Center Place of Zion Reunion

Center Place of Zion Reunion August 2-5, 2018

By Apostle Terry W. Patience

The Remnant Record 2018 – Volume 1

The Center Place of Zion Reunion was somewhat different than previous years, attempting to minister to more people and to provide some different worship experiences. It was held from Thursday morning, August 2nd through Sunday morning, August 5th.

There was a committee, made up of Apostle Terry and Cindy Patience and High Priest Craig and Ardyce Nordeen that came together to explore ways to minister to more people than in prior years.

One way to accomplish this was to have the closing worship services on Sunday morning when more people could attend. We had a prayer and dedication service at 9:00 a.m. which followed the pattern of the early prayer services held on Thursday and Friday. We had around 125 in attendance. The next service was a sacrament service where over 200 attended. It was great to hear that many voices singing together in the Worship Center. High Priest Wayne Bartrow provided us with the message.

Thursday and Friday’s schedules were similar to what we are familiar with during reunions: that of a morning prayer service, a morning and an afternoon class, classes for the youth, afternoon swimming, and a preaching service in the evening. The morning class was provided by Patriarch Carl VunCannon, Jr., on the topics of “Living in the Kingdom” and “Sharing the Kingdom.” Brother Patience brought a video series and discussion topics by Ray Vander Laan called A Clash of Kingdoms, which covered the clash between what Caesar proclaimed and what Paul proclaimed Jesus to be, the King of Kings.

Our evening speakers were President Frederick N. Larsen and President of the Quorum of Twelve, Apostle Donald Burnett. Both sermons dealt with the topics of the day and the theme for the week, Prepare for the Kingdom.

Saturday was a successful experiment to provide intergenerational activities with the goal of sharing together in ways that helped us explore how better we could follow the theme, Enjoying the Kingdom. We invited all ages to participate and we invited those who couldn’t attend during the previous two days, to come and share. The day included a group story telling based on the Parable of the Sower, five different people sharing about their lives in the church, giant bubbles, service projects for the homeless, a drum circle, a maze run, and a supper of hot dogs before the final campfire. It was a glorious day!

There were many comments about the experiences people had. As always, we all wished that more people might have been able to participate.

We look forward to next year. See you there!