Encounter

For summer we will be doing a series of  venues, on and off site, combining art, poetry, music. Our summer schedule of events:

June 5 (Friday) 7pm - Encounter at the pub (at Gentle Ben’s on University)

June 12 (Friday) 7pm - Open mic at Bentley’s Coffee House

June 26 (Friday) 5:30pm - Music and Art event on the main patio of Our Saviour’s

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About Encounter

Encounter is a small gathering that arose from a desire among some of us to explore worship in new and creative ways. Our goal is not to be trendy or hip, but to be an authentic community of faith, open for all people to experience the love and healing and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

Our worship incorporates both the very ancient practices of Christianity, as well as creative rituals, art and experiences of our own inspiration. In this sense, encounter is not so much “contemporary” as it is “ancient and future.” Our atmosphere is very casual, come-as-you-are, with no dress code or prerequisite knowledge. People of all walks of life and backgrounds are welcome.

Our Worship

While the precise order changes from week to week, some of the elements of our worship include:

• Singing: giving glory to God in our music, opening our hearts to hear and experience God in song.
• Confession: we live in a world full of pain and brokenness, and we seek to worship God honestly, with a pure heart, admitting our wrongdoings and finding healing.
• Prayer: silent, free form, contemplative, or interactive. There are many ways to pray, so we vary our prayer so that all people of all spiritual gifts can connect to God.
• Scripture: the Bible, the written Word of God, read, discussed and explored.
• Teaching: usually lead by one of the pastors, it incorporates both teaching and reflection by the speaker, as well as interaction and dialogue with the whole community. Feedback and personal sharing are encouraged.
• Communion: we take the body and blood of Jesus Christ in the mystery of the sacrament every week.
• Interaction: Art - drawing, painting, writing, and creative rituals are used to help us experience God in creative ways.
• Media: visual projections of still and video media
• Meditations: often drawn from the spiritual exercises of the Christian saints and mystics.

Check out some meditations and prayer exercizes of encounter on Pastor Lars’ blog.

Check out some of our original music and dialogues in the Music Library.

Become a fan on Facebook.

Become a friend on MySpace.

See some more pictures from our gallery on Flickr.

Some pictures from encounter services this year.