Worship in the Woods

It's not easy having a small church. But one advantage is that it isn't hard for the whole congregation to go on a trip together.

We had the chance to do this just 

this past weekend. We took a trip up to a mountain resort area called Kiyosato, about 3 hours north of Tokyo. The daughter of one of the families in the church works at a place called KEEP, the Kiyosato Educational Experiment Project. 

This is a facility that provides nature experiences for people of all ages. We stayed in a beautiful lodge and had the chance to go out for hikes in the woods, and made crafts from things we picked up. At night, the stars were more brilliant than I had ever seen before.

On Sunday we hiked into the woods to a fire pit. We lit a fire and as we sat around it to have our church service. On a nearby stump we set up our advent candles, and on another we built a small nativity scene with snow, leaves and branches.

The children performed a song on hand bells and we enjoyed a time of worship. After the service we ate lunch – cream stew, rice, cheese and sausages cooked over the fire. We also roasted marshmallows, mushrooms and dried squid.

The children had a great time playing in the snow. Everyone made snow angels and the older children pulled the younger ones on a sled.

It was a wonderful experience to worship surrounded by the beauty of God's creation.