CICW Participates in Event in Indonesia
Indonesia in August is a pretty warm place with daytime temperatures averaging some 90 degrees Fahrenheit. But for two of Worship Institute staff a journey this past August to the populous republic was warm with hospitality, conversations and Christian worship.
Indonesia in August is a pretty warm place with daytime temperatures averaging some 90 degrees Fahrenheit. But for two Worship Institute staff a journey this past August to the populous republic (at 250 million plus people it’s the world’s fourth-largest country) was warm with hospitality, conversations and Christian worship. See more photos.
The CICW’s Emily Brink and Kathy Smith were in Jakarta, the capital city, for a Symposium on Worship at Jakarta Theological Seminary (JTS), the oldest ecumenical seminary in Indonesia, which offers a bachelor’s, a master’s and also a doctorate degree and has an enrollment of some 260 students with 33 faculty members.
The occasion was JTS’ first-ever worship symposium, and it was held as one of the many events marking the seminary’s 80th anniversary. Brink and Smith were joined in Jakarta by former Calvin music professor Joel Navarro who now teaches at Singapore Bible College.
The August 2014 event, which marked the third Indonesian worship conference with CICW involvement, dating back to 2006, included 32 presenters in all, including 28 Indonesians. There were 350 attendees, including JTS students, but also more than 150 others who came from all over the diverse country, representing numerous ethnic groups, denominations, and islands.
Said Brink: “One attendee noted that it was the geographic equivalent of Alaska to Florida!”
The event felt for Brink and Smith a little like the annual Calvin Symposium on Worship held on Calvin’s campus every January (except for the weather).
Days began at 7:30 am and stretched all the way until 9 at night, a little like the annual Calvin event. And like Calvin’s event each day included a mix of plenary addresses, seminars, workshops and, of course, spirited worship to begin and end the day.
Brink was particularly struck by the way in which the campus auditorium was set for worship.
“The front,” she said, “was ‘dressed’ to resemble an Indonesian home. The Bible was in the home and retrieved in each service for the reading of Scripture—a beautifully symbolic gesture.”
During their time at the conference Smith was able to do presentations on Biblical Worship, Pastoral Dimensions in Worship, How to Use Multimedia in Worship, Planning and Conducting Children’s Worship, Planning and Leading Young People’s Worship and Worship that Heals.
Brink presented on Practices of Creative Psalm Singing, Contemporary Church Music, Liturgical Year, The Living Word, Implementing the Lectionary and Intergenerational Worship.
Said Brink: “Throughout was warm-hearted hospitality in this packed schedule. In sum, this was a very substantive and appreciated effort that was both focused on Indonesia but very open in spirit.”
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