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Marva Dawn Speaks at Closing Midwinter Service
ROSEMONT, IL (February 2, 2001) - By Bob Smietana
With outside temperatures hovering below zero, Marva Dawn invited Evangelical Covenant Church pastors attending the 2001 Midwinter Conference to come to the communion table, "so that the Word will become fire in our bones and we just can't hold
it in."
Dawn, a theologian and author best known for her books on worship - Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down and A Royal Waste of Time - preached at Thursday evening's concluding worship service. Her theme, "Do Our Hearts Still Burn," came from Luke 24:13-35, the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus.
"Have you seen Jesus lately," she asked. "Are our hearts not burning within because we have forgotten to behold Him? Are our hearts not burning because we have forgotten that God is with us?"
She reminded her listeners about God's continual provision, and then asked, "Will we trust God enough to do God's will in God's way?" Dawn talked about Jesus' ascension and how he told
His disciples to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. "Have we been clothed in power from on high, so that we can go out into mission in the world?" She also focused in the importance of spiritual discipline, asking, "If we have to choose between skipping our morning devotions and skipping breakfast, which will we choose?"
Dawn, who works with Christians Equipped for Ministry in Vancouver, Washington, also spoke at the morning and afternoon sessions, addressing the issue of suffering in the church as well as
the need for excellence and diversity in worship. She said she started writing about worship because "so many churches were making bad decisions about worship. They were throwing out all of the tradition they had ever known," she continued. "I wanted to remind people what a treasure they had in that tradition, and to ask them if they really wanted to throw it all out."
The concluding evening service featured a blend of traditional and contemporary elements. Henry Greenidge, pastor of Emerald City Covenant Church of Seattle, played a jazz prelude, followed by the Covenant Minister's Chorus singing, "From the morning dawn to the setting sun, Let the name of the Lord be praised." A multi-ethnic speech choir gave a reading on "Transformation," focusing on the way that Jesus changed water in wine and how in His resurrection He transformed death into life.
President Glenn Palmberg and Mary Miller then led the congregation in the sacrament of Holy Communion. While Palmberg and Miller led a liturgy of communion, the worship team led a combination of hymn and praise choruses.
The evening offering benefited the Minister's Crisis Fund. Dave Kersten, president of the Covenant Ministerium, asked those gathered to focus on core values of compassion, justice and
mercy in giving to the fund, which assists pastor in need. "Give because mercy needs a hand to reach out," he said, "and give because justice needs a backbone."
Editor's note: an in-depth interview with Marva Dawn will appear in an upcoming issue of The Covenant Companion.)
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