Redeemer University College Holds Worship Conference

A shared interest in worship brought together about 330 participants, volunteers, presenters, and musicians to Redeemer University College in Ancaster, Ontario this past weekend for the annual Refresh and Renew Worship Conference.

The September 26 conference drew worship planners, praise team members, pastors, students, and others from as far away as Grand Rapids, Mich., Montreal, Chatham, Orillia, and many places in between for a day of doing and learning about worship.

Body & Soul Collective, a band from London, Ontario, opened the day with a blend of hymns, contemporary worship, and their own songs.

They were followed by keynote speaker Carolyn Arends, a singer-songwriter, author, and speaker from British Columbia, who talked about Jesus as a “worship leader” in the sense that he invites people into an already existing song, a community of the triune God.

Arends looked at two different visions of the throne of God, seen in Isaiah and Revelation, discussing similarities between the visions, but pointing out some important differences – such as the presence of the “Lamb looking as if it had been slain” – which changes the viewer’s cry from Isaiah’s “Woe!” to  Revelations’ “Worthy!”

She then guided the discussion into a series of questions to consider in thinking about and planning communal worship, asking how much of worship is conversational, communal, expectant, and Christ-centred.

Two workshop sessions followed, each offering a variety of options to equip, refresh, and inspire those involved in worship. Topics included ways to engage different generations, using technology in worship, making good use of space, songwriting, leading or playing in a praise band, art as worship, planning worship, and reflections on ways and meanings of worship.

“The workshops I attended have been really good so far,” said fourth-year Redeemer student Jonathan Pragashpathy of Bethel Gospel Tabernacle in Hamilton.

“[The first one I went to] was about worship as something holistic – that we can glorify God when we worship as part of our daily and weekly schedule, trying to be like Jesus – lifting your cross and following daily.”

A closing worship session was led by musicians and worship leaders Justin Brix and Brooke Nicholls of Oakville and Toronto. Between songs were times of listening, psalms, and contemplative prayer.

First-time attendee Tony Schaafsma of Maranatha CRC in Woodstock, Ontario, said, “It’s been good - very inspirational.”

Michelle Meijer, also of Maranatha, said, “There was a lot of back and forth [in the workshops], the ability to ask and get a lot of teaching – a nice balance.”

While she would have liked to have seen more workshops geared to small churches, Brittany Visser of Chatham’s Calvary CRC, agreed, saying,“It’s all great information.”

Technical support for many of the workshops was provided by Andrew Bergsma, audio-visual manager at Redeemer, and his team of students.

“Under the great instruction of our boss, we made the day a success,” said third-year student Erica Huyser within earshot of Bergsma. Becca Bokma, a first-year, laughed, but agreed, saying, “People appreciated our help.”

At the end of the day, organizer Rachel Janecek was “really happy with the day. We accomplished what we had set out to do….” She paused, then reflected, “It was a very Spirit-filled day.”

A closing worship session was led by musicians and worship leaders Justin Brix and Brooke Nicholls of Oakville and Toronto. Between songs were times of listening, psalms, and contemplative prayer."