As you may have seen a few weeks back, I have already alluded to the fact that Ben and I are going to be moving away from Sweden in January… and yes, in just a few short weeks we will be!
This year has been a huge journey for us in our faith: we’ve been exploring various directions and one thing has become abundantly clear – working and serving in church ministry is where we feel called to next. It is something we have both missed deeply since we left our roles at Immanuel Church and we are really excited to be taking up the position(s) of the new worship / technical directors at Community Church Hong Kong!
Hong Kong is a place that has been on our hearts since we first visited there in 2009 (as seen in the photo below) and over the past few months, we’ve had the privilege of exploring this possibility in more depth. Two visits in recent months later and a series of somewhat remarkable events have led us here… where we have been busily getting things sorted in Sweden, alongside a much needed Christmas break in the US!
-
-
Hong Kong visit 2009!
-
One thing that we love is getting to work together and, as we have done in the past, Ben and I are going to be sharing the role in the church – with me working as worship director (70%) and Ben as technical director (30%). The rest of the time we will be working on our own music, which has seen incredible growth over the past 12 months and we are excited to continue to develop over the coming months and years.
We truly appreciate all your prayers and encouragements as we prepare for this next adventure! Hope to see you in HK!
Today is a new day.
For us it is the start of a new chapter. One that requires faith from us on a deeper level than perhaps ever before.
If you read my previous blog post you’ll know that for the last few months we have been pushing on various doors, trying to discern where God is calling us to be. For a while we thought that maybe we were being led back into music ministry in a church setting?
And I don’t write that possibility off. At some point, I think we may well be called to serve in a church again. In fact, I now know that we will always work in music ministry… sometimes that will be in a church setting… perhaps sometimes in several churches… and always with our own music. Our own music ministry.
Yesterday was my last day of teaching…
And as of today, we are now fully reliant on income from our our own music and freelance work.
This still sounds a little scary to me but here is what I know…
Our music as Salt Of The Sound and Narrow Skies continues to grow.
God continues to open doors with our music in small ways.
Ben has worked on this full-time for the past year and we have seen considerable growth, and if I can give everything I have too, we hope and trust that our efforts will be multiplied.
I like plans. I like comfort and security. But I am having to let go and trust. So it goes without saying that this is not a decision we have taken lightly. It has required a huge leap of faith – one which we will need to cling to ongoing.
But through taking this leap and trusting fully I have found a peace.
We may not have it all completely worked out but I know it’s going to be good.
We’ve recently launched a Kickstarter – we’d love for you to partner with us if you feel able and help spread the message carried in our music further than we can alone!
All content (including photos) © Copyright Anita & Benjamin Tatlow 2018
We’re so thankful for all of you who support our music ministry at Salt Of The Sound (and more recently as Narrow Skies) – we never thought our music would grow to the extent it has over the last 4 and a half years and God continues to stir in our hearts. We are so thankful for when you can like, share and tell others about our music, and especially to those of you who support us financially through subscribing on Bandcamp, buying our music on iTunes, streaming on Spotify, etc.
This journey hasn’t been easy (but when is anything ever) and we have made many significant life changes and sacrifices to follow this path we feel called to.
Currently, we are trying to discern where God wants us next and would appreciate your prayers as to whether He is guiding us back into church music ministry alongside our music, or whether He wants us to make a change and fully focus on our music.
We have lots of questions and not so many answers and would appreciate your prayers for guidance, peace, wisdom and spiritual discernment.
Today is a good day.
Full of excitement.
Full of promise.
Today is the day that we get to share with you more of what we do…
But we don’t want it to be about us.
We want it to be about you.
You see, we write music for a reason.
A purpose.
We strongly believe that this is our calling right now.
And so we write music.
New music…
Music with a purpose.
Music for your soul.
Music for studying.
For writing.
For creating.
As the soundtrack to your moments.
To bring a little calm in the chaos.
To allow you to take some time.
To reflect.
To listen.
To breathe.
We’re excited to bring you Meditations Vol. 2 – our second complete album of instrumental music.
Written by us.
For you.
And your moments.
—
Oh, and if Spotify isn’t your thing, you can also find it on our Bandcamp Store, iTunes, or Google Play.
Plus, for the first time ever we have a collaboration track on one of our albums – while we have done several collaborations in the past, we felt that ‘Quiet Me’ (a song originally written by songwriter Ken Peschell) really worked with the flow of Meditations Vol. 2. We are thankful to have been able to work with him on this – and if you subscribe via Bandcamp, you can hear the full vocal version as an exclusive bonus track.
Finally, we would love to know what you think – do get in touch by leaving a comment below.
This week saw us taking a trip to Brussels in Belgium, to meet with colleagues working in International Ministry throughout Europe. People serving in Germany, Switzerland, France, Belgium and Sweden formed our group this year and we took time together to talk, worship, listen and enjoy each other as well as the city of Brussels.
- Listening to an experienced Pastor talk about listening for God’s calling in his life was just what I needed to hear this week.
- Hearing from those in such similar, yet such different church environments was insightful in so many ways.
- Leading worship and worshiping with friends and colleagues touched my heart.
- Seeing the good works, enthusiasm and inclusivity of this church, which experiences significant turnover due to its location in the very International City of Brussels, was deeply encouraging.
- Being able to talk openly, take a step back and breathe was more helpful than I could have imagined.
In fact, it is clear to me that this week was just what I needed.
Thank you colleagues.
Thank you Brussels.
Brussels: A City Of Contrasts.
—
All Photos © 2016 Anita & Benjamin Tatlow
