CEC Convo REPORT - Printable Version
+- ZionFireFriends (https://zionfire.com/forum)
+-- Forum: Ministry Round Table (https://zionfire.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=6)
+--- Forum: ZionFire Ministry Info (https://zionfire.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=33)
+--- Thread: CEC Convo REPORT (/showthread.php?tid=340)
+- ZionFireFriends (https://zionfire.com/forum)
+-- Forum: Ministry Round Table (https://zionfire.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=6)
+--- Forum: ZionFire Ministry Info (https://zionfire.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=33)
+--- Thread: CEC Convo REPORT (/showthread.php?tid=340)
CEC Convo REPORT - HelenaZF - 06-18-2006
The ZionFire team (which this time out consisted of Dean and me) provided pageantry ministry for the CEC (Charismatic Episcopal Church) Northern Convocation of the Central Province this week. There were day classes and services all three evenings.
The host church was Bread of Life in Dousman, Wisconsin, a church that has come into the CEC within the last five years. Beautiful, sweet group of people who love the Lord and want to move on with Him. The church building is an old, probably Lutheran origin, church with a round nave, some gothic windows and various ceiling obstacles. (Something of great importance to flag and banner ministry!) For instance, one of our challenges was maneuvering around a suspended wooden cross that hung over the front of the middle aisle. Yikes.
Nevertheless, we were able to bring some effective ministry, working with the Bishop so that our pageantry offerings reinforced the messages he was bringing to the attendees. We did a mix of things, but each had a common denominator: every thing was prefaced with a small teaching nugget, focusing people on the symbolic message presented.
The first night I did a solo interpretive piece, "In the Shadow of His wings", dancing with tallit and wing flags, and Dean gave a short teaching on the symbolism of the tallit, and specifically the fringes.
The second night we did an interactive drama supported by the song "Earthen Vessels", in which people were encouraged to write things that were preventing them from going on with God and seeing themselves with His eyes. The papers were gathered in an unglazed pottery vessel and then the slips were burned with fire from the altar, mixed with incense.
The third night, we offered a banner processional with 4 of the 8 Covenant Names banners to the song, "O Lord God of Israel", which exalted God as a maker and keeper of covenant. It was presented after the ordained clergy there had a ceremony renewing their covenant vows.
I believe our ministry was effective and carried a prophetic anointing. I heard comments from people from our own congregation, some who had never voiced anything to me before, about how they were touched and ministered to, and many comments from other convocation attendees.
So thank you all who prayed for us. It was physically exhausting, but spiritually satisfying to see the whole offering consumed with such sweetness and holy fire.
CEC Convo REPORT - DeanZF - 06-20-2006
Yes, it was a very sweet time in most every aspect. Rare for conferences, even within only a single denomination.
Someone recently asked me, "How do you determine if your ministry time was a 'success'?" Such a good question and this event gives me a really good opportunity to answer with examples!
One can have an event that is successful on any number of different levels. No one was injured in prep, presentation, teardown or travel. That's certainly a successful thing, one checkmark on our list!
Heck one can count it successful when everyone that was planning to be there shows up! Since there were two of us and we recruited our worship pastor to take part, does that give us a 150% grade??? <EMOJI seq="1f607">:innocent:</EMOJI>
One can have an event where everything happens as planned, without hitches or glitches. We did fairly well on that one, maybe an 85% grade, with a little extra credit for flexibility to still get done what we felt the Spirit was telling us and what the Bishop was asking us for.
For me, a successful ministry trip is one where I don't have to make an emergency run to Wal-Mart for some major component that was forgotten or lost! Or getting to use most of what was brought without pouts about what else COULD have been used if we'd thought or been inspired to bring it. Good marks on this category, too!
There are certainly other areas: remembering all the words; remembering all the choreography; getting the cues right; not whacking the light fixtures, heads in the congregation, or the 6' cross hanging in the midst of the main aisle. The list could go on for a while.
All of our presentation pieces this time used pre-recorded music, so no possibilities of train wrecks between movement and music teams.
All of the above stuff are technical areas and certainly count for something. When the technical goes well, it tends to allow peace to rule and to provide an atmosphere where God can work and the important areas where success is harder to measure can be points of focus.
The biggest two or three areas where success has to be discerned are all in the spiritual realm, and the hardest to define. At this moment in time, I'd probably have to list them this way:
:think: Did we hear the Spirit and His directions about
what stuff to bring and what to do with that stuff?
:think: Was what we presented clear and was it connected
to what the leadership was presenting, or were we just
presenting?
:think: Did we bring life through what we did?
I think we can say that this event was successful ministry because of all of those. One comment that was especially treasured was that while Helena was dancing the first night, the woman was not seeing Helena; it was obvious to her that Helena was dancing, but there was no "self" in the dance. What a joy to hear that kind of comment. That's what it's about for us, not calling attention to us, but pointing those attentions to our Lord, inviting others to join us in the Shadows Of His Wings, in this case. :tallit:
In a former life, we were both part of the clown troupe in a former church home. Because I had contact lens issues, I could not do the make-up. I was the only one of the troupe that spoke, so I was the straight man, the emcee, the story teller, the narrator, and anything else that required out-loud words. My character was "The Conductor" because I was also the one who had to figure out how to get us from one bit to the next and have it all make sense when we got to the end! So, I've had lots of practice at connecting disparate bits of stuff that we knew had to fit together. It came in handy last week, but it was not too hard, actually.
When we get to talk with leadership directly (SOOOO important), we can hear their heart and pick their brains about where they want to go. We can share the crux of the messages that our presentations bring, and figure out where they should go and why. Cases in point were the banner processional to "O Lord God of Israel, Who makest covenant and showest mercy with Thy servants that walk before Thee with all of their heart." This was done in the same service and shortly after the clergy in our province/diocese renewed their vows to stand with their/our bishop. "Our God is a covenant making and a covenant keeping God. How appropriate that as vows are taken, we're reminded of the vows that our God took on His own name, on our behalf." I love it when a plan comes together.
The drama that Helena talked about to the music "We hold this treasure in earthen vessels." We shared what we would like to do, and you could see the sparks of inspiration in our bishop. The discussion was just before the event kicked off on Wednesday night and "Vessels" was for Thursday. More than a couple of times, the Bishop used the phrase "Earthen Vessels" in his teaching on Wednesday, laying great groundwork for Thursday night. Such a blessing all the way around.
Speaking of "Vessels," we've done similar things with this piece before, but not within our own denomination. Watching people get involved and really offering themselves to the moment is always such a reward. Being part of offering such things to the Lord and being part of their ministry to Him is such a privilege. Watching the release that can come is a delight. The responses this time ran from tears to one person writing at least one book and its sequel on a 2"x4" piece of paper! Wrote and wrote and wrote and nearly missed the burning!
The last area where "success" is important is crucial. I had this burned into my head strongly at the Worship Seminar a couple of weeks ago. I wrote about it here somewhere, the issues surrounding the Levites in Ezekiel 44:10-14 where God was angry and had washed His hands of the Levites and condemned them to minister in the outer court forever, never to minister to Him again because their greatest priority was ministry TO THE PEOPLE rather than TO THEIR GOD. One strong area of "success" is our own personal ministry to and worship of (addressed TO) our Lord. It would be really easy for me and comfortable for me to just rejoice in watching others get it, watching them weep as their hindrances are offered in the fire to their God and the joy that comes as they are set free. Or watching someone "get" the real reason that the woman with issue of blood latched onto Jesus and what she was really holding onto, and watching them apply the truth to teachings for 3 days!!!!! But did *I* enter into conversation with and worship of my Lord? THAT's where success is really truly measured. It's easy to be a facilitator. It's not always easy to be a worshiper, too. :notworthy:
CEC Convo REPORT - sondramc - 06-21-2006
Hello Guys!
Great articles on the convocation about worship!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :clap: