Christian Educators Fellowship and Preaching from the Center hold joint celebration

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico. November 21, 2008/GBOD/--The year is 1968. The U.S. is in Viet Nam. We elect Richard Nixon president. The Beatles release “Hey Jude.” TV sets are tuned to “Gomer Pyle” and the United Methodist General Conference recognizes the Christian Education Fellowship as the first official organization within The United Methodist Church.

Over 600 Christian educators and pastors attending “Blessed to Be a Blessing” learned this bit of Americana in the centerpiece video shown during the Christian Educators Fellowship’s 40th anniversary celebration in Albuquerque, New Mexico, October 24-27.

Held in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of Preaching from the Center, the festive event featured Native dancers Baila, Baila, Pueblo storytellers, praise choirs and local liturgical dancers, who Friday, October 24, led the gathering in prayer dances to commemorate decades of service to the church.

The joint event was a unique opportunity for church leaders in pastoral ministry and Christian education to come together for training, continuing education, inspiration and fellowship.

Director of Invitational Preaching, the Rev. Dr. Safiyah Fosua said the design team often meditated on the Lakota saying that “in any decision we make, we must understand how it impacts the next seven generations” in terms of impact on families, the economy, the environment and faith.

The Rev. Ronald Allen, who preached the service of baptismal covenant renewal on Saturday, October 25, told the gathering, “the world is such a chaos today. New empires replaced Rome crushing so many in so many different ways. You, the baptized, must stand up to these empires.”

“The water of baptism gives you the confidence that as God created out of the chaos once, a long time ago, so God can create out of the chaos yet again. And you can be apart of this re-creative process,” said Allen, an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and professor of preaching and New Testament at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis.

Participants who registered for either Preaching from the Center or the Christian educators conference attended sessions in the other event. Bible study, worship, meals and evening events exploring environmental, multicultural, multigenerational and technology themes, in relation to Christian faith formation and interfaith dialoging, took place together.

As part of the joint event, GBOD worship staff designed afternoon learning opportunities for pastors and preachers, and participated in developing the overall design for the conferences.

In addition to over 100 workshops and tours, the GBOD-sponsored Preaching from the Center sessions included: clergy self-care, faith and film, faith formation, New Testament preaching, and a full day pre-conference event led by Allen.

Other Preaching from the Center plenary leaders and speakers included: the Rev. Taylor Burton-Edwards, GBOD director of Worship Resources with the General Board of Discipleship; the Rev. Safiyah Fosua, D. Min., GBOD director of Invitational Preaching Ministries; the Rev. Stephanie Moore Hand, Christian education consultant for the Western North Carolina Conference and minister of Christian education at Mouzon United Methodist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina; Dean B. McIntyre, GBOD director of music resources; Bill McKibben, author and scholar in residence at Middlebury College in Vermont; Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki, Ph.D., professor Emerita, Claremont School of Theology; the Rev. Marjorie Thompson, an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church, USA, and director of Pathways for Congregational Spirituality at The Upper Room based in Nashville, Tenn.; Osvaldo Vena, Th. D., associate professor of New Testament at Garrett Theological Seminary; and the Rev. Bob Winstead, senior pastor of Haygood Memorial United Methodist Church in Atlanta and president of the CEF Board of Directors.

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