Reflections on the NBC Part 2- The Bad (or not so good)

In my previous post I covered the good parts, or at least the parts of the covenant celebration that I liked. But on the other side there were parts that I did not like as much or that did not seem to work as well with the event as a whole.

One part of the covenant that I was disappointed in was the sermon by the only female pastor that preached during the plenary sessions. Julie Pennington-Russell's sermon was bad, but it was not very engaging and the message of the sermon did not come through as strongly as it needed to. And the speakers on Friday morning were also not very engaging and the morning session seemed to drag on much longer than two and half hours. Maybe it was due in part to last minute change it speakers or maybe a lack of interest in the topics on my part. I don't know. But the Friday morning session was by far my least favorite.

I was also not impressed with the music in general. Some of the choirs that performed were very good, and the violin player was especially enjoyable. But when the songs were chosen for everyone to sing the songs that chosen often did not fit with the mood of the event and stifled an upbeat mood. I think the music program could have used a little more careful planning because it hindered as opposed to lifting the mood of the sessions.

My last suggestion about the covenant would be a change in location. While the building was more than adequate in size, it was almost too big and the long distance required to walk to each session was hard on some participants. Perhaps a location where less walking would be required might be better for future events.