Disana gw baru tau kalo Symposium ini dihadiri oleh peserta dari 30 negara, dari Asia sampe Afrika, Eropa sampe Amerika Latin.. We are one big family in Christ! Yg sebenernya paling bikin gw excited is the fact that I get to meet ppl from all around the world who share the same passion and burden in worship and music ministry. Those 4 days were so full of worship, knowledge, fellowship, and friendship. Not to mention the opportunity to network with many music ministers around the world; reunion with some friends that I met in church music camp in the past; and of course making new friends.
The location.. very nice and suitable for this kind of major symposium. Calvin College is known as 1 of the top 10 Christian Colleges in US. The environment is very friendly, buildings are well kept, facilities are great, housing is well maintained, and most importantly they have a great Fine Arts Center (FAC).
A praying snow sclupture outside Calvin's housing
Tahun ini Indonesia menerbangkan 7 kontingen ke Calvin Worship Symposium. Salah satunya Christina Mandang, one of the presenters of the workshop. So proud to have a fellow contry(wo)man to be 1 of the honored presenters. Dosen STT Jakarta, lulusan M.Mus dari Rotterdam Conservatory in Organ Performance ini membawakan kelas "Creative Accompaniments to Enliven Congregational Singing." What a great and fun class.. We get to learn songs from different parts of the world and learn how to accompany those songs creatively.
Yg pasti kelas2 yg dioffer semuanya bermutu banget. Kita semua pilih kelas sesuai dengan kebutuhan dan keingintahuan kita terhadap topik yg disediakan. I was exposed to gospel piano playing and choral literature. Sooo much fun! Great teachers.. God bless African American! I wish i had some of their 'blood and soul' in me... ;-)
Sebenernya yg paling mengesankan tuh bisa melihat dan menyaksikan dedikasi dari begitu banyak pastors, theologs, professors, musicians yg begitu setia meningkatkan mutu dan kepedulian gereja2 terhadap ibadah, which is the center of Christian life. Ada yg masih muda, ada yg udah super senior.. begitu banyak pengarang2 buku, pencipta lagu, guru2 besar, semuanyaa... dengan penuh kerendahan hati membagikan ilmu dan pengalaman mereka buat kita2 ini.
New friends... yeah, new friends!
I get to know 7 kontingen dari Indo... 2 pastors, 2 anak remaja, Christina, George, Pak Indra Lazuardi (ketua komisi musik PPGII), dan ngga lupa anak2 Indo yg lagi kuliah di Calvin Seminary: ada Ci Mega (red. ibu Pdt. Benny Solihin), Jimmy Setiawan -- Jakarta, Amos dan Yuso -- Surabaya. Selama disana diajakin makan Chinese buffet 2x!! hehehe... biasa...
Disana jg kenalan sama orang2 yg ternyata punya banyak common friends sama gw.. waktu cerita2 nanya "... jadi kamu kenal si x,y,z jg yah?" yah... ternyataa... what a small world! Ada jg cerita lucu aneh tapi nyata, Jimmy yg accidentally ketemu sama long lost cousinnya di Calvin. I'm serious: real cousin, same blood, from father's side. Baru sadar waktu masing2 tulis nama Chinese di tissue dan 1 temen bacain in Cantonese. hehehe.. ternyataaaa... Dua2nya jg kaget kok bisa2nya ketemu di event seperti ini. hahaha..
Tapi mungkin yg paling impressive adalah experiencing Divine Glory selama Symposium, not from the elaborate well planned morning/evening worship or the classes, tapi dari kesaksian 2 temen: a pastor from Iraq that shared how God protected his life, and from my new dear friend Shen Lang from China. An attractive, intelligent, and passionate girl that within a couple minutes of casual chat during the farewell party for International guest shared her personal testimony of her life on how she became a Christian and how miraculous God is through out the process!
Just like the message we heard at the opening worship, "Divine Glory" happens every day in our lifes.. It is God's power and divine glory that enables us to love, to forgive, to accept, to change, to repent.. and to enjoy the assurance of His salvation, knowing that He will raise us up on the last day. Let's worship Him as we wait for the coming of that glorious day!
1 comment:
sounds like a good experience, too bad I missed it ! :P
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