E Pluribus Unum ~ Latin for "Out of many, one." This saying is on the seal of the United States. Cheryl felt it was an appropriate theme for the day.
The morning began with the testimony of 2008 Miss America, Kirsten Haglund:
Cheryl recaps Kirstin's message for us:
Keynote Speaker: Kirsten Haglund
Triennial has just gotten better and better. Unbelievable, I know – you should try being here with us!
Kirsten was Miss America in 2008 and came to us to share one truth. Perfectionism has no place with Peace. Kirsten knows. She studied to be a ballerina from the age of 7. Unknown to her at this young age was that the world of being a professional ballerina is brutal. Every part of your body must be crazy thin, every position aligned perfectly with every beat of the music and every person you dance with. Everything about being a ballerina meant perfection. And during this time Kirsten decided to diet to just lose 5 pounds. But the diet did not end and soon she found herself lost in the pit of an eating disorder.
God delivered her from this pit. He rebuilt her, piece by piece, until she could stand knowing that the perfection of God in her imperfection was her completion.
After this time she decided to compete in a county pageant, just to try and win a $200 scholarship to help her pay for college. To her surprise, at only age 18 she won. She moved to the state level competition, for yet another scholarship. She won. This moved her on to Miss America. By now she was a little perturbed with God for moving her on this path, not of her choosing. She already had plans on how she was going to serve the Lord. The Lord had other plans for her to serve! She realized in the week of the 2008 Miss America competition that she needed to give herself over to His plan. She was crowned Miss America and gave her year of service as Miss America as a sacrifice unto others. She spent her year speaking and infusing young men and women with the truth about the destruction that comes when you measure yourself by others.
Her call to us is that we should not waste our time plucking off the leaves of jealousy, harsh words, over-eating, under-eating, or anything else that is a surface sin. For the leaves are attached to branches, the branches belong to a huge trunk called INSECURITY, and the trunk stays strong because there is a mass of well-established roots that belong to PRIDE. We must get at the root for there to be a lasting release from the products we see in our leaves. Pride is the assumption that we can make ourselves ‘good enough.’
There is not one of us that is good enough for God. So let him tear out what doesn’t belong to reveal what treasure and beauty He births in you.
We then had a Women Ministries Celebration. As a young women in leadership I have not caught the passion and vision of the conference and national ministries. I can now say that I have caught the vision! As a leader it is so daunting to look at how one ministry at one church can make a difference. But ACC is a church where women make a difference. And we are part of a movement ~ our Conference and National Women Ministries! E Pluribus Unum.
Cheryl recaps our Celebration Session:
Keynote Session: Women Ministries Celebration
We gathered today for an hour and a half to celebrate all that women ministries was, and is and might be. We celebrated the book that has been written to honor women who have influenced an individual’s life. It is called “Balcony Women.” We have purchased a copy to be placed in our church library so that we all may share in the joy of mentoring another in our Faith. Another book that was produced just for Triennial XIII was the very last issue of Inspirit magazine. It is a commemorative issue looking back at the last 33 years of publication. In the near future the paper magazine will be moved to an online, subscription based magazine to alleviate the financial cost of a magazine whose subscriber base has declined in the last year while the e-newsletter subscription base has soared. Look for these two books at our church library and share in the wealth of the written word.
We celebrated with women from the Congo who benefit from both the ministries of AVA (Advocates for Victims of Abuse) and the bandages that our sewing circle wraps and sends to care for their sick. See more about this ministry at: http://www.covchurch.org/women/ava. E Pluribus Unum.
We celebrated with a woman from India who spoke on the dramatic and literal salvation of women held captive in the Human Slavery trade due to our efforts with Break the Chains. Countless young women (and girls under 10 are not spared) are sold into human trafficking. Money from Break the Chains is making a difference one woman at a time. Check out the link on this ministry at: http://www.covchurch.org/humantrafficking. E Pluribus Unum.
Another beneficiary of Break the Chains is A New Day for Children here in these United States. Human Trafficking is not a problem that occurs elsewhere. It is estimated that 300-400,000 women and children are trafficked in the US. A New Day For Children is an organization that gives hope, shelter, and protection for girls 10-18 that escape human trafficking. What a powerful ministry!!! They save girls one by one. Please check out their website: http://newdayforchildren.com/. E Pluribus Unum.
Women, anointed in God’s work, are an unstoppable and powerful force that God is taking great joy to move among and through. We are many – but when unified to become One we are DANGEROUS!
We joined in the commissioning of our Regional AVA Coordinators, our ministry Coaches and the women who serve us as Clergy. Ruth Hill also received the Evelyn M.R. Johnson Leadership award for her years of service with Women Ministries. Ruth is now in her final year of service in this her third term. Ruth was honored today for her work Nationally with AVA and Break the Chains among many other accomplishments.
Our last bit of news shared during our Women Ministries Celebration is both sad and yet filled with hope as we turn a new page in the wonderful story of history with Women Ministries in the Covenant Church. Ruth Hill has served us well and will be completing her years of service with us at the end of this term. Her announcement was greeted with a sigh of sadness from the entire crowd. And as it is with any remarkable leader, I feel as though we will be lost without her. But as clearly as God has directed Ruth in stepping down I have no doubt that He is raising up the next Woman in our midst to receive the baton of leadership, vision and inspiration. Be in prayer for our leaders to discern God’s Will for Women Ministries.
In the evening we had a concert opened by Michael Pearce Donley. He touched our hearts and made our bellies ache from laughing! Check out his website: http://www.michaelpearcedonley.com/.
Natalie Grant has been on the top of the Christian music industry for years. She is a vocal powerhouse and has a heart for revolution. She is passionate about seeing the end of human trafficking! Her new CD is called Love Revolution and debuts in a month. She sang a song for her new CD and it was amazing! Natalie is just one person, but she is following in the steps of our Savior in a revolution against the injustice of Human Trafficking. Check out her website to hear more about her heart for this cause at: http://nataliegrant.com/. E Pluribus Unum.
What an amazing journey! Look for links to be permanently posted on the left side of the blog! We will be ending our journey with you tomorrow. We hope you have enjoyed journeying with us!
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