National worship conference approaching
Filed Under: concert, conference, Minnesota, Worship
Registration is filling up fast for WELS National Conference on Worship, Music, and the Arts, to be held July 28-31 at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn. Although registration is open until June 15, more than 350 people have already signed up—well above April registration numbers in the past.
"We could easily be headed for a record attendance," says Rev. Bryan Gerlach, administrator for WELS Commission on Worship. "There was a very positive buzz from the last worship conference, when it was held for the first time in St. Peter. Many people didn't know what to expect, and their reaction was, ‘This is great! I'm going to tell my friends and we're all going to be back in 2008.' "
This year's conference features more than 60 workshops on a variety of topics; the new Christian Worship: Supplement will also be introduced. Other conference highlights include exhibits, corporate worship opportunities, and concerts—including a performance by the conference's largest high school honor choir of almost 130 WELS students nationwide.
"It's become a cliché that coming to the conference is a mountaintop experience—but it really is," says Gerlach. "It's the energy, and the vitality of all these people who care so much about what worship is. We hope this enthusiasm goes back with them to their congregations and they have a renewed zeal to serve our Lord in a very important part of the church's life."
For more information and to register online, visit www.wels.net/jump/worship-conf (travel subsidy still may be available for those in outlying districts).
For a preview of the conference, watch March's WELS Connection online: http://streams.wels.net/video/mar08
