Italy Included

Ciao!

The RESTORE team is very excited about worshiping with God's people in Florence.  Italy is our 3rd location on the tour.  We are expecting the Holy Spirit to move in the service. Please come and join us if you are in the area.  Then you can say to all your friends, "I was on that DVD! I was there when God blessed his people in Florence!" 

Driver Found!

We found the much needed 2nd driver for the RESTORE tour.  Perry M. from Colorado will be taking charge of the 9 seater van.  He is a great friend of the Tedders and very dependable. And if Mark needs it, Perry will make a wonderful stunt double for Mark because he is a rockin' guitarist and vocalist in his own right. Big thanks to Sonscape (the ministry he works for) and Perry's family for allowing him the time off - and at such short notice.  We are SO thankful. Our team is complete! 

France Here We Come!

Calling all of our friends in the UK and northern Europe!

The RESTORE project arrives in France on Saturday, May 22nd. It's an evening concert in the beautiful town of Lisieux. We need your friendly faces and powerful voices!
We'd particularly love to see some of our British friends nip across the channel and sing along. You could just make it a weekend away! What is happening in France is very exciting. God is at work and we simply want to be a part of His plan for Europe.

RESTORE
Cathedrals, Coffee, and A Call

Spoken Worship

One of the coolest things about the RESTORE project is the inclusion of Spoken Worship. UK poet and our friend of more than 20 years, Gerard Kelly, has written new material for RESTORE.  We are so excited to see how the Holy Spirit will use the marriage of music & the spoken word.

Here's a bit more info on Gerard.

Author BiographyBorn in the City of Bath in South West England, Gerard Kelly has lived in the UK, Ireland, Canada, France and the Netherlands. He is today the co-leader with his wife Chrissie of a missional community and training centre in Normandy.



Gerard has worked for over 20 years in Christian mission to contemporary European cultures, and is the author of 10 books published in the UK, USA, Finland, Germany and France. He is the founder of 'twitturgies', an innovative prayer stream on twitter.com. His poetry has been featured on BBC Radio and Television and is featured in the Lion Book of Christian Poetry and the Young Oxford Book of Christmas Verse. In 2009 Gerard contributed live poetry to 'The Door' - the first ever live worship event to be recorded on CD and DVD from Beijing, China.

Gerard's blog can be found at www.gerardkelly.tumblr.com and he contributes to www.blessent.eu and www.liveforothers.eu


Current Projects:
The first twitturgies collection will be published in book form in 2009
'A Prismatic Church" - reframing mission for the 21st Century will follow


Family:
Gerard is married to Chrissie and has four children - Joseph, Aaron, Anna and Jake
Charities/Causes:
Gerard is a trustee of the Bless Network and of the Lacey Theatre Company in the UK, and a member of the Schuman Council in the Netherlands

Monday News

Here's the latest news on the RESTORE project.

1. Iceland's volcano is slowing down so the project looks like a 'go'.
2. Mark is working on song tempos today. Increasing them mostly. And adding a few key changes.
3. There is a small hiccup with the Prague outdoor gig but Klara says 'not to worry'. She'll take care of it.
4. E-invites went out to all of our UK friends today. If you didn't get one - let me know.
5. We still need the final 15% of the funding need for RESTORE. Please pray for this.
6. Friday, May 14th we're having a small, live run through at a friend's house here in Colorado Springs. It will be an exact duplicate of the Euro tour. Big thanks to the local stand-in musicians and poetry readers who are joining us - Don, Kristen, Chelsea, & maybe Dan.
7. Plans for post-video production now in place. Mark flies to Beijing shortly after the tour to join David Teo for the video edit. 
8. Tomorrow is Tuesday, our prayer & fasting day for the project. Join us!

Special Guest to play in Lincoln!

We have a special guest for the UK concert date on Friday, May 21st.

Guitarist and Lincoln native, Martin Clark, will play acoustic on the RESTORE CD/DVD. We worshiped alongside Martin at Woodmen Valley Chapel when he visited Colorado Springs last year.  It is a great delight to have him accompany us for the UK portion of the tour. Thanks Martin!

Worship On The Square!

Check this out.

We just got an email saying that we have permission to play music outside in Prague's Old Town Square!

Meet us in the Square immediately following the Cathedral filming. The mini-concert takes place outdoors on Wednesday, May 26th between
3:oopm - 6:00pm. More specifics to follow. 

Thanks Klara for hookin' us up!

More Join from the EU

Czech judge and violinist, Klara V, lands next as part of the RESTORE team. We just saw her in Prague a few weeks ago. She was instrumental in helping us secure both the Cathedral and a special musical surprise awaiting us! But that is a secret for now. Pray that as Klara leaves a heavy municipal work load that she will be at peace.  Pray also for musicial creativity and freedom in worship.

Two drivers will take care of ‘getting us to the church on time’. Right now we have Tim Mobley from Brussels. Tim is Mark and Carrie's much loved brother-in-law and used to drive a bus driver for Living Sound! Back in the day. Pray for Tim to be directional and stay awake as the rest of the team snoozes away.

We also need prayer for another driver. We are currently looking for another European or British driver with a C1/D1 license to complete our driving team.




On BGVs is our long time friend, Giorgio, and what a voice and can really relax knowing that he is supporting him vocally.  Like Klara, we'll be going to Giorgio's home town on the tour. Florence is the 3rd concert stop. I'm sure Giorgio will appreciate prayers for a clear, strong voice. He is also doing translation work for PDF chart/lyrics on the CD/DVD. All of the songs will be translated into German, Italian, and Czech. So he needs 'the mind of Christ' during this tedious task.

ATTENTION UK FRIENDS

We are needing a driver who holds C1, D1 (full UK/Europe license) to drive the 11 seater van we're hiring for the recording/tour in May.

The dates are 18 - 28 May. This is a lightly paid position.  We'd prefer someone with European driving experience. We'll be covering London, Lincoln, Lisieux (FR) down to Florence, up to Prague and back to London. :)

We'd need a CV (or something) that shows their experience. Our deadline would be April 20. We also would need them to be Christ followers. :)
Any ideas of peeps you know and trust?

Lunchtime Recording

If you are anywhere in the UK on Friday, May 21st, WE NEED YOU.  Bring your voice and your best praise as we will be recording a lunch time concert. The folks at Lincoln Cathedral have been amazing to work with. We are so excited about being a part of their worship community.  Zip us an email if you can make it.  Be a part of the global project!

Though the Lens

Camera man David M., an American living in Hong Kong, is graciously joining the team. He will be our still-shot guy and will hopefully make us all look good. Pray for grace as David leaves his sweet family and his high-flying job with Cathay Pacific Airlines. And pray for a steady hand!  Mega-Structures Series videographer, Curtis R. will be on camera #2. He is an Australian but shoots mainly in China. Both David and Curtis were part of The Door filming. I'm sure that Curtis would love prayer for endurance and physical strength. He also needs Holy Spirit inspired guidance!

Join With Us!

Tuesday is our prayer & fasting day for the upcoming RESTORE project. We'd love for you to join us.


Rehearsals and planning and a great team don't necessarily guarantee success. God's anointing does! As a team we are humbling ourselves and seeking his face today. In doing so, God promises to hear from heaven and RESTORE our land. In this case we are praying for the land of Europe and of course Worshiplanet’s upcoming live worship event.

What a crazy time in Europe right now. A dark cloud of ash has covered the land and disrupted life for so many of our friends. Pray for the body of Christ and their encouragement. Pray for their effective witness. And please pray for the darkness to lift, both figuratively and because of the erupting volcano, literally!

North Americans

What a team! We are often overwhelmed by the talent and generosity of Christ's body around the world. And the city of Colorado Springs seems to be teeming with those kinds of people.  One of two camera men, Jim K. from Woodmen Valley Chapel will join the project. He's already so excited about the incredible visual setting that he gets to shoot. Jim needs prayer for focus!   Josh S. will be the guy who runs sound for both the band and the audience. Our time slots for setting up and sound check are very short so Josh will need prayer for discernment and speed! I'm sure he would appreciate prayer for 'ears to hear' too.  This CD project will lean more towards the acoustic side. We won't be rockin' out with a full band or big loud drum kit. That is where percussionist and friend Mike H. (via Canada) comes into play. He will be our groove setter and hopefully hold us all together. Pray for his tempo and his ability to read the moment. I bet he'd love prayer for echo control too! 

The Euros

London's Heathrow airport will be busy with RESTORE travelers soon. Though the Europeans aren't flying very far, they still have a lot of time invested in this project. Trevor (from Ireland via Eastbourne) joins us as recording engineer. While we will be worshipping away in the vast cathedral spaces, poor Trevor will be tucked away in closets and back rooms making it all happen. He needs your prayers for wisdom, a steady power supply, a clear recording, and A LOT of patience!

German bass player, Manu, is the next to arrive.  He comes from just north of Frankfurt and has been a part of the Worshiplanet team for years. He will lay the foundation for our musical chords and keep us all entertained with his keen sense of humour!

 

Spoken worship artists and the Tedders long time friends, Gerard and Chrissie Kelly, are a vital part of RESTORE. The Kellys are English but live and operate a ministry in France. Gerard is writing original material for the CD/DVD and he was also a part of the theological foundation for RESTORE.  Chrissie will deliver some of the spoken worship on location in France.  

Pray for Manu and Gerard and Chrissie. They all leave behind families and ministries. 

ATTENTION UK FRIENDS

We are needing a driver who holds C1, D1 (full UK/Europe license) to drive the 11 seater van we're hiring for the recording/tour in May.

The dates are 18 - 28 May. This is a lightly paid position.  We'd prefer someone with European driving experience. We'll be covering London, Lincoln, Lisieux (FR) down to Florence, up to Prague and back to London. :)

We'd need a CV (or something) that shows their experience. Our deadline would be April 20. We also would need them to be Christ followers. :)
Any ideas of peeps you know and trust?

Florence

Here are a few more photos from RESTORE's Italian location. Check out that ceiling! Can't wait to worship in this great building, constructed for God's glory!

mark, carrie, jessica

The idea of RESTORE may have started with the Tedders but that was only the start. It has taken (and will continue to take) many people to bring the CD/DVD worship project to maturity.

In the beginning we sought the insight of those gifted in theology. RESTORE had to be built on a strong scriptural foundation. We'll tell you more about that later on! It then progressed on to a series of people who confirmed through various prophetic leanings; with prayers and scriptures and words of encouragement sent our way. Financial confirmation, often the scariest part of all, was the last hurdle before going public with the project. At this writing we are at 80% of our needed budget and are thrilled that we’ve received so many donations. And from all over the world!

The next few blogs we will introduce you to the team members traveling with us in May. They too, are an important part the process. We need them to film. We need them to record. We need them to make music all across Europe. Each member has agreed to take time off work, volunteering their time. We can’t wait for you to meet them!

Arriving first in the UK will be Mark, Carrie, and Jessica. They leave Denver on Sunday, May 16th, three days ahead of the rest of the team.  Vans and equipment must be picked up and final preparations for the tour. Mark and Carrie are founders of Worshiplanet and are the team leaders. Mark will be leading worship from the guitar while Carrie plays keyboards. Jessica Newland (a great musician too) is the personal assistant on this specific mission and our logistical miracle worker!

We are requesting prayer for each of these team members. The more cover the bettter. We need you too! 

Look Up!

Chiesa Evangelica is not far from Florence's river boardwalk. It is the location of Worshiplanet's Italian venue. Here's Mark with a brief introduction to the building's interior.

Firenze

Alex picked us up from the airport for a mid-day landing in Italy. We went straight into downtown Florence and had lunch together. Leaving our suitcases in the car, we walked around a bit before viewing the 3rd location of RESTORE. How awesome to walk around the historic cobblestone streets. It only helped underscore Worshiplanet's privilege of filming a worship event here. Seven hours of Tuscan daylight are never enough so we had to make the most of them!

On the next blog we'll take you inside.

Once Inside

The movies Young Victoria and The Da Vinci Code were both filmed at Lincoln Cathedral. The interior is stunning so it is no wonder why. We feel really honoured to secure such a spectacular place in which to conduct a worship event.  Amazingly the cost of the hire is being covered by an English Christ-follower that we don't even know. What generosity!

Here are a few more photos for you.

 

If you want to see more and learn of the Cathedral's long history of faith, go to http://www.lincolncathedral.com/

The Story Continues

Our lagged bodies are back in Colorado but our focus remains on the upcoming RESTORE project. It is the next big undertaking for Worshiplanet and we are very excited about it. Every few years we focus our efforts on creating a worship resource which takes the form of a CD or DVD or a combination of both.  2010 will mark the creation of such a project. 

The heart for RESTORE started back when Carrie & Mark took a Sabbatical (after serving in China) across Europe in late 2008. It was then they took time to absorb the deep, rich spiritual history of Europe via exploring the Continent's Cathedrals. Though there are many active places of worship across that vast land, the increasing spiritual shallowness is alarming. Islam is on the increase. The Christian faith looses overwhelming numbers daily and Godlessness abounds. Thus the burden for RESTORE, a calling of Europe back to faith, was born.

Lincoln Cathedral in northern England will be the first location for this live worship event.  The video below allows a quick peek into the first setting on the Euro-tour.


If you are anywhere near Lincoln, consider this an official invitation to join the project. Soon the songs will be downloadable for learning the lyrics. Then you can simply show up and worship with us on Friday, May 21st during the lunch hour...exact times to be posted soon!