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Avondale expertise at Pacific worship conference
15 July 2008
Tailevu, Fiji
Eight Avondale College staff members and students have shared their worship leading experiences at a Pacific island-wide conference in Fiji this past month (June).
The conference, held at Fulton College near Suva, June 17-23, is the fourth organised and presented by Dr Lyell Heise and Mere Neale. Lyell and Mere are director and assistant director of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific's Institute of Worship, which is based on Avondale's Lake Macquarie campus. Their aim is to develop leaders who could become worship educators and trainers themselves.The institute's administrative assistant, Debbie Hamilton, a fourth-year theology student at Avondale, presented a workshop in visual programming for worship and supervised data projection and digital photography. Second-year education student Blake Robinson served as the band and guitar consultant and presented a workshop on public-address systems.
Lee-Anne Courtney, who is completing a Master of Education (Honours), provided drama coaching and workshops, assisted in the praise and worship team and mentored a worship planning team. Litiana Qiosese, a Master of Education classmate, also mentored a worship planning team and coordinated the high level of involvement by children in the conference.
Education lecturer Bev Christian designed and hosted the Prayer Room, mentored a worship team and presented a plenary session on prayer and worship. And Graduate Diploma in Theology student Joe Talemaitoga coordinated team travel and managed resource distribution and sales.
Other speakers included Pastor Bob Bolst (Adventist volunteer service) and Julie Weslake (Adventist children's ministries), both departmental directors from the church in the South Pacific. Bob mentored a worship planning team, conducted a creative communion service and assisted in photography and visuals. Julie presented the rationale for multigenerational worship.
Pastor Stuart Tyner from the Adventist church at La Sierra University (Riverside, California, USA) presented a series on worship through the Bible. Stuart is a two-time Festival of Faith presenter at Avondale.
One hundred and twenty delegates attended the conference. The delegates, who included administrators, chaplains, ministers and teachers, represented seven countries--Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
Caption: Delegates pray for their colleagues during a commissioning service on the last night of the worship conference.
Credit: Bob Bolst
Credit: Bob Bolst
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