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August 23, 2007
Upcoming Covenant Network conference focusing on testimony
LOUISVILLE – Reclaiming the power of testimony will be the focus of the Covenant Network of Presbyterian’s upcoming conference in November.
Scheduled for Nov. 1-3 at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, the conference will take place under the theme “Testimony: You Shall Be My Witness.”
“Join with theologians, preachers, teachers, singers, seekers and believers this November as together we explore and re-claim the power of testimony in our lives, our congregations, and our world,” conference material says.
Building on that theme will be conference speakers such as the Rev. Anna Carter Florence, whose plenary address is “Testimony to a Dream: Waking Up the Witness;” and Beverly Gaventa, whose plenary address is “Witnessing to God’s Own Hope: A Reflection on Romans.”
Preachers for the event include the Revs. Scott Black Johnston, Teresa Fry Brown and Joanna Adams, and Jessica Tate, a 2007 graduate of Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education.
“We’re planning to include people giving testimonies during each of the worship services,” said Pam Byers, executive director of the Covenant Network. The experience of God in people’s lives is probably best conveyed through one person telling another, she said.
Byers said the conference is expected to draw about 400 people.
Among the workshop topics slated for the gathering are “Jesus, the Bible & Homosexuality,” “What’s a scruple anyway? Understanding and using the new Authoritative Interpretation” and “Hard Wired: The Science of Sexual Orientation.”
Young adults in attendance will have an additional opportunity for sharing during a pre-conference gathering for the under-40 crowd from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 1. The full conference begins at 3:30 p.m. that day.
Among the conference goals “is to have people feel like they are really glad to be part of the Presbyterian Church that includes such faithful and cool fellow members,” Byers said. And, “to be confirmed in their faith and in their community.” |
