Last Thursday my friend & co-chair of Peace's Comfort & Care Ministry, Lou, & I traveled to Chattanooga, Tenn., to attend the Presbyterian Church of America's 2009 Mercy Conference.
We flew from RDU to Charlotte, & from there on to Tenn. The weather was overcast & drizzly & rainy--my kind of day:) I do believe we spent more time waiting to take off than actually in the air!
We found Chattanooga to be a friendly town. We stayed at the Choo Choo Inn pictured here. The Inn is the restored original train depot & is at least a hundred years old. Much revitalization is going on in the area, & I found downtown Chattanooga to be a charming place.
After arriving at the hotel too early to check in, we grabbed some lunch & headed straight for the Tennessee Aquarium, the "crown jewel" of Chattanooga (that's my opinion:)), right along the banks of the Tennessee River. The Aquarium is as interesting & beautiful as the first time I saw it more than 10 years ago! And recently they've added a penguin exhibit:)!
After enjoying the Aquarium we rushed back to the "Choo Choo" to check in, ordered a take-out supper, took our luggage to our room, then dashed to catch the church shuttle van to New City Presbyterian, our host for the Conference.
New City is such a unique church it requires it's own blog, but suffice it to say, the people were warm, hospitable, & made us feel right at home the entire time. Throughout the two & 1/4 days we heard inspirational & uplifting words, powerful praise songs directed & led by James Ward, & attended workshops where we listened, took notes, & were encouraged & challenged.
After returning to the hotel Thursday evening we headed straight to bed, exhausted.
Friday the entire day was spent at New City listening & singing, praying, discussing, meeting people, plus eating lunch & supper together, from 9am to 9pm. Then Saturday morning we attended one last workshop & one more plenary session before it was time to say our thank you's & goodbyes.
The flights back went smoothly, even with gloomy rainy weather following us from Tenn. to Charlotte & on to Raleigh, where we arrived home by 7:15 pm.
It was a whirlwind trip, our minds are full of mercy information, & we are feeling like we need another weekend before the normal routine resumes!!
The experience was exhilarating. It was also a treat for the two of us to go together to hear about mercy, our passion. On the way home Lou & I attempted to sort through our notes & thoughts to put it all in perspective.
The main questions are: what did God desire us to learn from our time spent at New City, & what information is most important to share with Peace Church??
We may not know right away.....
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