wfn.org | Enthusiastic Crowd Gathers to Welcome New Millennium

[PCUSA NEWS <pcusa.news@ecunet.org>]

29-December-1999 
99437 
 
    Enthusiastic Crowd Gathers to Welcome 
    New Millennium, Presbyterian-Style 
 
    2,000-plus participants unaffected by less than expected turnout 
 
    by Jerry L. Van Marter 
 
INDIANAPOLIS-"Hi, where ya from?" 
 
    "Fort Dodge." 
 
    "That's Iowa, right?" 
 
    "Yeah.  You been there?" 
 
    "No, but I've heard of it." 
 
    "Cool." 
 
    If the opening strains of "Dawn ... an Epiphany" - a Presbyterian 
Church (U.S.A.) youth and young adult millennium-ending celebration - are 
any indication, the future of the church is this kind of unpretentious 
friendliness. 
 
    And rock-and-roll.  With a sound system and light show worthy of the 
Rolling Stones or Backstreet Boys, more than 2,000 Presbyterian young 
people whooped, hollered and boogied to a non-stop barrage of Christian 
rock music.  They sang along vociferously as lyrics were flashed on 
gigantic monitors on either side of the stage in the Indianapolis 
Convention Center as the four-day celebration got under way Dec. 28.  "The 
Dawn"concludes with an all-night party on New Year's Eve ... after 
participants have a scheduled "nap time" the afternoon of Dec. 31. 
 
    As the much-heralded but also maligned event got under way, there was 
no indication whatsoever that any of those gathered here cared in the least 
that only a fraction of the anticipated crowd of 30,000 showed up.  In 
fact, it's hard to imagine the cacophony had that many actually arrived. 
 
    From the opening drumbeat by the First Watch Band - a six-member 
Christian rock band from Tennessee - through exhausting "energizers" and 
even the sermon by the Rev. James Forbes, pastor of New York's Riverside 
Church - music propelled the two-hour opening worship and plenary at a 
breakneck pace. 
 
    Forbes exhorted the crowd to "let out that song that God has put in 
your heart."  That song, he said, meaning that unique expression of faith 
and life that God gives to all people, is what can make the new millennium 
"good and different." 
 
    "Until you release that song," Forbes continued, "the world is not what 
it should be and your life will not be what it ought to be."  There is a 
purpose - a song - inside everyone, he said, and releasing your song means 
"finding the courage, the skill and the power to be what God intended you 
to be." 
 
    And citing Ephesians 5, Forbes outlined seven "things to do to get your 
song out": 
 
    *  wake up - from denial, unreality 
 
    *  get up - act on inspiration when God provides it 
 
    *  wise up - figure out God's will 
 
    *  catch up - practice spiritual discipline 
 
    *  sober up - clear your mind of biases and prejudices that interfere 
with faith 
 
    *  fill up - with God's spirit 
 
    *  link up - "we need peer support, not peer pressure." 
 
     Then, capturing perfectly the theme and spirit of the evening, Forbes 
punctuated his sermon with a song of his own composing: 
 
    "Release Your Song" 
 
    There's a song inside of me 
    I can hardly wait to see 
    What it is I have to say 
    Or the music I will play. 
 
    It's been so long in coming 
    First the thought and then some humming, 
    But before I find my key 
    Something stifles it in me. 
 
    What keeps my song from being sung? 
    Past hurts, deep fears, a timid tongue? 
    What makes my song come so hard? 
    A self-made live-in prison guard? 
 
    Meanwhile the song still groans in me 
    I can't be me 'till it is free 
    Debating, hesitating, getting ready to sing, 
    The song could die like a stillborn thing. 
 
    "Release your song," said the Spirit to me. 
    "Be free! Be free! It's Jubilee. 
    Cast out each fearsome song patrol. 
    Proclaim deliverance to your soul." 
 
    The Spirit of life flowed through my blood. 
    I said "Yes" - something broke 
    It came like a flood. 
    Up from within, down from above, 
    A kingdom built on the power of love. 
 
    Thank God my song has been set free. 
    The rhythm and the words are right for me. 
    I'm finally ready to sing out strong. 
    My soul is saying, "This is my song!" 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  This note sent by Office of News Services, 
  Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
  to the World Faith News list <wfn-news@wfn.org>.
  For additional information about this news story,
  call 502-569-5493 or send e-mail to PCUSA.News@pcusa.org

  On the web:  http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/

  If you have a question about this mailing list, 
  send queries to wfn@wfn.org