:00

church has left the building
Join the Conversation

SCOTTISH CHURCH PLANTER JOINS US FOR OUR SECOND MSA FOLLOW-UP CONVERSATION....
JULY 20 THURSDAY AT 7 PM...FOR DESSERT AT THE SINE HOUSE...CALL FOR DIRECTIONS 206-524-2111

Peter and Deborah Neilson will be joining us for our second conversation to follow-up our April Conference.. THE CHURCH HAS LEFT THE BUILDING. Peter has developed pastoral and training support for 12 new church plants sponsored by The Church of Scotland for the past 3 years... including the “Church for the Club Culture” to serve the night life in Edinburgh... as well as several other emerging church plants.

Peter and Deborah are eager to meet you and discover the creative edge of what God is doing in Seattle... in both emerging and established church.
They will share the creative edge of what God is doing through the “post-Christendom” church in Scotland. We will also continue our conversations about conference follow-up- We will serve a Scottish desert and a proper cup of tea to all comers..

BRING YOURSELF-BRING A FRIEND--- BRING SOME CREATIVE IDEAS!!!

Please RSVP by July 15th by either calling 206-524-2111 or sending an email to mail@msainfo.org.

Attention Seattleites

2006-05-04T17:11:00.000-07:00

Join us for our first conversation of our Summer series
June 1st, 7PM @ The Fremont Abbey

Topic: Life after the building.
This will be an extension of the creativity time from the conference and follow up on the creative ideas born there. If you couldn't attend the conference you'll want to be apart of this.

Hello Photo

2006-05-03T10:16:00.000-07:00

We've got pictures of the conference up on flickr. Take a look or email us with your own to add.

Conference Photos

Leaving the building

2006-05-01T16:10:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone for making The Church Has Left the Building such a great event. Such a broad array of people showed up from all over the globe to celebrate, connect and create new possibilities.

Many have wondered how to stay connected after the gathering. We invite you to continue to use this blog to keep us updated on your ministries outside the building as well as share your practical concerns/ideas for leaving the building. You can stay updated with MSA events and issues by signing up for our e-zine Seed Sampler. There is also the possibility of starting a list serve (email us if you're interested at mail[at]msainfo[dot]org).

If you're still in Seattle on Friday May 5th you will want to go to Queen Anne United Methodist Church @ 7:30 pm to see the latest film in their Love and Justice Film Series "The Great Warming" which we also highlighted in our last Seed Sampler about Earth Day. You have the unique opportunity to screen the film before it hits the theaters, so please come check it out and bring your friends along. Although their film nights are usually free, they are asking for a small donation for this one, as there are expenses involved in distributing it in the US (it is a Canadian-made film). Please take the time to check it out and find out what you can do to help curb environmental consumption and be kind to our neighbors around the world.

Find more Film Info at:
http://www.thegreatwarming.com/

Check list

2006-04-26T10:30:00.000-07:00

Have you registered?
Have you packed your laptop?
Are you bringing your camera/musical instrument for open mic and the creativity sessions?
Do you have directions to Trinity United Methodist?
Map of 6512 23rd Ave Nw
Seattle, WA 98117-5728, US

See you Friday @ 9 am!

View General Weekend Schedule

And the winner is...

2006-04-25T10:18:00.000-07:00

Nigel Mann of Australia submitted the winning lyrics with his song Lord Let Us See the Day

Thank you all for sharing your creativity with us in our kingdom song writing contest. We had a rich array of excellent entries. Our staff reviewed all the lyrics with Eric Hanson, professor of music at Seattle Pacific University, looking both at biblical imagery and lyrical form. Aaron Strumpel and Tracy Howe of The Restoration Project have written music for Nigel's song and look forward to sharing it the conference. Look for the lyrics to Lord Let Us See the Day in the next Seed Sampler.

Thanks again for your inspired participation in the contest.

Bring your laptops

2006-04-21T10:54:00.000-07:00

We've got wi-fi hook ups!

Coming soon

2006-04-13T09:44:00.000-07:00

It is now just two weeks until the beginning of the conference and we are really excited about the way that everything is coming together. Make sure that you come and join us with your thinking caps on and your creative juices flowing. Karen Ward and Mark Pierson will launch our time at 9am Friday with a great worship experience. Shane Claiborne and Tom Sine will help stir us into action and other presenters will give us glimpses of the weekend and send us out into the creativity sessions. We are looking forward to some great discussions about issues of justice, worship, enviromental issues, and who knows what else to keep our creativity moving and help s develop new ideas for life & ministry.
The urban experience is shaping up to be a wonderful opportunity not just to stretch our legs but to literally get ourselves out of the building and experience where God is at work in the communites around us. We heard today that the gym (our coffee space) is being wired for internet connection - another answer to prayer, so make sure you come prepared to blog the event too.
This has not been an easy event to get ready for. As I mentioned in a previous posting, working to make the conference represent our values and our concerns has raised many chllenges for us - but exciting to see how God has worked to help us maintain these values. We have ordered our green bags & are working on the recycled mugs. We will have copies of Geez magazine to put in all the registration pckets & Heroessubs.com is making some wonderful sandwiches for us (yes we all do better with good food) and we will also have some great coffee & tea available. Our one big challenge is that we want to record the sessions and do not yet have enough digital recorders to make this possible - so still something to pray about but then why would we need faith if everything turned out right the first time?
Blessings
Christine

Think about it

2006-03-31T16:03:00.000-08:00

(Eliacin here) As an outsider (someone from a non-white-prosperous-northern country who lives now as an exiled in a white-prosperous-northern country) I consider a lot of our popular theologies,theologies done from a position of previlege in which real life struggles are left untouched. Many of them are just ideas formulated among white-rich-men surrounded by books and papers. People with the means to sit down for hours to study and talk among themselves about the intellience of faith. That academic-exclusivist-alienated way of doing theology still looms over the new theologies emerging today.

Third World theologians remind us that theology can't be separated from the struggle for justice and equality. Nor can't it be done outside the community of faith.

Among the many functions of theology today two are most urgent: how theology collaborates in the liberation of the oppressed, who are today's "crucified Christs" and how theology helps to preserve the memory of God so that we do not lose the sentiment and sacredness of human life which is threatened by a culture of superficiality, consumption and entertainment. We should always unite faith with justice, where a perspective of liberation is born, keeping the flame of our sacred lamp burning so that it can feed the hope for a better future for the Earth and all humanity.

Leonardo Boff

Just think about it.

Question...

2006-03-29T11:36:00.000-08:00

As creation care is on the list for discussion at the conference I am wondering:
What is the Christian responsibility (if any) to God's creation?

Christian Co-Housing Learning Party

2006-03-22T13:13:00.000-08:00

The Bartimaeus Community invites friends after the conference (April 30) to catch the ferry to Silverdale and join them for a three hour learning party, "On the Journey towards Christian Community," and a meal. They will have 7 of their 22 units constructed and we will meet in their new common building.

Space is limited (100 slots). Go the registration page to sign up now for this free event!

Worship and Current Events

2006-03-20T21:51:00.000-08:00

Many of the songs I write have come out of specific people I have known and communities I have been a part of. I was labeled a folk musician because my music was about and for people. However, it was always my heart that I would do more than document the people and communities I had intersected (though I believe to remember is to honor as well). I desired always to set my songs against a backdrop of immense hope. This was my offering and worship.

As I grow and mature in my understanding and expressions of worship, I see that many of the Psalms do the same thing. They document specific people and communities and events, celebrate God’s faithfulness and declare his promises in the midst of oppression. My latest album is my first official worship album. I am excited to bring to the front of it God’s promises for restoration and the prophecies of Isaiah as it applies to the broken and suffering in today’s world. I wanted to share an example.

I have not visited Brazil, though I plan to this coming August. I have been learning Portuguese for over a year and learning about Brazil, preparing to meet the people. In the process I have learned about many hard things the Brazilian people struggle with. I learned of several horrible massacres where police were “dealing with” the homeless youth population in Rio. The Candelaria massacre occured in Rio de Janeiro on the night of July 23, 1993. Eight street children were killed as police gunmen shot at a group of about seventy street children as they slept beside the Candelaria Church. And so I wrote a worship song, declaring God’s love for these children. It is a love, I confess, that scares me as it is so woven with mercy and justice. Maybe that is why I have not written worship songs like this before, because it so deeply connects me to a love that connects me to these children and I cannot turn away from them.

When You Call
Copyright 2006 Tracy Howe

When you call, call to me
I am waiting to hide you in my arms
When you cry, cry to me
Oh child, I have not turned away

When you run, run to me
Fear cannot find you when I hide you in my arms
When they come with their guns
Oh child, I’ll be with you ‘till the end

Though the world does not see you
And men have their way with you
Sweet mercy flows from me
Sweet mercy flows

And I will rise
I will rise for you
I will rise
I will rise

Think about it.

2006-03-14T13:02:00.000-08:00

I (Eliacin, a plebian with no credential whatsoever) will be facilitating a conversation on the Future of the Americas. Recently I found this quote from Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez which I consider worthy thinking about it.

South America has changed," he said. "A worker is president of Brazil - there comes Lula; an Indian is president of Bolivia; a woman is president of Chile, and in Venezuela, a revolutionary soldier, which is what I am."

Hugo Chavez

Kingdom Song Contest Update

2006-03-13T16:46:00.000-08:00

We are thrilled with the great response to the Kingdom Song Contest. Daily we receive very creative and compelling lyrics.

Several people have asked how the lyrics will be judged. We have asked Eric Hansen, a Professor of Music at Seattle Pacific University, to join our staff in reviewing the submissions and choosing which song to feature at our conference.

The songs will be judged according to their content (how compelling are the lyrics in giving expression to the biblical imagery of a great resurrected multi-cultural community coming home to a restored creation as described in Isaiah) and style (how well the lyrics work in a song-we will rely heavily on Eric Hansen's input for this part).

We have asked Tracey Howe and Aaron Strumpel of the Restoration Project to put music to the winning entry (unless music was included in the entry- you over-achievers you!) We plan to perform the winning song at the conference. We will announce the winning entry in the May Seed Sampler. Thanks again for all of you who have taken time to so generously share your lyrics with us. Keep them coming and just remember to get your lyrics in by March 31.

Early Registration Ends March 15

2006-03-13T11:11:00.000-08:00

Be sure to register for the conference by midnight (Pacific Standard Time) Wednesday to get the early registration discount!

Click here to register

The values game

2006-03-01T10:28:00.000-08:00

Over the last couple of weeks we have spent a lot of time discussing the values that we want to under gird this conference - not as easy as one would think especially as it leads to difficult decisions at times - like chosing values rather than what is the cheapest way to go and with the tight budget we have that is not always an easy decision.
First we want this conference to reflect our concerns about justice. We will have a number of workshops that highlight this but we also want it to be reflected in other aspects of the conference. We will only be serving fair traded coffee & coffee at our break times. Coping with lunches is a little more challenging. We don't want to do box lunches - that would create a mountain of waste for us to get rid of - not at all good for the environment. We are thinking of asking a group like Heroes (a program that helps people reclaim their lives by teaching them to be chefs) to do our lunches but of course that is more expensive then buying ready made from somewhere like Safeways - cheap but they definitely don't have the world's best employee policies and their values do not seem to be consistent with ours.
Second we want to raise concerns about environmental issues. We are trying to get recycled plastic bags like Wholefoods uses donated for people to carry their conference items in. We would also like to get recycled plastic mugs for each person rather than using a mountain of paper cups for coffee & lunches. We will set up recycle bins and are also hoping to have a compost bin - a little more challenging
Third we want to emphasize the call to simplicity. We have struggled with whether or not to serve lattes - obviously very popular in Seattle and it might even have been a fund raiser for us but we have decided that we should drink tea and coffee the way the rest of the world does - most people don't even have lattes and espresso as an option and certainly could not afford to pay for them if they were avilable.
We also want to highlight the values of God's kingdom - what I call God's shalom values - hence the Song Contest and the urban walk on Friday afternoon. I teach a class on cross cultural adaptation and one of the questions I like to ask is - what will the culture of the kingdom of God look like? Most of us have no idea. We beleive that at the centre will be the values of love and compassion, justice for the poor, concern for those at the margins and freedom from oppression. I think a lot of people will get a shock when they enter the kingdom of God because it will be a real cross cultural experience for them.
Examining our values and grappling with the implications for our lives is so important for all of us - particularly at the beginning of Lent. Would appreciate any comments you may have on what other values we should seek to represent and how we can represent these effectively during our conference.
Shalom - Christine

"The Lists"...topics and speakers

2006-02-28T13:12:00.000-08:00

We've got our line-up of topics/workshops/discussions for the gathering as well as speakers/guides/curators. Check them out.

Think About it.

2006-02-17T14:53:00.000-08:00

This is the first of a series of quotes, thoughts, metaphors, art and other holy mischeviousness that will frequently pop up here in order to inspire our imaginations, create new ways to see life and connect us with one another and the rest of our global tribe.

Our context today is characterized by a glaring disparity between the rich and the poor. No serious Christian can quietly ignore this situation. It is no longer possible for someone to say, “Well, I didn’t know” about the suffering of the poor. Poverty has a visibility today that it did not have in the past. The faces of the poor must now be confronted. And we also understand the causes of poverty and the conditions that perpetuate it. There was a time when poverty was considered to be an unavoidable fate, but such a view is no longer possible or responsible. Now we know that poverty is not simply a misfortune; it is an injustice.

Of course, there always remains the practical question: what must we do in order to abolish poverty? Theology does not pretend to have all the technical solutions to poverty, but it reminds us never to forget the poor and also that God is at stake in our response to poverty. An active concern for the poor is not only an obligation for those who feel a political vocation; all Christians must take the Gospel message of justice and equality seriously. Christians cannot forgo their responsibility to say a prophetic word about unjust economic conditions. Pope John Paul II’s approach to the phenomenon of globalization is a good example. He constantly asks: “How is this going to affect the poor? Does it promote justice?”

Gustavo Gutierrez
Via - americamagazine.org

Where to stay while in Seattle

2006-02-16T17:37:00.000-08:00

This link will take you to a handful of hotels in Seattle that are located in Seattle center. They are all a quick bus ride away from the venue. Email us if you have any questions.

Click here to check out hotels.

Calling all Poets and Lyricists

2006-02-16T14:19:00.000-08:00

Last year we asked people on our mailing list what they would like to see included in our upcoming gathering and the wave of creative ideas was overwhelming. We have taken the input very seriously and included many ideas in the design of the gathering.

Now we issuing another invitation MSA invites our friends all over the world to write a song for the gathering. If we are serious about getting the church out of the building we need a song to motivate the followers of Jesus to join God’s purposes to transform a people and restore our world. You don’t have to be a musician to participate. We are simply asking you to write lyrics for music that reminds of God’s love for a world.

The problem as we see it. Many of our worship songs might lead one to conclude that God’s mission is to rescue our disembodied souls for the clouds… “leaving clothes behind on air plane seats.” The problem is that an eschatology of escape tends to disconnect our faith from both real life and the real world. This kind of music will never motivate us to leave the building and care about the urgent needs filling our planet. We need some new lyrics that reconnects us with God’s loving purposes for a people and a world.

Tom Wright, British theologian, when speaking at Seattle Pacific University last year, stated, “Heaven is not our home!” In his book on resurrection he reminds us the bible teaches that at the return of Christ we will be bodily resurrected… not to head to the clouds…but to come home to a restored creation. We will have new bodies but real bodies. We will come home as a resurrected community to a future in which God not only intends to transform and redeem us but all of creation as well (check out I Corinthians 15 regarding the promise of believer’s resurrection).

Your challenge… write a song that reminds us about God’s purposes for a people and a world. Start by looking at the imagery of Isaiah 2:1-4…suddenly Mount Zion becomes raised above all other mountains then we see a great multicultural resurrected community coming home to a world made new in which swords are made into plowshares and God will settle disputes between the nations. In Isaiah 25:6-9 we witness a great homecoming celebration on the top of the mountain enjoying “the best of food and finest of wine.” In Isaiah 35:1-7 there is imagery describing when the blind will see, the deaf will hear and the “lame will leap like a deer.” More than that the passage reflects imagery of God’s good creation being restored to wholeness too. In Isaiah 9:2-7 we are shown the imagery of the coming of the Prince of Shalom and his commitment to bringing justice, righteous and peace to this troubled world.

So what kind of lyrics are we looking for? We are looking for lyrics that celebrate the resurrected community of God’s people coming home to future in which God brings justice to the poor, wholeness to the broken and peace to the nations. We want to see lyrics that aren’t spiritualized… but make these vivid images compellingly come to life in the tough world in which we live today… so we can actually see images of people’s lives and communities in some of the tough places on our planet being changed.

This vision is not in the clouds… and it isn’t disconnected from real life and real world. Also it is a very different dream than the individualistic pursuit of “more” that drives the global economy….and captures the lives of too many Christians today.

In other words it is a vision that calls us beyond ourselves and into God’s world. It calls us to leave the building to both be a difference and make a difference in response to the urgent needs that fill our world.

We will share the winning song at our conference April 28th and 29th. If we choose to publish any lyrics submitted we will work with the author on a standard contract. We hope you can come and hear your winning song. We need to have your entries submitted by March 30th. Send us your lyrics on the great resurrected homecoming of the people of God…that more fully reflect God’s loving purposes for a people and a world. We will respond to all entries. This contest is sponsored by Mustard Seed Associates and reflects our mission to help followers of Jesus to take God’s kingdom purposes more seriously in our lives and communities of faith.

Our deepest hope is that we will see some new music emerge that calls us beyond ourselves and gives a reason to roll out of bed Monday morning that is more about making a difference instead of making a dollar. Please get your lyrics into as soon as possible. Remember we need them by the end of March. We are looking forward to hearing from you and reading your creative lyrics. Submit lyrics to mail@msainfo.org with “Song Contest” in the subject line.

The Urban Experience

2006-02-14T18:25:00.000-08:00

gcoefamily's suggestion is spot on with part of what we are hoping to accomplish with the conference. Friday afternoon, from about 3pm onwards, is dedicated to an urban experience. We plan to give conference participants some basic instructions & ideas about the community and then send them out to walk the streets of Ballard and Fremont to gain a sense of God's presence and work in the community. This is not just a time to walk and pray, it is a time to really get a sense of how God feels about the community and where God is already at work in the community...asking questions of those who know the most about the community (shop assistants, community workers, homeless people and passers by on the street): "Where are you aware of God's presence in this community?" would get some amazing responses I think. Asking the even more provocative question "How do you think that the church could best serve this community?" would probably receive some even more startling responses.

Often we don't know how to engage the communities in which God has placed us because we never get out and listen to the voices through which God is speaking to us. God speaks through many aspects of the communities around us - through the people that live in the community, through those that work or shop in the community, through the homeless people that live on the streets and through the needs that we observe in the community to name but a few.

We want people to get out and listen to the community - take photos, write poetry & reflections and as well as that we hope that some people will bring video cameras and do some interviews like gcoefamily suggest. Friday evening will be an open mike time in the cafe area for people to share their experiences, observastion, photos & video clips. This is a great way to get us out of the building and help us understand how we can really be God's people in our communities and around the world.
Christine

2006-02-09T12:12:00.000-08:00

Hi,
Nice to see the website up and running and attracting some interest.
I'm looking forward to the conference but have a mountain or two to climb before then. Last night a group of us met under the Parallel Universe Worship Collective umbrella to plan worship for Easter Saturday here in downtown Melbourne. Dead Man Waiting is our title. Not much idea of the content yet but we liked the idea of dark and gloomy (always so much more fun than bright and cheery!), lots of dry ice, blacklight, and a wall of projected images - still and moving. This weekend I'm working with a church to help them see some new possibilities for their corporate worship.
Mark

Worship Has Left the Building, Part I…

2006-02-09T10:58:00.000-08:00

by Tracy Howe

Though I had a deep and intimate faith and it had been the foundation of all my music and relationship, going to a local fellowship to worship and even leading well known worship songs often seemed so shallow to me. I resolved it must be because of my own arrogance and immaturity and kind of forced myself to do it. It has only been in the last several years, coming into a family of Levite like, artist missionary, public worship leaders that my passion for worship has been ignited and vision for worship restoring the Kingdom of God has come alive. Notwithstanding my arrogance, or the sincerity and power of well known worship songs, I have found, and become part of, a tribe of worshippers celebrating the presence of God outside of Church buildings.

In hind sight, one of the reasons I seemed to rebel against worship (as I knew it) was the worship experience seemed to be divisive in it’s containment to a building and the narrow demographic of people it held. Worship is an eternal act and one of the few things we do on earth and in heaven. And if, in heaven, when the Kingdom is restored, we are all together, why on earth, when it is our work to restore the Kingdom, do we move backwards by dividing ourselves in buildings either to keep people in or out?

Here is an excerpt from “The Question For Worship Leaders,” an article by my friend Ben Pasley (www.bluerenaissance.com).

Here are a few insights, however, that may help us in our discovery. A quick study of the design of the Temple in Jerusalem reveals that the mass choirs and music of the Levites could be easily heard all over the Temple platform. The music performance area was open to the court of the Gentiles via the open roof and the large open entryways. People from every nation, gathering on the huge Temple platform for trade or tourism, could hear the awesome songs of worship to God! This is an amazing picture. It reveals that the Psalmists were well aware that all of there songs would be heard by the nations of the world. The crying, the repenting, the thanksgiving, and the wild praise would all be on display on the most public platform in the eastern world. Jerusalem was a primary trade route between Persia and the Mediterranean and between Egypt and Assyria. This public worship would be the modern equivalent of doing outdoor worship ministry in Times Square or the lawns of Parliament buildings of the world’s greatest nations...every day and for all the world to see!

A Recent Example…

I work with an amazing group in Minneapolis called Source. Source is a believing community in the heart of Minneapolis serving at risk youth. They interact with people primarily through an art gallery, a music venue, and transitional housing. Every summer they hold an art festival, and as they have genuine relationship with many artists in the city, believing or not, they fill the street with stages and booths for people to display their work and present their music and poetry. They are also passionate about giving a voice to the people they serve and so there were community murals, open mics and much opportunity to express yourself.

This past summer myself, a few other Blue Renaissance artists and the Psalters were there as artists and worship leaders. After a long day of art festival type activity, we all took the stage and started leading worship. The result was several hundred people worshiping in the street, painting, dancing, (we even had one fire dancer) declaring the promises and hope of the Living God in a broken, violent, and impoverished area of the city. I believe the worship that was offered that evening impacted the entire city.

The bottom line is God moved and the Holy Spirit who has the power to draw and unite people moved. But I also think the success lay in the journey together as opposed to the presentation of a few to the masses. We sang about a God who loved the people right in front of us. We sang about hope for the people who lived one block away and we welcomed their voices too. There was live feed journaling on the video screens and painters on stage with us. As a worship leader that night, I prayed for God to do exactly what he did for Gomer the prostitute (Hosea’s wife). He called her into the wilderness and spoke words of comfort to her; he showed her hope, and her song was restored.

14 "Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. 15 There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
His beauty enraptured me that night in all the people. And I longed for their songs to be heard. I needed them to help me understand the fullness of God’s character and love.

See pictures from the Source festival
Tracy will be hosting a music writing workshop at the conference.