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World Flags Provide Colorful Opening for Triennial XI
PORTLAND, OR (August 13, 2004) - It usually is one of the most moving moments
of a Triennial gathering, and this year's Procession of the Flags was no
exception as 1,300 women - including more than two dozen from other
countries - gathered here for the opening worship service of Triennial
XI, a ministry of Covenant Women Ministries (CWM) of the Evangelical
Covenant Church (ECC).
CWM Executive Minister Ruth Hill welcomed everyone, noting that all 11
conferences and region of the Evangelical Covenant Church are
represented at this year's event. Some 500 of the total registered come
from the North Pacific Conference, host for Triennial XI.
The colorful processional includes flags from all countries where the
Covenant church is involved in ministry and provided an appropriate
segue into remarks from ECC President Glenn Palmberg, who informed those
in attendance of the Dr. Paul Carlson initiative on behalf of the people
of Congo. Paul Carlson was a Covenant medical missionary who was killed
in November 1964 by rebels in Congo while serving a Covenant medical
mission station in Wasolo.
The ECC has embarked on a major effort to bring medical, educational and
other assistance to the Covenant Church of Congo and the residents
living in areas served by Covenant ministries. Among the efforts cited
by Palmberg are custom-designed Christmas cards that are available for
sale through Covenant Bookstore and its online bookstore at
www.covchurch.org. The cards also are available for purchase at
Triennial XI. The cards, depicting traditional Nativity themes, were
designed by a Congo artist using a traditional banana stalk technique.
Net proceeds from sale of the cards will benefit projects for Congo
administered through the Paul Carlson Partnership.
Welcome greetings also were brought by Krissann Jarvis Foss representing
the North Pacific Conference and Vivian Kamph, president of North
Pacific Covenant Women. The group was led in worship by Cherlyn Johnson
and Adrienne Reedy with the assistance of a worship band, a drama sketch
and praise dancers. All helped prepare the audience for keynote speaker
Judy Howard Peterson, who is perhaps best known for her Walk Across
America experience in late 1998.
"Diving in Head First: Reviving our Desire for Cleansing" was the focus
of her remarks. "Do you ever feel like there is something that hinders
Jesus' ministry from breaking wide open in your world?" Judy asked her
listeners. "Our bodies are in need of breathing in and out – and so are
our spirits. We take in and in – and do so in many ways - but do not
give out. This is true on many levels - our closets are full."
Judy delved into memories of her high school years, recalling the prom
dresses and how she had kept them for so many years. "They were of
little use – they wouldn't fit," she observed, noting that it was only
recently that she let go of them. "The same is true of our minds," she
observed, quoting Thomas Merton who said, "Our minds are like crows.
They pick up everything that glitters, no matter how uncomfortable their
nests get with all that metal in them." She then suggested that we, too,
can become uncomfortable and even immobilized "if we have a tight grip
on so many things in life. It can be anything from an unforgiving spirit
to all kinds of material possessions. We need to breathe out, lessen the
grip and let go. If we let go, then God has room to work.
"When we do something, we aren't confident that God has a chance to
work," she continued. "We need to clean out the clutter." Quoting Joyce
Rupp, she advised that "anything that keeps us absorbed in ourselves and
unaware of what God is offering to us is clutter. As John the Baptist
preached repentance in Matthew 3, we need to empty ourselves by confessing."
Judy then shared the story of a lady who came to speak with her
following one of Judy's sermons. The lady wanted to talk, but for some
reason just couldn't do it. Judy said she just sat with the woman until
she could get the words out. "This gal had an abortion 20 years before
and was just now confessing the sin," Judy said. "She let go of it, and
now God had room to work. She was a new person and found friends to
share her new joy with. She emptied herself and God worked. This is the
prayer for Triennial XI and the next few days."
(Editor's note: the news stories from Triennial XI are a
collaborative effort of Covenant Communications staff member Jan Gray,
who is reporting from Portland as well as providing photography, and Don
Meyer who is writing the stories from the Chicago office.)
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