Following Christ Creatively
With “The Oikos Ensemble”
From the Desk of Pastor Verna
I spent a glorious and busy weekend at the 48th Annual Meeting of the Penn West Conference on June 11-12. The theme throughout the gathering was how as people of God we can find creative ways to worship and serve the Lord. The invitation to the gathering read: “Christians have used the arts---music, painting, pottery, fabric, dance and drums---to experience their deepest longing, fears, and their hopes and joy. ‘Make a joyful noise…’ is a call to express our joy in God’s grace and love.”
The jazz music of the Oikos Ensemble invigorated our assembly with inspirational worship, moments of creative reflections, and a concert on Friday night. The director of Oikos is Rev. Clifford Aerie who plays the sax and uses storytelling to change our view of the world and God. He was joined by pianist and composer, Dr. Christopher Bakrige, who combines jazz with diverse multi-ethnic cultural expressions. Rev. Aerie’s daughter, Arianna Aerie, added her beautiful voice with inspiring words to the international flavored compositions.
But the creativity did not end there. The Partners in Education for the Penn West Conference provided three Aha Bible Studies at our gatherings. They encourage discussion at the tables on the parable of the mustard seed, Jesus’ teaching on putting new wine in to fresh wineskins, and the story of Jesus calming the seas. Each Biblical reading helped us see the possibilities of trying new ideas and new creativity despite obstacles that may come in our way. Rev. Aerie enhanced the meaning
The workshops on Friday evening included our own Called to Care led by Susan Kent. She did a fine job of encouraging other churches to participate in this important program of lay ministry in their communities. During a box lunch on Saturday, there were Creative Stations throughout the building that you could attend on subjects such as sacred movement, use of non-traditional music, creative stitching, drum circles, greening your church, and use of drama in worship.
During the regular business plenary sessions, we were recognized as a 5 for 5 church, that gives to all five major UCC offerings: Neighbors in Need, Christmas Fund, One Great Hour of Sharing, Strengthen the Church and OCWM or our churches wider mission and basic support. As part of a panel discussion, I was able to share some of the ways
Having been voted in as the Secretary to the Penn West Conference Board of Directors for a new two year term, I will continue to represent our church on the conference board. One of the most exciting new endeavors for the conference is our becoming a Global Mission Conference Partner with North West Luzon Conference of United Church of Christ in the
I left the annual meeting encouraged and affirmed in the ways we have been creative at
