OK, so I will try to stay positive for at least the first half of this post...
AnCon *sigh*...where to begin? Words will never do justice to the richness of the experience. Do I sound like I'm dreaming? I wish the memory would not fade so fast...clear blue skies and spectacular views; people, lots of people, old friends, new friends; music and singing...Holy, holy, holy rocked (quite literally), Ancient of Days was jazzy and Behold the Lamb of God went slightly techno, along with a few others...My personal favourite was when we sung Amazing Grace at the end of one of the main evening sessions, followed closely by You are my King at the last session. I know singing is not just about the experience, but being there with 370(?) other people all getting into the music, was like, wow.
What else...an informative seminar on what worship is (and what it is not); challenging and inspiring morning sessions with talks by Ian Powell on Heroes of the Church; room group bible studies conducted while huddled under blankets because it was cold; time out to pray facing the ocean, or swinging on swings, under that fantastic blue sky we had everyday all week (praise the Lord!); staying up 'til 3am chatting; endless cups of tea in styrofoam cups....and of course, the main sessions with talks by Andrew Katay on The Church.
Jesus IS the church - the essence of church is the presence of Jesus, by his word and through his Spirit. Saved by grace, so church by grace. What the church is for - to know, love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ, his church and the world, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to the glory of God the Father. The church's life is it's mission (and vice versa).
So what does it all mean? Haha, well between my sleep-deprived head and my scrawled notes, it does make some sort of sense to me. And in terms of concrete action...well, I will be praying that if is God's will for my life to be part of the *apostolic associated ministry*, He will make it clear...it's a small start.
So I've probably lost everyone who wasn't at AnCon by now...but what can I say? I loved it. One of the best weeks I've had all year, if not THE best.
And now it's back to uni tomorrow. It's hard to shine like the stars in a place that weighs you down so much. But that's what we're called to do. And we have so much to be thankful for.
One day at a time. The darkness of night brings with it the promise of sleep, that temporary sweet relief from your own mind, and the thoughts that swirl inside.
the next day, the next day -
it was only a matter of balance.
10 comments:
yeah, 'twas a great week. challenging at times, but good. it's good to be challenged sometimes. and i agree, the music was excellent.
if i could play bass i would offer my services, but sadly am completely un-musical.
personally, i liked your approproation of Gwen Harwood viv.
'appropriation'! That's the word! I was wondering what it was called...I'm glad I have friends who know their English stuff really well :)
Yeah, I've been trying to incorporate the riff they did for See Him Coming into the way I play it...but you know, it doesn't sound quite right. I think if we played those arrangements at church, even with the right instruments, it would sound wrong.
They were unequivocally AnCon arrangements!
aargh! i just realised i spelt appropriation wrong. that was a typo though, so it doesn't count right?
Wow Kat, you found me among those hundreds of photos? Hehe, yeah, Andrew Filmer...is he the guys we ran into on the bus to uni one time? Does he do magic tricks? I think he was leading the magic team...or he could've been helping out with the street drama...but that was Marcus....hmmm, one of those anyways...
Yes, correct on the skit as well (but shhh....hope none of my younger church friends going to Rice read this before Sat night)...I'm guessing Marcus is recycling this skit? :P
Haha...it's a small world...yes, I'm really looking forward to this Sat, it should be great!
Ah, that's cool! I didn't even know about it, sigh, I've really lost touch with them all. Hehe, it's a good skit - we did it at the bondi pavilion theatre shows, but andrew got carried away (he was the seargent) and spat in my face!!! (i was the last cadet). Haha, and the theatre was full so I couldn't even do anything about it until we finished.
oh the memories...
anyway, if you see him/marcus/anthea/any others say hi from me :) And tell them to rsvp to my 21st!!
Kath xx
*tut tut* technical assault...
how did the skit go? and general RICE things?
yes yes how was it Vivian? Scary? adrenaline rush, wanna be an actor now? :P
No, not as scary as I thought it would be....had a very hard time trying not to laugh though. Thank God for the ominous looking RED exit signs at the back of the hall (has anyone else ever seen exit signs with the letters glowing red? I thought they were all green with white writing)
Anyway, I was looking at them trying not to laugh, I hate how the audience gets to laugh and you have to remain perfectly serious...i think i would make a very bad actor, especially in a comedy.
I've heard AnCon music has always been very good due to the fact that the Con musos go to AnCon!!! I know Marki used to play for AnCon - and they always did really funky arrangements. Err... if u don't know who Marki (Mark Lau - jazz bassist) is, he used to go to WS and headed up music.. he left a bit of a legacy with us.. ask Andrew Wong about him. :)
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