Moving Forward
It has been great to have Shawn with us over the last few months. I would like thank him for all the effort and sacrifice he has made.It has been great to see so many new members in the team as well.Well as a lot of you will of picked up in the last meeting at YCC, Steph, I and Eden are going to be moving on in the new year. We have been praying about this for sometime now. I am sorry that I didn't get the opportunity to tell you all personally before it was blurted out. We are planning on moving to the Longlevens area of Gloucester, to be part of a new vineyard church plant. I will be one of the worshipleaders in the church. The church will be starting as a house church, to get the emphasis that we are all family. Steph will more than likely start a Mother and Baby group in the area. The church will be a community striving the be more like Jesus together. We are really excited about being at the beginning of a church formation.We have really enjoyed being part of the Worship team, we think you are all wonderful. It has been great to see you getting fired up again with Shawn coming. Sometimes we just need a freshness of something new a different. Please do not think that our decision to leave YCC has been born out of shawn coming, we have been praying about this before we ever met Shawn. We will only be an hour and a half up the road and hope to see you all regularly.With much LoveJase, Steph & Eden.
Change is a foot
Worship has been an interesting subject of late in YCC. If you have an opinion about it, which I'm sure you do. Please give feedback to Rich, Mal or Jase. As we are in the process of trying to discern what should happen to take us forward.I must apologize for letting my frustration take me over. I know there is a lot of frustrated worshippers in YCC at the moment. But lets please work together. Through unity is the only way will come through this. If our frustration is causing division, then it's probably not from God. If you are frustrated, tell Rich, Mal or Jase. If your frustration is about one of us then talk to the one your frustrated with. If you want to encourage us we would really welcome that as well. As these are trying times.God Bless you all, I know that if we all work together with will overcome.
Worship Conferences
I will try and keep you all up to date with Worship Conference information. I know of two worth going to so far, there will be more. I will put up the information for the others as soon as I find out.New Wine Networks/Worship School with Don Williams15th-17th October 2005 Trinity Church, CheltenhamPrice (Still awaiting, but it wont be much)Don Williams will be doing a weekend conference: On the friday evening (15th) Don will be doing a session for songwriters. On the Saturday (16th) he will be doing a conference looking at the whole areas of worship and leadership (approx 9.30-4.00pm). For anyone interested, Don will also be speaking at our youth congregation (the Path) on the Saturday night, again at Trinity Church, and anyone would also be very welcome to join us at any of our sunday congegations (9.15, 11.15, 5.00, 7.00).Worship Expereince 200525th - 27th November 2005The Devonshire Park Complex, EastbournePrice £65 (if you book before 31st May) £75 (Before 15th Sept) £85 (After that)There will be 4 main celebrations during the weekend and a chance to participate in up to 5 optional seminars. Here is a an outline of the optional seminar programme.
The Promise of SalvationLearning from the promise giver - Jesus the worshipper.
Standing on the promises – thankfulness in worship.
Declaring the promises – the character of God in our songs.
Embracing the promises – the 5 senses in worship.
The Promise of the Spirit
Scriptural patterns for spontaneous song.The prepared heart – a seedbed for the spirit.
First steps in spontaneous song.Going Deeper in spontaneous song.
New Songs Update
4 separate sessions using 8 different songwriters. Discover a wealth of new songs
Worship Team Foundations
Arranging music for a worship group.
Leading a worship team.
Effective rehearsals.
Qualities of a worship team member.
Creative Worship
Creative worship ideas.
Prayer and worship – releasing new creativity.
Your personal worship foundations.
Creative Scripture use in worship.
Leading in WorshipLeading worship in small groups.Worship leading for the non-instrumentalist.
Creative ideas for family services.
Practical skills for the worship leader.
TechnologyBuilding a sound system.
Using media software in worship.
Mixing the worship band.
Microphones and how to use them.For more info visit www.worshipexperience.com
Its all about timing no?
One of the most important things in a Worship Music Team is rhythm. You can get away with play the wrong notes and chords; but not the wrong rhythm, or lack of it. I was at a worship conference once and they demonstrated this. They played “Lord I lift Your name on High”. First time through they played the wrong chords but right timing, and it was still very easy to sing along. Then they played the right chords but wrong timing, it was impossible to sing along. Try it if you don’t believe me.
In the first of the music team training session we will be looking at rhythm. We will be experimenting with different rhythms and understanding the role of rhythm in the group.
Preparation
Next time you listen to some music, think about what the rhythm of the different instruments are doing. Who is leading the rhythm?
PA Training from training 4 worship
Here is some information I was sent about PA training. It is always great to try and develop more in your gifting. For more info please visit their Website www.t4w.org Church PA – The basics – A one day introduction for beginners. We will guide you very gently into understanding the basics of sound and operating pa equipment in relation to church. Theory and application in equal measure.7th May - The Basics Ashtead, Surrey A one day introduction Ref: C8/05 Cost £45 Speech and Mixing - Keep it simple - Taking you further. Having grasped the basics, you can move on to appreciate some of the skills in mixing speech & making a simple music group sound good . Practical sessions with the professionals plus the chance to practice your own mix.24th Sept - Keep it simple Ashtead, Surrey Speech and music mixing Ref: C2/05 Cost £45Sound in Worship Course – A comprehensive 4 part series of Saturday sessions spread over four months. A solid foundation course to develop all who are working with sound systems in church situations. Understand how sound works, the importance of intelligibility, feed back and how to cure it, team work and the needs of musicians. 23rd April - COURSE A Peterborough, Cambs A Sound Understanding Ref: C3/05 Cost £40**21st May - COURSE B Peterborough, Cambs A valued Engineer Ref: C4/05 Cost £40** 4th June - COURSE C Peterborough, Cambs Creative Engineering Ref: C5/05 Cost £40** 9th July - COURSE D Perborough, Cambs Servant Heart Ref: C6/05 Cost £40**‘The Mix’ - An exclusive T4W concept which meets the needs of technicians to have 'hands on' time without having to tie up a band. The day is based around three areas ; a live band mix with discreet commentary by an engineer, a studio environment with opportunity to focus on individual instruments and vocals, and a personal mix room where you can work on your own mixing skills.This session is strictly limited to 48 attendees only to ensure that everyone has access to each demo class, and the 20 individually recorded digital tracks from live worship. 19th Nov - The Mix Ashtead, Surrey Quality time to hone skills Ref: C7/05 Cost £55Musicians and Technicians – Come together - A T4W day for engineers and worship groups to firstly appreciate each others’ problems and then appreciate each other. Plus special guest Worship leaders and one of the most respected FOH engineers in the record music business. T4W Courses that have no dates as yet 22nd Oct - Come Together Ashtead, Surrey Music Day with special guests Ref: C9/05 Cost £45Hands & Ears ON - The chance to get your hands on some of some quality equipment, and listen to lots of speakers and microphones in our live demos. Lots of well known UK distributors - but not a ‘salesman’ in sight! Plus time for one to one with professionals, and Q&A sessions
Audio Visual – unravelled - A technical day for church leadership - Help is at hand for pastors and preachers and administrators to learn about effective use of sound and video projection systems in worship situations. Explanations in non-technical language and practical help to un-ravel the complexity of the growing use of equipment in church service. Any more info - watch this space or email us @ info@training4worship.org
To book: Ring us on: 01733.223535 or Fax us on: 01733.223545
Email us at: mailto:bookings@t4w.orgPay by cheque or credit/debit card [book early as numbers are limited]
IMPORTANT
** Course prices are based on booking for all four days.
- ALL days costs include free tea/coffee/drinks - bring your own lunch
More than Music
Did you know it is possible to sing worship songs on a Sunday morning without worshiping?
This sounds unlikely but happens most Sundays in Churches all over the UK and even in YCC. You might wonder how is it possible to sing worship songs without worshipping, to answer this we need to explore the question, “What is worship?”
This is a big question and many worship leaders and scholars are continually finding new facets of worship. However I will try briefly to outline a few major points.
Worship is first and foremost a response from the heart. Matt Redman says in one of his songs "Worship starts with seeing You"(You referring to God). When we see how God has blessed us, our response is to worship. I have often heard worship referred to as worth-ship, giving worth to God. Worship starts with the realisation of Who God is, what he has done and why he did it.
Worship is an offering. In the Old Testament the people of God gave burnt offerings to the Lord, where they offered their best animals as an offering showing how much they loved, respected and feared God. Abraham however was told to offer something more costly: His only son, Isaac (Genesis 22). Worship must come with a cost. "I'm not going to offer God, my God, sacrifices that are no sacrifice." (2 Samuel 24v24 Message). Remember the widows mite, (Mark 12v41, Luke 21). It's not how much we give, but how much it costs that counts.
We need to come with fear and trembling. We must approach the Lord with respect. 2 Samuel 6 is the story of David bringing the Ark of God back to Jerusalem (The Ark represented the Presence of the Lord). The Ark had been in the House of Abinadab. He had two sons Uzzah and Ahio. Both of them had become accustomed to being around the Ark, as it had been in their house a long time. King David came with 30,000 special troops and a specially constructed cart to take the Ark back to Jerusalem. Uzzah and Ahio went with them to guide the cart. On the way the Oxon stumbled and Uzzah reached out to steady the ark, and he was killed instantly by the Lord. He was killed because he did not come with a holy fear before the Lord. He had been complacent and had lost his holy fear for the Ark. How often do we get used to approaching God without a Holy fear?
Worship comes from obedience and integrity. Do our words mean anything unless they are backed up by our actions? Jesus told a story about a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'My son, go, work in the vineyard today.' He answered, 'I don't want to!' Yet later he changed his mind and went. Then the man went to the other and said the same thing. " 'I will, sir,' he answered. But he didn't go. "Which of the two did his father's will?" "The first," they said. (Matt 21v28-31) If we sing or say things to God we don't mean, that's hypocrisy not worship. Worship is far more than words. The actions and decisions we make in the week must not contradict our Sunday worship. If they do it is worthless.
Worship comes through trust, holding nothing back. Have you ever wondered why the Psalms are full of laments? The psalmists are coming to God as they are, not pretending everything is great. Simply as they are. Jesus knows the inner most parts of your heart. There is no point in trying to hide anything from Him. So how does this relate to singing? Is there a place for singing in worship? I think there is. In the Bible people often come to the Lord with singing and gladness. Singing can be very powerful. It can be a heartfelt cry from your soul to God. Sometimes you are so full of joy you have to sing. Singing is often one of the most passionate responses we as humans can offer. But only if it is from the right heart. To sing without conscious thought or emotion is just singing. You might be declaring praise and truth, but not worshipping.
This why we are trying out new ways of engaging people in worship in YCC. Through symbolism, meditation, liturgy, poems, graphics, scripture, dance, art etc. Please give positive feedback to any of the worship leaders. If you have a passion to help others to worship we would love to see you at the Thursday night Exploring Worship sessions.
What is holding you back in Worship? How can we (The Worship Team) help?Jason Helyar
Welcome to YCC Worship
This blog is for people interested in Worship in Yeovil Community Church, if you are not from YCC please use this as a resource for you own Worship Team.You will find relevent articles relating to what we are up to in the worship team in YCC. This blog will have up to date relevant information.If there is particular subject you would like us to cover, please email me at articles@worshipleader.plus.com
