Space for Worship

The dream of a CD began in 2007 with our first “feeler” project - the Christmas ‘07 album. The CD was well received and we wondered if perhaps a full-length CD would one day be possible. Earlier this year (February ‘09) the elders approved the beginning of this project and the music ministry team got together to dream about the CD. We decided on 10 songs that “feel” like Pearl and have marked our community. We also clarified some values: the desire for everyone on the team to be involved and the desire for the end product to be excellent; something we could all be proud of. With that in mind, production started in April ‘09 and various musicians all came in and tracked their part. Most of the tracking was done in homes and offices to conserve costs. The bulk of the budget for the project was spent on professional mixing and mastering to ensure a good mix and overall sound. One of Pearl’s own, Kelly Perso, donated her time to design the artwork. Here’s the text from the CD Jacket:

We have talked for years at Pearl about “creating space for worship” because we like what this language communicates about our goals as a music ministry. Much like an interior decorators pays close attention to colors, space, lighting and texture in order that the people who live and work in a particular space react positively, we think of our music as creating an environment in which we and others at Pearl are encouraged and inspired to communicate with and connect with God. The various liturgies we rehearse also contribute to the texture of this “space” and we long for anyone and everyone to come in and relax, finding room for the messiness and confusion in their own hearts to stretch out, reach out, and connect in life-giving ways to the Father. As much as we, the worshippers, form worship, we also believe that worship forms us. By allowing the chords, melodies, and lyrics to create a context around us and speak into us, we pray we will slowly but surely become the kind of worshippers “the Father seeks,” those who worship in spirit and in truth.