SOAK is all about worship. It is chance to spend time thanking and praising God, experiencing His Spirit through an extended time of worship and ministry. SOAK services look a bit different from a normal Sunday - there's more space and a different vibe with a creative edge. In recent SOAK services we've had both artists and dancers get involved amongst the music. Check out a review from our blog of our last SOAK below:   Robin Ferris SOAK Last Sunday saw a ‘Soak’ service at St Mary’s, which was an incredible evening of worshipping God through Music and Art. As most people reading this will know, SOAK services happens three times a year when Nick Herbert and the team led us in a service which is all about Worship. These services are an opportunity to participate in an extended time of thanking and praising God with creative expression in a way that we wouldn’t normally engage in on a Sunday. For these services the normal church set up is abandoned – all of the chairs are removed and the band, singers and artists set up around the church building, with the congregation peppered in amongst it all! Nick spoke from Psalm 98 – and then gave the entire service over to the church to ‘Sing to the Lord a new song’ (v1).  The idea was that instead of singing familiar songs, we would sing new songs as a church – lifting up our thanks, praise and prayers to God. It was a bold move to make but it left space for true worship and soon new melodies were coming up from all over.  Jonny Lewis kicked off the session with a riff on his acoustic guitar and the rest of the band and singers slowly joined and ushered in a time of real intimacy with God.  “Shout To The Lord, Shout To The Lord, Shout To Lord above” soon came out as a chorus (v4 “Shout for joy to the Lord”), with other melodies flowing as the Spirit moved and led creativity across the room. There was a real sense of truth, freedom and rawness about this time.  As we sang the artists painted and drew, and space was left for anyone else to join in and contribute whatever was on their heart too.  It was a time of rejoicing, healing and intimacy with God. At times like this I am reminded that it’s a privilege to be part of such a creative church, but an even greater privilege being in relationship with the Creator.