Selah ... How good it is to center down
New Worshiping Leaders gather to support each other in a sacred pause
ESTES PARK, Colorado — “O God, as we reflect on this divine invitation that you've afforded us to gather on this night for this experience, to worship and to selah, to pause and to breathe, to be reminded and to remember again your purpose for our lives, the call on our ministries ... we have gathered here, O Lord, to encounter you,” prayed the Rev. Dr. Winterbourne LaPucelle Harrison-Jones, his voice rising over an interlude of music composed by his wife, Dr. Jillian Harrison-Jones. “And what a joy it is to know, O Lord, that we do not come to this garden alone. We are here together in community bounded by this amazing network of leaders.”
On Monday evening at the YMCA of the Rockies, nestled in the mountains outside Estes Park, Colorado, the 1001 New Worshiping Communities National Gathering opened with a worship service invoking the week’s theme, “Come Away and Rest a While.” The service invited leaders of new communities from across the country to pause, reflect, and reconnect with God and one another.
Musicians Ike Sturm, founder of Finding Our Way Home, and Dr. Jillian Harrison-Jones led the community in worship through music by blending jazz, ambient sound and choral harmonies that created a contemplative atmosphere.
The Rev. Dolly Dong, campus minister and pastor of Linden Road Chinese Community Ministry in Ohio, preached on the Hebrew word "selah," found throughout the Psalms. “Selah is the rest area of our life journey,” Dong said. “It is a time to pause and ponder upon the truth that has been said or sung.”
Drawing from her own experience of burnout and recovery, Dong shared how selah became a spiritual anchor. “Last year, as I was praying, God gave me the word selah to meditate on daily,” she said. “I skipped this word many times when reading Scripture, but now I see its deep meaning. It’s a sacred pause, a moment to reflect and rest.”
Dong’s sermon was grounded in Scripture, including Psalm 46 and Mark 6, where Jesus invites his disciples to “come away and rest.” She challenged attendees to consider whether they would accept that invitation if Jesus appeared before them today. “Can you 100% say that you would immediately stop and follow his invitation?” she asked.
Rev. Dr. Harrison-Jones continued the theme of rest and reflection in his pastoral prayer, invoking the words of theologian Howard Thurman: “Oh, how good it is to center down.” He invited the gathered community to consider what they were truly seeking in the days ahead — healing, joy, clarity — and to covenant together to find it through silence, laughter, solitude and community.
The worship service concluded with a communal prayer and candlelight reflection as participants sat quietly, breathing deeply and centering themselves in God’s presence.
“The rest was evident and palpable in the crowd,” said the Rev. Sara Hayden, host of 1001’s “New Way” podcast. She called the “welcome, music, words, intentions, ambience and the rest … sublime.”
Among those moved by the experience were the Rev. Rafael Viana and his wife, the Rev. Ivette Llano, leaders of immigrant congregations serving Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking communities, El Camino and Casa Brasil. Viana, who is attending the gathering as a new worshiping leader and as a member of the Mission Development Resources Committee, which awards grants to new worshiping communities, described the constant mental activity that ministry often demands. “This reminder — that we need to rest in God — is powerful,” he said.
Llano described feeling refreshed as she left the assembly hall on Monday evening. “The worship felt like 'descanso' and 'refrigerio' — rest and refreshment,” she said. Viana nodded in agreement. “Ah, yes, if you put those together, it’s amazing.”
For Viana, Llano and many others, the gathering offered more than just a break from routine. It was a sacred pause — a selah — in the midst of busy lives and demanding ministries. And as the evening closed, the words of Harrison-Jones lingered in the mountain air: “Oh, how good it is to center down.”
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