The Conference is Over, but the Community Lives On!
It's Saturday morning and I had my first good sleep in about two weeks, so I'm feeling great! Not just about the sleep, but mostly about the experience of the last two and a half days! When we started this journey together on Wednesday, I had only imagined what it was going to be like to be in one room, all worshiping, learning and growing together. It was better than I ever dreamed!
I watched the video highlights from each session this morning and smiled through every one. My friend Dave, did a great job capturing the moments and editting them together. I'm marvelling at our good God's blessing on every aspect. I sat through the confernce reflecting on the planning meetings and Nancy's leadership during the development and brainstorming, the ideas that came from our producer Sherri and the members of the planning team and I am in awe of how God used each and everyone. Just another reminder of what Erwin said to all of us...that God has created us to write stories...it may look like scribble at first, but the artistry and poetry is His gift to us.
I'm humbled by the commitment and dedication of the "Online Team" that came together to do what had not been done before at a Willow conference. This whole event was a HUGE team effort...Ops, Marketing, IS, Customer Service and the hundreds of volunteers...I'm so grateful for each one and would love you to meet them all.
One of my favorite things has been reading all the comments. Thank you so much for your openness and honesty. We're taking seriously all that you say and we'll learn and grow from it. Thanks for sharing, so personally, some of your challenges, that authenticy helps all who read to identify our own challenges. It was even fun to see that some of you went beyond what happened online and met up with each other. This is a great start to a community that will keep going beyond this event. We appreciate you!
Now that you're home and have had some time to process, what impacted you the most at this year's Arts Conference? What do you want to make sure we keep doing or stop doing? What are some of your favorite memories that are lingering on?
Let's keep the conversation going!
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11 comments:
I crashed last night, too! But the conference was worth every minute of extra sleep required. It was one of the most significant times of my service in arts ministry and God made that possible through hundreds of dedicated people at Willow. I just wanted to thank everyone from Nancy to the breakout leaders to the last person handing out water or providing directions in the hallway - you made a difference that will be seen here in north Alabama for years to come!
How about that list of the videos in the film festival? ;-)
I would love to get a copy of Scribble on DVD. Is it available?
Nancy --
Thank you for doing what you do. Your team is wonderful and I can't wait until next year. I missed seeing more from your Drama folks. Just like the last time I was at an Arts conference, I laughed a lot but I cried more. And that's a good thing. It is so wonderful to be in a place with people that "get it". thanks for giving us that place.
Yes, Would the service of friday morning be on a DVD? Not just donald miller talking, but the entire service? When your worship leaders told their story, with the worship and everything? If so, where can we buy that... my e-mail is gmbossj@comcast.net. Thank you!
I just wanted to say that this was my first year going to the Arts Conference after taking over as Music Director at my church. The different concepts, the ideas, the just sheer passion in the presentations, in the worship teams, in the musicians, in all the people I met blew me away. I've never felt so inspired and so encouraged in my life, and I know that the influence of the WCA Arts Conference will continue to inspire me and my congregation for a long time to come. Thank you for all your hard work to everyone who was involved in the conference!
I wouldn't mind a list of the Film Festival Films and a way to get ahold of them too...but there is no rush on that.
Thank you for a great conference and a great theme; Nancy mentioned 'the cup half full' idea in reference to being optimistic yet realistic about our lives and our ministries....Being at this conference, it occured to me that yes, our cups both half full and 1/2 empty, but more importantly, they have water to nourish us and have room for more. I'm glad that Willow recognizes the blessings we have and recognizes the empty spaces as opportunities to be filled. Thanks again - we left with our cups full!
Minutes after the music faded and the stage lights dimmed, 6 of us climbed in our van and drove 13+ hours back home to Canandaigua, NY. We arrived just in time to rev up for Father's Day Weekend services, and although we know we have run a marathon, it just doesn't matter. Our emotional, relational, spiritual and ministry cups are full. And the best thing is, it's not a short term, "conference-high" kind of full. Every element of this year's arts conference was high octane fuel in our tanks, a perfect fit for each artist on our team. THANK YOU for pouring into our whole church family by pouring into us.
Nancy: GREAT idea with the journals. In previous years, I was scrambling to keep all my stuff together in the notebook provided - probably still haven't located all the loose sheets, but this year, all I had to keep track of was one journal! I've already referred to it quite a few times. Thanks for the incredible experience and the wonderful memories. See you next year!!
Is it possible to post some of the music played before each session?
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