CHICAGO – “God’s New Thing,” the 2016 annual event of the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators (APCE), drew to a close Saturday morning after jam-packed conference days Jan. 27-30.
Otis Moss III, pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, who preached during the opening worship service three days earlier also offered the sermon during the final conference event: a worship service filled with liturgy, painting, music and liturgical dance. Drawing from Mark 1, Moss explained how John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus Christ. To the educators gathered, he said of the importance in their calling, “it is not your location, it is your proclamation.” John the Baptist was satisfied with his calling; his ego did not prevent him from pointing to another person, Moss said. Likewise, Moss encouraged his listeners to “stay where you are and recognize your assignment.”
In closing, as conference participants were prepared to return to their homes and their ministries, Moss noted, “the only way you have the gifts you have is because somebody made a way for you.” As you leave, he encouraged, “make a way for somebody else. … There is someone coming behind you and we have been called to make a way.”
Throughout the conference, participants expressed their appreciation for frequent, invigorating worship. “Worship is my favorite part,” said Jan Schuett, director of children’s ministries at First Presbyterian Church in Libertyville, Illinois. She said she was especially appreciative of the opportunity to hear Otis Moss III preach twice and hearing a style “different than how our pastors preach.”
“It has been a blessing to sing … to worship God together,” said Luke Hyder, worship leader for this conference and who serves with Shuett as associate pastor in Libertyville. A songwriter, Hyder expressed gratitude for the conference’s willingness to use songs he had written during services throughout the week. It was “humbling and awe inducing to hear over 700 people singing my song” on the first night, he said, adding, “it has been a blessing to be here with people … who have genuinely appreciated and engaged” the opportunities for worship.
Jodi Craiglow, a ruling elder at the Libertyville church and first-time APCE conference attendee, also provided worship music leadership during the conference. It has been “invigorating to see this many Christian educators in the same room … and the worship energy in the room is fantastic.” She noted the way participants had embraced community and “encouraged and equipped each other because they love Jesus.”
After the conference concluded, Loretta Gratias-Bremer, co-moderator of Chicago’s local planning team for the event, said, “I love the joy that has exploded” during the week. She said the theme of “God’s new thing” has taken off and as they return to their churches and ministries, “I think they will all be doing new things!”
