Thoughts on Worship

The topic of worship has been on the brain a lot. I've been talking to friends and it's been on their brains as well. All of us in some way feel worship has been constrained to just a few things. Because of this, it's less than effective.

While it's fun being vague, I'll poop my own party and clarify the paragraph above. God is creative, right? Shouldn't worship of Him reflect a creativity? But it's boxed in to once a week, singing songs and listening to someone else speak for a long period of time.

Sometimes we get adventurous, copy and paste that experience, and have it more than once a week.

Don't get me wrong, some, many, even genuinely worship that way, and it's energizing for them. God bless you, whoever you are.

I think we as Christians simplified it too much. I enjoy listening to music and singing, and inspiring speeches can inspire. But I can't consider these things my primary source of worship. I talked to some friends lately and listed some things that I do.

1. Hanging out with people, especially those society usually overlooks. I do so with purpose, and especially when I can look back with joy at conversations and experiences that were completely Spirit-led.
2. Reading. It can challenge my faith or encourage me in it. St. Augustine's Confessions is an endless source of encouragement, but books like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime challenge my perceptions of faith and logic. I guess for that matter thinking too much can be a form of worship for me as well.
3. Writing. I've been keeping a spiritual tension journal, jotting down spiritual struggles. My faith comes out stronger for it, so I would consider that a form of worship.
4. Laughter. I can't get enough of it.
5. Acts of service. I didn't get it when I was told that running power point didn't count as helping in the church. There's a reason I like shows like Dirty Jobs.

The list could probably go on forever. I'm sure there are more I haven't even discovered yet. I'm just glad He brought me this far.

Singing with Grandmas

I just finished one of my favorite weekend activities. A group met with me at Songtan subway station. Some of us were armed with bags of toiletries, and all of us were ready for a visit. Only two out of the six of us were fluent in Korean, so some were better prepared than others. Soon we'd arrive at In Su Won Grandma House with a warm greeting and some spare time for a visit.

We visited first with the lady in charge. The place runs on donations, so we ask what they need. Tissues, she said. Lots of tissues.

They are doing well for food. That made me want to smile. It was good to hear they have enough.

We enjoyed tea and cookies as we visited. Every time we come to serve we get served in the process. It makes me laugh.

We talked to three ladies first, and one proved quite friendly. She said that she had family in the U.S. and used to live there herself. However, she lived in a Korean community so she didn't know much English. She liked my camera and asked if we'd take a picture of her with some of us. Later she asked if we would print out the picture and bring it back next time. She wants to send it to her family.

Next time. The ladies there, including the person in charge, stated a need for us to come more often. That way they'll remember us better. I hope it's possible.

We were led to the main area, and then the real fun began. We sat around a table and exchanged songs. One lady sang a lot, ending her songs abruptly with an "OK." Hymns ended with an equally abrupt "Amen." They all ended to applause.

We were asked to rehearse next time we come back as we struggled to think of songs to exchange. We came up with some old classics like "Jesus Loves Me", among others. The lady next to me slapped my leg as I didn't know the Korean words to the song she sang. "You should sing to us," she scolded.

Everyone seemed happy to see us. Whether we could communicate or not, they thanked us for coming and said they were glad to see us. We said the same.

One lady explained rather loudly to the lady next to her that we were foreigners and that's why we couldn't understand her. I then noticed she was blind. I greeted her, and she thanked us for coming.

An hour and some change came and went. We had to leave, saying goodbye to each person as we left. Hopefully more of us will come, and more often. Next time.

steam of conciousness

There are 17 desks in my tiny classroom. Why am I still testing prospective students?

I'm reading Confessions of St. Augustine. I probably wouldn't have it if the book wasn't free, but I'm glad I snagged it. It's like a ghost floated down to me to whisper answers for my needling questions about the value of education, hopeless causes, and autobiographies in general. And that's just the first 70 pages.

I need to go eat dinner.

Different Perspectives

I like this video for the international perspective.

Attempted Wisdom

Christians being out of touch with the world doesn't mean our music and movies don't look modern enough. It means we are more often than not trying to feed the naked and clothe the hungry.

Yeah, me, too. I did say "we".

Hed ji and hunger

It's hot. Why, oh, why did we choose this time in the summer to come back? You'd think we actually enjoy that boiling feeling. We don't.

That being said, it's good to be back. I realized that I crave diversity, almost as much as coffee. Not quite, though. One age-old truth is that coffee wins.

Korea seems to have a balance between difference and familiarity that works for me. I guess that's worth the boiling feeling.

We bought a few movies over the summer. One of them was Over the Hedge. It's not one of my favorites, as they dumbed down the comic strip to make it a cartoon. But it was entertaining when we saw it in the theater. The highlight was reading the title in Hangul, reduced to "Hed ji". Thankfully, the movie was subtitled, not dubbed.

We decided to watch the DVD a few days back, and I noticed something new. There was some commentary on suburban humans, some intentional, some not. I thought about it, and I wanted to laugh and cry at once. It was a little weird.

The cute little forest animals (this is how I know nothing profound was intended when the special features blabber on about how cute the animals are) can't find food because a large section of their forest had been turned into a neighborhood. The animals start to despair, but the street-wise raccoon (hey I didn't write this stuff) assures them there is plenty of food in the world of the humans.

We are then shown a series of clips that emphasizes how much attention and time humans give to food. The best was a scene where a lady is wearing cucumbers on her eyes for a beauty mask. Food! the raccoon yells, underlining the wastefulness.

Next he says the part that punched me in the gut. "Think they have too much?"

Yes, I thought. Some of us do.

The lady who collects money in our apartment was translating some notices around the building. One said something to the effect of "Please eat what you make." Apparently the food trash has been piling up, and as I whined about before, it's hot these days. Too much food trash can be a problem.

Mine was piling up as well. At least with Koreans it's a cultural thing. I have no excuse.

We have too much. I don't know if we can just find those who don't and follow them with food. Is it that simple?

I have too much. I guess it starts with acknowledging that's a problem.