I was blown away.
Bret Mavrich and his team (Brandi, Kevin & Amy, the good folks at Unity Church of Jesus Christ) absolutely nailed this. For those of you who missed it, the idea was to create an altar of worship for the Creator and Master Artist (that would be Jesus, btw) during the Arts Fest in State College. Bret called for worship leaders and intercessors (praying people) to step up, come together, and saturate those few days with worship and prayer.
Attendance was light overall, but that was not a big disappointment to us. The camera guy from WTAJ was a little put off–he thought it was going to be a Christian Music Concert! For those of us who participated, the extended time of worship and prayer was water to the parched soul, or fire to the dry kindling, depending on which metaphor you prefer.)
Here are a couple of my highlights and gleanings:
*worshiping with people from other congregations and traditions. I can get stuck in a rut, even in my worship. I tend to sing songs that I like/know, and I tend to sing them the same way all the time. Worshiping with folks from different backgrounds stretched me. I LOVED the time with Adam and Aaron Miller. It was completely spontaneous, which is outside of my comfort zone. But it was so good.
*having Levi and Lilly join me (with KimmyD and Bret) for a couple of worship times was SOOOO good. I am so grateful for the way my kids are growing spiritually. Seeing them step up to sing praises to the Creator was like a gift to me from God. Levi actually stayed later than me Saturday night so that he could worship more.
*Kevin Sliman sent an email to several of us after everything wound down, encouraging us to make this more than an event. Though this “event” was small, what would it look like if we watered this little plant and saw it grow into something that shapes the church of State College? What if Happy Valley became known, instead of football and party school, for it’s healing, deliverance, life and miracles? (I think those are Bret’s words, but it’s going to be my prayer!)
I know that Bret has some ideas about how we can move forward from this good beginning, how we can begin to teach and train the next generation of worship leaders and intercessors, people who will love and pray for Happy Valley. I am excited about this humble beginning, grateful to have been part of this altar, and ready to work to see what God is going to do in the years to come.
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