Western Christian Educators Conference Day 1

It's after 10:45 p.m. PACIFIC TIME, even though I'm on the shores of Lake Tahoe in Nevada. I've been up since 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time so that I was ready for the 3:40 a.m. shuttle pick up to take me to JFK. 7:00 a.m. flight to Salt Lake City, which is on Mountain Time, followed by an 11:35 a.m. Mountain Time flight to Reno, which landed at 11:45 a.m. Pacific Time. Then I took a two hour bus ride to the Lakeside Inn where I had lunch. Then I took a taxi to the Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center.

It's a beautiful site right on the shores of Lake Tahoe. Here are a couple of views from my room.



And here is my room, which could sleep up to 6 people (three queen-size beds). I have the room, which is almost as large as my apartment, to myself.

This is a multi-denominational conference, but most of the attendees come from reform-type denominations. This evening our keynote speaker Joyce MacKichan Walker focused on Matthew 28:16-20, the Great Commission. It's a little difficult to be a Great Commission Christian(Matthew 22:36-40) amongst Great Commission Christians. Did you know that Bishop Jeffrey Rowthorn's "Lord You Give the Great Commission" is hymn number 429 in the Presbyterian Hymnal?

But she led us through an interesting exercise. Each table of seven was given seven small numbered rectangles with colors and shapes on the other side. Each person at the table took one of the rectangles, copied the number on the back of a sheet of 8 x 11 1/2 white paper, and drew the shapes, enlarging them as best they could using the colors available in the baskets of markers on the tables, on the other side of their sheet of paper. When we were finished, we were to put the small square, color/shape side out, on a sheet of paper with numbered spaces and then put our large copy on a large grid of numbered sheets of paper.

Here's my sheet (I locked my inner perfectionist in the basement!)



Here's what our finished grid looked like:



Here's the original:



While we were doing the drawing at our tables, we were to discuss amongst ourselves the images of God we had as children.

After the main session, there were denominational Meet-and-Greets. Nine of the 10 Episcopalians in attendance gathered in a small chapel to have Eucharist to start off our time together.

More tomorrow. I hope to be tweeting from the conference on @EpiscoChildMin, which should also appear on my office Facebook page Children's Ministries - Episcopal Church Center.

Peace,
Jeff