On Sunday 17th October we held the official launch of Jazz Church (the one in June being technically a trial run). The service was led by Adam Sanders and entitled ‘Time Out’. Of course people had some idea of what to expect by now as many had attended the June event but even so there was and air of ‘wondering’ as people arrived. This was perhaps partly due to our having asked people to each bring a clock along to the service as our focus was to be on time. The clocks were placed all around the worship area and created a dramatic effect as there were so many of them. And to add to the drama we watched a very compelling Rob Bell video during which we engaged in complete silence for several minutes with only he words on the screen to guide our thinking.
During the early part of the service, the congregation sang Be Still for the Presence of the Lord, a fabulous arrangement with a jazz feel which set the scene for what was to come.
Adams message on time was compelling and served as a metaphor for getting us to think out of our normal limited and ordinary patterns of thought and response. Using 4/4 time in music as the metaphor for the ’ordinary’ he demonstrated how transformational a shift from the ordinary can be by exploring other time frames. Hence the title for the ‘Take Five’
Particularly inspiring was the story of Dave Bruebeck who struggled to be taken seriously in his studies as a musician because he could not read music. His sense of rhythm and timing was such however that even now he is considered to be amongst the great of jazz musicians. In his Time Out album he pushes the boundaries of the ordinary to engage the listener in a transforming experience of.
So often we think that the limits of our linear time is all that we have available, forgetting that Gods time, eternal time, encompasses all that we are in the here and now. This understanding of different time frames opens up endless possibilities and opportunities for creativity and transformation and for achieving what is apparently unachievable when viewed through narrow limits of the ordinary. It was really good to hear a live performance of Take Five, which really served to consolidate the message and then to really bring it all to life we sang “Sing of the Lords Goodness’ to Take Five.
The band more than lived up to (if not excelled) the expectation they had set at the first event, which was nothing short of outstanding. And it was particularly good to have a new member (new to Jazz Church at least) in the form of Saxophonist Dan. During the prayers we listened to Blue Rondo A La Turk and an especially moving item was the musical reading of Psalm 90:1-4, really beautiful! Also in fine form was the Gospel Choir who sang ‘I wish I knew how it would feel to be free’ a perfect choice for the theme and really well sung.
For me, primarily as a member of the congregation this time rather than leading any of the service, it was a fabulous act or worship. Different, fresh, transforming and accessible! Of course I would say that being a great fan of Jazz but you only have to listen to the feedback of so many others who were there to know that I was amongst the majority in my enjoyment of the service.
If you want to continue to explore this theme of time then why not join the Take Five group meeting, which continues the themes of the ‘Time Out’ event by exploring ways of stepping outside of ordinary time. The meeting is held at 7.30pm every first Thursday at Shirley MC (note though that the December meeting will be at Earlswood MC).
Jayne Webb
We have just got back from Greenbelt 2011 at Cheltenham Racecourse where Jazz Church lead worship in a venue which was bursting at the seams with interested festival goers! Unfortunately there were still 200 disappointed people waiting outside as the service begun!
