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Thursday, January 24, 2008
Symposium ‘08 Update 5
Seen at some of the seminars this afternoon:
Above: Dallas Willard leads a seminar on “The Renovation of the Heart: Spirituality.”
Above: A panel addresses the topic of “Youth, Formation, and Intergenerational Worship.”
Above: Attendees enjoy refreshments after a day of seminars.
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Symposium ‘08 Update 4 - Cold but bright weather for Day 1
The weather is characteristically Michigan wintry for Symposium—in the teens and snowy—but with heartwarming slices of sunlight, as I saw from the bridge over the East Beltline this afternoon.
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Symposium ‘08 Update 3
Pastor and professor Kenneth Bailey has a wealth of wisdom and insight into Scripture based on his many years living in the Middle East. In his seminar today he’s been sharing some insights on particular verses and parables from the Bible. A tiny sampling: - In Luke 16, much of the portion starting in verse 9 contains puns in Aramaic. For instance:
If you have not been faithful (amin) in unrighteous mammon (mamun) the truth (amuna) who will entrust to you? (ya ‘min ith kun)- Dr. Bailey walked us through the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man and shed fresh light on every verse. For instance, he explained that the dogs licking the sores of Lazarus is not an act of torment but an act of relief, since dog saliva was believed to alleviate pain and even fight bacteria in wounds. Bailey points out that the dogs take better care of Lazarus than the rich man does. - Here is one of Bailey’s summary statements about the parable of Lazarus:
Who is “El-‘azir” (“Lazarus,” “the one whom God helps”)? From Lazarus’ response to suffering, in this life and the next, we know that God was with him and helped him all along. Only with divine help is such a response possible. He was indeed “El-‘azir.” In the end, the rich man sought in vain to become the one whom God helps but it was too late.Calvin Symposium on Worship homepage Previous update
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Symposium ‘08 Update 2
Dorothy Bass addresses the day-long seminar “Abundant Life Around the Table” this morning.
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Symposium ‘08 Update 1
In worship this morning we dwelled on this line from Hebrews 2:
Yet at present we do not see all things subject to him. But we see Jesus…
Listen to the prayers of intercession(mp3) this morning by Jorund Midttun from Norway (pictured below) and John Witvliet of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.
Listen to Scott Hoezee’s sermon(mp3) this morning on Hebrews 2. (A higher quality audio file will be posted on our website after Symposium.)
Calvin Symposium on Worship homepage
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Prayer Booth Takes Shape
Now all it needs are some prayers!
This is what 2,000 books looks like
Take one of each when you arrive at Symposium: The Church of All Ages: Generations Worshiping Together (Alban Institute, 2008), edited by Howard Vanderwell Helping Our Children Grow in Faith: How the Church Can Nurture the Spiritual Development of Kids (Baker, 2008), by Robert Keeley
Another presenter preview
One blogging presenter posts a preview of Symposium, including her blog posts from last year and a hopeful intention to blog during Symposium this year.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Calling all Symposium bloggers!
Will you be blogging from Symposium this week? May we link to your posts from this blog? Let me know. Thanks!
Presenter preps for Symposium
From the blog of Bob Keeley, our colleague, Symposium presenter, and presently prolific author.
Prayers for overseas Symposium guests denied visas
Our friend and associate staff member Mary Hulst summarizes at her blog some of the very sad stories we’ve been hearing this year from would-be Symposium attendees from overseas who have been denied visas, often unfairly, often after extraordinary sacrifice and travel to apply. Over 70 visas were denied this year, and too many of those denials went like this:
One person spent a year’s salary and hours of time gathering the appropriate paperwork months in advance, only to have the woman across the counter take his papers and stamp a big NO on them without even reading them. A letter from a congressman, letters from his church, information on the symposium—she never read a word.
We grieve this injustice and pray fervently for these brothers and sisters. And we hope for the New Jerusalem, when no visas will be able to keep us all from worshiping together!
Prayer Booth at Symposium
We’re working diligently (frantically?) to make final preparations for Symposium this week. Today we started setting up this prayer booth as a place to pray during Symposium, in particular for the many overseas guests who will be with us and many whose visas were inexplicably denied. More about this prayer booth to come. We welcome your prayers for Symposium as it unfolds this week. Update: Prayer Booth Takes Shape
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Volunteer at Symposium 2008!
We’re serving hot chocolate (with marshmellows!) outside our office today to passersby who may be interested in volunteering at Symposium. Even if you can’t come to our office today, we’d love to have you volunteer!
Event from grant recipient: Baptist Worship Identity Project and Symposium
Upcoming event from grant recipient Union University in Jackson, Tennessee:
Update: We grieve with the staff and students at Union University who experienced severe and devastating damage as the result of a tornado on February 5. The conference planned for February 14 to 16 was canceled. Please join us in praying for the Union University community as they rebuild and heal in the months ahead. (Related news release and more news from Union.)
Tim McCarthy on worship leadership in Christian higher education
Note from Symposium presenter Tim McCarthy:
“This site includes: My MA major paper, on the Role of Chapel in Christian Higher Education (I’ll be presenting on this at the Symposium in January), a paper I did as part of a trip to Calvin College, North Park University, and Trinity International University, observing and analyzing their student leadership training programs, my own draft training program, and a paper on diversity.”
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