Deadline extended for local worship leader training event.
Swamp Mennonite Church will host “Sunday Morning Spark,” a day-long worship leader training seminar on February 19, 2011. The event will feature workshops led by respected pastors and leaders on topics covering the spectrum of worship leading activities, including corporate prayer, Scripture- reading, story-telling, effective liturgy, and creative congregational involvement.
“This event was birthed from our own need as a church,” says Emily Ralph, Swamp’s Minister of Worship. “We were looking for a resource for our own worship leaders, something that could empower and inspire them on Sunday mornings.”
After an unsuccessful search for existing resources, Swamp’s Worship Planning Team decided to plan their own seminar, gathering talented presenters on the most pressing topics for today’s congregations.
“And now we’re just too excited to keep this great event to ourselves,” Ralph says. “This is a need many
congregations have, so we want to help provide these resources for other churches as well.”
Although the seminar is labeled as a worship leader training, the workshops would also benefit pastors, song leaders, worship teams, Sunday School or Bible study leaders, or even children’s storytellers, Ralph
adds.
The day will consist of five workshops and a lunch from 10am to 3pm, with a bonus session at 3pm that will offer registrants an opportunity to share stories and reflect on the workshops. Workshop leaders include Sue Conrad, a worship leader for the 2011 Mennonite Church USA convention in Pittsburgh, worship pastor Sandy Drescher-Lehman, prayer coordinator Sandy Landes, pastor Blaine Detwiler, and Franconia Mennonite Conference’s director of communication, Steve Kriss.
Throughout the seminar, Swamp Mennonite will be partnering with Hackman’s Bible Bookstore of Allentown to provide worship resources at discounted prices. In addition, Hackman’s will be giving away a free copy of Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals (Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson- Hartgrove) to each church that attends. Owner Joe Hackman, who is also a worship leader at Swamp, feels that this seminar will be invaluable to the churches his store serves. He is pleased to support it in any way he can, noting that the workshop schedule is “very, very impressive!”
As a result of increased demand, the registration deadline has been extended to February 12. Registration is free and donations will be received to cover the cost of lunch. Nursery care is available
but children must be preregistered.
Swamp Mennonite Church is located on Rosedale Road in Quakertown, Pa. For the most updated information or to register, visit the church website, JustSwamp.com, e-mail Emily Ralph, Minister of Music (Emily@justswamp.com) or call the church office (215-536-7928).