APCE 2019: “Come to the Water”

  1. APCE 2019: Anticipation
  2. APCE 2019: “Come to the Water”
  3. APCE 2019: The tide is changing
  4. APCE 2019: Engaging young Christians in social justice
  5. APCE 2019: How does Jesus respond to generational suffering?
  6. APCE 2019: Revived at the Water’s Edge

BY JESSIE PARTRIDGE

I am so excited to be back at APCE for a second year!  The year the conference is being held in Galveston with the theme of “Come to the Water,” which seems apt for a conference being held on an island. It was great to enter the ballroom that worship was being held in and immediately running into friends from the presbytery, from GA, and meeting new people too. The scripture that the conference is centered around is Isaiah 55, which falls under the sub-title “Invitation to the Thirsty.” As we worshiped together we celebrated and remembered our own baptismal waters and the significance linked to being God’s people.

What is it that we thirst for? For everyone it will be different, we each bear our own temptations. But verse 2 of Isaiah warns us that even if we get what we desire, we will still not be filled, that we should not fill ourselves with things that do not satisfy us. And what does satisfy us? Only God. I am thankful for this opportunity to gather with fellow educators, to take a break from our hectic schedules in order that we can be filled with God’s unquenchable love, and that we will, in turn, be able to pour God’s love and grace on our congregations.

Jessie Partridge is a Master of Arts in Christian Education (M.A.C.E.) student at the Richmond campus of Union Presbyterian Seminary.