50th Anniversary Celebration

We’ve basically been gearing up for this celebration all year. We’ve been planning, preparing, inviting, and organizing. On November 17th, close to 300 people from all over Colombia, Latin America, Norway and the United States gathered in Medellin to celebrate the 50thanniversary of the Evangelical Covenant Church of Colombia. It was in 1968 that Covenant missionaries, Wayne and Mary Anne Weld, arrived in Medellin to serve on the faculty of the Biblical Seminary of Colombia. A year later two more missionary couples arrived and together they formed a team two students from the Covenant Church of Ecuador and their families with the vision of starting a Covenant Church in Colombia. Now 50 years later we celebrate the fruits of so many who have faithfully served through the years.

During the day-long celebration we were reminded of our history through testimony, pictures, videos and drama. Some of the highlights included hearing from key Colombian leaders who have been instrumental in the expansion of the Covenant Church in Colombia, video greetings from several former missionaries, the presence of former missionaries who were able to travel to be present, and countless stories of God’s faithfulness that were shared. We watched a documentary put together by some of the Colombian young adults that detailed our journey together these past 50 years through photos and interviews.  And a particular highlight for was was being taken back in time as a group of children acted out the story of how the Covenant Church of Colombia began in the Villa Hermosa neighborhood. Katie wrote the drama that was acted out by the children who were present at the celebration. Even our kids participated, representing those key leaders in missionaries in the first years of the Covenant in Colombia.

The celebration was a time for people to come together who hadn’t seen each other in years. We exchanged many hugs and enjoyed time to catch up over coffee and lunch. Colombian culture was celebrated through dance and traditional clothing from each of the regions where the Covenant is present. Katie was able to participate in the cumbia, a traditional dance that a group of women from Medellin presented during the celebration.  Visitors from countries that have partnered with the ministry in Colombia shared in the celebration and it was a day filled with deep joy and fellowship.

We prayed together, we shared Holy Communion together and sang together glorifying God’s name and giving thanks for God’s faithfulness. It was a day where all the generations participated as we celebrated our history, committed ourselves to the present and looked forward to the future. We are grateful for the way the youth and young adults contributed with their talents and resources, decorating the chapel space, preparing the morning refreshment, participating in the ceremony through word and song. We are grateful for the children who are present, who learned about the past, reminded us that they are present and challenged us to go forward in unity.

 

 

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