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2007 Event Schedule

Past Events

2006 Advent Party

Canterbury Colorado

Love one another as I have loved you. John 13:34

NEW ORLEANS, LA  -  DEC. 27, 2006—JAN. 1, 2007

Past Canterbury Colorado Events

Between December 28, 2006 and January 1, 2007, CANTERBURY COLORADO sent six people to CELEBRATE, an ecumenical conference for Christians of all denominations to come together for worship and interdenominational dialogue and cooperation. 

Reflection

 

Having attended the previous CELEBRATE conference in 2002 (they are scheduled every four years), I was excited about the current conference, which was in New Orleans.

The focus of this CELEBRATE conference was a little different than previous CELEBRATE conferences, as the focus shifted from learning and information (through great workshops and speakers) toward a focus on the devastation of Katrina and our response as Christians.  In large group sessions, we saw the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra led by Irvin Mayfield (the cultural ambassador for New Orleans to the U.S.) perform as well as a great gospel choir called Shades of Praise.  Both groups blended their music with personal testimony about how Katrina affected them and how they responded to the devastation.  It was truly moving to hear from people who lost everything, yet maintained their faith in friends and in God.  Many of the members in these groups helped other members who had lost their houses rebuild.  A really fantastic thing we participated in was a "second line procession" through the French Quarter one evening.  In this procession, the marchers (who have usually lost a loved one or friend) process through the city behind a marching band or bunch of musicians.  In our case, all 600+ of us were behind a high school marching band.  It was a bunch of fun, marching through the French Quarter, receiving beads from happy onlookers!

The most shocking part of the conference were the times in which we were taken through the hardest hit areas of New Orleans, particularly St. Bernard's Parish and the Lower Ninth Ward.  In many places in these areas, one could notice the presence of stones where house foundations used to be, but the houses were absolutely gone - either from the hurricane and aftermath or from the people who were there cleaning up the areas.  I was able to do a bit of service work at a community center, St. Mark's Community Center just outside the French Quarter, for an afternoon, which was really awesome.  I helped paint an area of the center which would be used for a program for at-risk young women.  What a great way to spend an afternoon.

In terms of faith development, we spent a lot of time praying and worshiping with folks from other denominations, discerning how God was calling us to serve others and work to fight against the injustices which exist in our world.  Many of us - myself included - committed or recommitted our lives to service and careers which directly help people fight against poverty, homelessness, hunger, and other inequalities which exist in this world.  In addition, we spent some quality time with other Episcopalians in denominational times, in particular with other Episcopalians from our province.  I was particularly pleased with the fact that all of our representatives chose to pray in the New Year in a Taizé-style service, instead of "dancing in" the New Year (both were options at the conference).  All in all, we had a blast in New Orleans over New Year's at the CELEBRATE conference!

 

- Jamie Mills