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Feast 2002 Worship Fills Hearts, Spirits
KEYSTONE, CO (June 25, 2002) - Feast 2002, an event organized by the
Department
of Church Growth and Evangelism of the Evangelical Covenant Church,
attracted nearly 1,200 people to the Keystone Conference Center this
past
weekend and early part of this week.
Feast 2002 preceded the 117th Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant
Church, which continues through Friday. This year's Feast built upon the
success of the 1999 Feast, which attracted nearly 1,000 to Green Lake,
Wisconsin. The beautiful scenery of Keystone may have influenced some to
attend, but a lineup of quality speakers and new innovations no doubt
accounted for the large response as well.
Feast activities offered something for everyone, including the nearly
200
young people who registered, according to Art Greco, director of
Evangelism
and Prayer. There was late night worship for the young people at the
11,000-foot summit of the Keystone ski hill that was reached by gondola.
There were also programs for younger children while their parents
participated in seminars and worship.
Youth volunteer helped with the younger children with Steve and Marti
Burger, directors of Children and Family Ministries, giving leadership
to
that effort.
There were six main worship services during Feast 2002, beginning on the
evening of June 22. Speakers included:
- David Gibbons, pastor of Newsong Community Church in Irvine,
California
- Brian Brooks, pastor of New Community Covenant Church in Decatur,
Georgia
- Judy McCullough, pastor of Covenant Congregational Church in Boston,
Massachusetts
- David Nystrom, chair of the Department of Biblical and Theological
Studies at North Park University in Chicago, Illinois
- James Fretheim, pastor of First Evangelical Covenant Church in Grand
Rapids, Michigan
- Lon Allison, director of the Billy Graham Center in Wheaton,
Illinois,
and a member of Deargrove Covenant Church in Palatine.
Most speakers led or co-lead various seminars during Feast 2002, along
with
administrators from conference and denominational offices and other
Covenant
churches. Paul Lessard, executive director of Covenant Bible College in
Windsor, Colorado, coordinated worship services.
Patty Retamal Shepherd, a participant at Feast 2002 who works for the
Department of World Mission, said there were numerous opportunities for
people to share testimonies of God's work in their lives. "These were
pre-taped and shown at the service," she said. "Afterwards, the people
who
had been videotaped were invited to step forward, share their thoughts
and
then had everyone pray for them. There were testimonies from men and
women
and from different age groups."
Considerable time was allotted for prayer during each worship service
covering a wide range of concerns. Topics included family, government,
pastors, denominational leaders and personal prayer requests.
The Feast is "a true team effort," according to Greco. "I'm thrilled.
We've
worked hard and God has blessed (Feast 2002). It is wonderful to serve
the
church family with this event. It is like having labor pains before a
baby
is born. Once the baby is here, the pain is gone. We have leaned on the
Holy Spirit and have been humbled by what we
experienced."
To view pictures from Feast 2002, visit the special Feast link on
www.covchurch.org.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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