We’re now entering into day 3 of our Institute Intensive Certificate Program.
On Monday we explored the riches of the past, and considered ways that beauty shapes both the heart and history (some of the artistic renaissance in the rediscovery of 3-dimensional realism that Peter believes created a perfect environment for reformation). We explored the joy of the contemporary worship experience, alongside of the parts of the Church’s historic ways of responding to God that we miss in our contemporary formats (ideas such as confession, communion, public reading of scripture, following the holidays and patterns of the church calendar for sake of touch the whole of the scriptures over ordered time, and much more).
With Lorna Jones, we became “present” to God and ourselves in beautiful Ignatian prayer exercises, awakening the heart to itself, and by doing so, causing us to both remember God, and to respond to Him, in the activities of the past few days of life.
Dr. Gregg Finley then took us deep into history, and specifically into the ideas resident in the anomaly that was Celtic Christianity in the Roman world, and how its colored believing worldview stood in contrast to the Western Christian worldviews of its day. With honesty and critical analysis, we reflected on its beauty and its brokeness, and sought to glean from it wisdom for present and blossoming Church patterns and ways of doing life.
Our afternoons hold 2 hour lunch and Reflection times, for resting the body, reading, enjoying the beautiful wilderness at Dominion Hill, and for spontaneous conversation and music. For most of these hard working worship leaders, this time away is as much a time of vital rest and retreat as it is a time of intensive study and reflection. Both seem to be going well as move out of the travel tiredness and are beginning to get our land legs again.
Today is day 3, and we move into studies in The Life Of Antony by Athanasius (early church views of spirituality and the beginning of monastic spirituality), theological ideas important to today’s worship leader from N.T. Wright and many others, and much more.
A few kitchen parties will grace our time, too, so those are anticipated as well. We have our Vineyard Canada Worship Development RoundTable joining us as well this weekend from around the country, so there will be some overlap from around the world buzzing around here.
Thanks for your prayers, friends.