Inspirational quotes from the week at NOAC

Church of the Brethren Newsline
September 21, 2017

National Older Adult Conference this year featured an inspiring line up of speakers and preachers. These quotes give just a taste of their messages. Recordings of each of these keynote presentations, Bible studies, and worship services are available to view in full online. Find a link to view the NOAC webcasts at www.brethren.org/news/2017/noac2017 .

“Generation to generation we’re called to welcome Jesus, even as Jesus welcomes us, every moment of our lives.” — Preacher Rodger Nishioka, pastor of adult educational ministries at Village Presbyterian Church in Kansas City, Kan., who also has preached for Annual Conference and National Youth Conference.

 

“The office of servant of God is a major office…. This is about service as we might think of giving one’s whole being to the office.” — Bible study leader Stephen Breck Reid, professor of Christian scriptures at Truett Theological Seminary in Waco, Texas, and a former academic dean and professor of the Old Testament at Bethany Theological Seminary.

 

“God designed the church at its best when old and young serve alongside each other…. God is every bit as interested in the old as he is in the young.” — Keynote speaker Missy Buchanan, a top-selling author for Upper Room Books, who writes about aging and faith.

 

“Our job is to help this country navigate this…demographic change that so many white folks are afraid of…. You can do this. It’s part of your vocation as Christians.”
— Keynote speaker Jim Wallis, president and founder of Sojourners and a leading evangelical voice in the American Christian community.

 

“How needed courage is in our world today…. Our children and our grandchildren–they need us to be brave, to pass on the gift of what it means to be Brethren in the world at this exact time…. We need courage so that the next generation can count on us to fan that flame in them.”
— Preacher Susan Boyer, senior pastor of La Verne (Calif.) Church of the Brethren.

 

“One [seagoing] cowboy led to another and another and another. Their stories were so compelling…and I was hooked. I hadn’t meant to become a historian and an expert…. All I wanted to do was write my novel. But when I saw those stories were hiding away…my mission changed.”
— Keynote speaker Peggy Reiff Miller, now the leading expert on the seagoing cowboys of Heifer Project and Heifer International, and author of the Brethren Press illustrated children’s book, “The Seagoing Cowboy.”
“Go now into the scared places of this weary world.
But don’t go by yourself.
Go with the whole community of God,
joyful generations making all places sacred.”
— The benediction given by Wendy McFadden, publisher of Brethren Press and the Church of the Brethren communications, who preached the closing sermon of the conference.

 

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