Symphonic Praise

Last night I was invited to something called Symphonic Praise. It was held at St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Edinburgh and consisted of a choir, symphonic orchestra, soloists, lots of people, and very old and beautiful hymns. It was so incredible. I have missed those old hymns. Also, singing them in a very old cathedral was something special. I was very moved. Especially by a piece that was read between some of the hymns.

"Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love..."

-Sir Francis Drake

Another bit I wanted to share is that you should check out http://vibedeck.com/stephmacleod
Steph Macleod was in the Christian Centre for Bethany, which is the rehab unit within the organization. He has an incredible story and now sings praise music. His voice is INCREDIBLE. Check it out!