The Lord is calling us to go beyond what we know for He has much more to reveal to us, just as He revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush and gave him his mission after Moses had taken his flock to the far side of the desert. His word spoken through a member of our community has greatly encouraged us as we began our life together as a fledgling ministry. On various levels, we have been and are being challenged to go beyond our comfort zones, and the promise that God will reveal Himself to us and lead us every step of the way continues to encourage us to go forward, seeking His glory. Jesus is calling us to come to Him, to cross the suspension bridges ( a very real image for some of us in the team!) of our fears and lack of trust, to enjoy the feast prepared for us and to seek Him in the midst of questions and not knowing - we see the golden thread of God's word to us and continue to glorify Him and give Him thanks!
To put it in a nutshell, the aim of the worship ministry is to use the gift of music to glorify God. We seek to promote the celebration of Jesus' presence in our lives, and in our Church and its liturgy especially the Eucharist, and to encourage especially the future generation of Catholics in their expression of love and worship of their Saviour.
So what have we been up to?
We've spent the past month praying together,sharing faith stories, clarifying practical things like protocols for practices, going through and shortlisting songs we want to focus on (both English and German), planning for the next couple of months, brainstorming the name for the ministry as well as fund-raising ideas, working on some new songs and practising for the weekly Sunday worship as well as the upcoming outreaches.
One big blessing I am very grateful for has been to find the members of the team clicking very well with one another. We are quite different in our personalities and backgrounds! :-) Therefore, what's especially significant for us is that in our times of worship as a team, we always experience the presence of God in our midst, uniting us and bringing us back to the heart of why each of us are here, which is to worship Him and love Him with all that we are, and as one body! \0/
Finally, here's sharing with you the schedule of upcoming events which we will be involved in:
October 21, Freiburg
- a 2 hour programme during the Open Church Day of the parish.
October 24-26, Allerheiligen
- live-in seminar with 5 youth from Leipzig. Contact person is Klemens Saket.
October 27-November 5, Berlin
- supporting the outreach planned by the youth work of the charismatic renewal of Germany which includes intercession, outreach to local groups of Berlin and possibly schools.
November 6-10, FSJ
- Derek and Ben serving at FSJ
November 10-12, Wurtsburg
- running a programme with Wurtsburg youth group based on the theme of the Cross.
November 17-18, Ravensburg
- attending a worship conference which gathers worship leaders all over Germany. We are going there to learn and witness what God is doing nationwide.
November 19, Ausburg
- serving through leading worship at mass. This parish sponsors missionary work and has chosen ICPE Germany to be their beneficiary this month.
November 20-December 2, FSJ
- Derek, Bea and Ben serving at FSJ
December 3-28, Asia
- serving in Life in the Spirit Seminar in Johor Bahru, Malaysia
- attending Planetshakers Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- visiting and ministering to ICPE Manila community
Ju, our sound technician will join us in Asia and plans to arrive in Allerheiligen either on 28 or 29 December. Super! And God willing, we are hoping and praying for a drummer and a bass guitarist to join the team. Hence the ample space in the band photo for more members to come!
Please continue to pray for us.
You know that it is not the noise we make in our lives or the things we see that count, but the love with which we do the will of God.
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