In 2006 Kathy and I joined the Christian Motorcyclists Association. CMA is not a club for Christian bikers, but rather an evangelistic outreach to the motorcycle community and the world. That being said... We still get together and ride. One day after a ride, a small group of us rode up to check out our new land purchase (Where Kathy and I hope to build a house this fall) in the hills between Mauston and Elroy. As we surveyed the surrounding countryside from our hilltop perch, we discussed having a campfire sing-along, get-together with our chapter. The focus would be fellowship and praise for all God has done for us. Kathy and I were not in music ministry at the time, but six of our chapter members were involved in music ministry, and three more were known to sing at various events. That was over half of our chapter membership involved in music.
The music/fellowship idea floated out there for a while, but nothing came of it. A couple of years later, in 2008, Kathy and I were led to enter into music ministry. We still had our guitars from when we played secular music, and we purchased a synthesizer, a small PA system, microphones, and mic stands. We also had built a 2,000 square foot pole barn on that property. So, the idea of a campfire sing along eventually morphed into a fellowship sing along in a pole barn that could be done rain or shine. We (the chapter) tried to come up with a really awesome name for this event, but eventually settled on "Barn Praise." That name stuck, and we've been calling it that ever since.
Barn Praise was supposed to be a one-shot deal. This Monday's get together was our eleventh annual Barn Praise. Some people came to sing and some came to sing along. Recent flooding and the threat of more rain did diminish the turnout, but for those who braved the weather, a good time of Christian fellowship was enjoyed by all. Another tradition that started for our family back in the 80's, has been an end-of-the-season fish fry. For most, a welcome break from burgers, brats, and hot dogs. If you read the blog from last month, and wondered what we did with all those fish, they were fried up and served at Barn Praise.
When we first did Barn Praise, it was an event just for the Son Light Riders, our CMA chapter. Over the years, people began inviting friends, CMAers from outside of our chapter were welcomed, Kathy and I began to invite members from our church, and now we'd also like to invite you, the reader of this blog. The date has moved around a bit over the years, but we seem to have settled on Labor Day. You can find our Barn Praise date, time, and directions on our website under SCHEDULE.
Fish Preparation--from cleaning to frying.
Let's eat
Time to Worship
