One thing we LOVED about our military ministry was being able to worship with believers of ALL PERSUASIONS...from Catholic to Charismatic. We were excited to be invited to attend Beit Tikvah (House of Hope), a local Messianic Synagogue in Palmer. They had contacted us and asked if we'd be open to participating in the mourners Kaddish for Josiah. One of their members, Joseph, is a friend of the girls.
I found the service deeply meaningful. I grew up in multi-lingual churches and it was fun to be in a service with a few languages spoken (Hebrew, Aramaic, English). I was happy for English translations. The worship was thought-provoking and moving. Praise dancers...yes, this wasn't invented by "us". However, the worship leaders and the dancers were at the back of the congregation. I'm not sure if this is always true or just due to space with this group...but I loved it. I began misting as we sang Amazing Grace (Chris Tomlin style) and lost it when we moved into "Faith to Believe" by Shane and Shane. Y'all those words are IT.
I loved the devotion to Torah.
The Rabbi did a great job of explaining parts of the service that would be new to visitors. His homily was solid from Exodus and John.
They did not call us out or put us in the middle of a circle or anything like that...in the part of the service where we prayed the Kaddish we simply mentioned Josiah's name at the right time...as others mentioned the names of their loved ones. The prayer, and service, focused on who we know God and Jesus to be...in good times and hard times. They are comfortable with mourning, and it was good to be seen and reminded...even in the mourning, the pain, and grief... God is good, holy, merciful and gracious and always near...and to pray for grace to believe in the hard times.
They ended the service with blessing the children - I loved it! We stayed for a dinner afterwards. I bet two couples who live out by us. It was a lovely evening. I'm grateful Joseph reached out with the invitation.
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