Yes, this really is what we are doing...

My life is in a serious change of seasons right now.  For the last nearly 12 years I have spent most of my working hours with the same few guys.  Together as the band Downhere, we’ve seen all but one of the U.S. states, all but one of the ten Canadian provinces, plus ten or so other countries in Europe, Africa and the Caribbean.  It has been grueling, rewarding, fun, frustrating, exhilarating, and many other emotions.  That focused time together is coming to an end this year which means something will need to take its place.  I’m going to write a separate blog post altogether at a later time to reminisce about our time as a band.

But now I want to write about what is coming!  I have accepted a job in Williamsburg, Virginia as Director of Worship Arts at Williamsburg Community Chapel.  We were not planning on leaving our home in Cambridge, Ontario anytime soon so this is coming as a surprise to us too.  My family came to Virginia for a position I had with the Chapel over the summer and it gave us a great opportunity to get to know the people, the community, and the potential job.  We have come to know and be a part of a wonderful church family in Williamsburg over the past ten weeks.  But we have deep roots in southern Ontario and there will be a lot of difficult good byes.  It is definitely home and a place we love, full of people we love.  Making this decision has been so very difficult.  There will be so many changes that we feel like we can’t even keep up with them all.

So here I am on the eve of making this announcement to the church body, feeling a little nervous about even publishing this post.  It’s almost like it makes it more real.  It’s not unlike how I felt before posting the Downhere announcement in July.  It’s a choice I/we have made and we have peace about it but it still doesn’t seem real.  This big of a change seems to require many times of saying, “Yes, this really is what we are doing.”  So yes, this really is what we are doing!

Even though we are truly sad to be leaving family and friends we are excited about this next season.  It is one that is going to look so much different.  For starters, I’ll see my family every day and that is HUGE!  I’ll also see a regular pay cheque where I can actually expect the same amount each time.  WOW!  Plus, I’ll be in the same church every Sunday. 

Speaking of church, I have had the pleasure of visiting and participating in so many churches over the past decade and I can say that the Williamsburg Community Chapel is truly a great group of people.  It has a focus on intergenerational ministry, which was a big part of my experience growing up in The Salvation Army.  The value of having both seniors and young people living out their faith together is one that I think is often being forgotten but is so sorely needed.  I love that there are elements of tradition that need not be discarded as well as a willingness to try new things to see what works.  In the end, it’s about more people getting to know Jesus.  If it works, keep it.  If not, throw it out.  And this church is committed to that.  That is something I want to be a part of and can get excited about.

So we’ll be back in Ontario until mid October as I finish up my time with Downhere and as we try to tie up all the loose ends we need to deal with before leaving.  One thing is certain, that life following Jesus is an adventure, a rewarding and costly one at that.

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