NEWSLETTER
CHARLESTOWN METHODIST DANCE MINISTRY
GREETINGS!
Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Dance before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved.
Greetings and blessings to each of you members of our Dance Ministry. God has safely brought us through to 2014! We must give thanks and praise to him for all his goodness and mercy towards us.
Our Dance Ministry has for the past two years seen much growth and prosperity as we strive to be 'ministers' or 'stewards' of God, through dance. We have grown in membership and have bonded with each other in a way that many other ministries have not. But for the latter part of 2013, we saw a decline in attendance, punctuality and commitment from members for varying reasons.
It is with this that I wish to make a special appeal to everyone in this Ministry for us to make a great effort to commit ourselves to our Ministry of Dance. It is a GREAT ministry! We are what many see as an ''odd assortment'' of individuals who have managed to create great dances, blessed many hearts and supported each other through many challenges and I believe that we have what it takes to be even better at what we do.
In this vein I make a special appeal to everyone to:
a) Make an effort to be on time. For the past two years I have religiously sent text messages or whatsapp and used facebook to remind everyone to COME TO dance and that it starts @ 5:30pm and to be ONTIME.
b) CALL, TEXT, WHATSAPP, EMAIL or FACEBOOK to let me know if you will be LATE or NOT COMING.
c) Make an effort to commit your Thursday evenings to Dance Ministry time. Understanding is given in the event that you have: a class, meetings, an event or sickness and as such please let us know.
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE WAY FORWARD
At Thursday's meeting, six (6) of us were in attendance and I put forward the following suggestions in an effort to diversify our Ministry:
1. Include Art & Craft as part of our monthly activities. It would be done between 5:30 and 6:45 of our session on the assigned day. The things we create can, for example be things we use for our Ministry, tokens like bookmarks which can be given to guests or birthday and anniversary celebrants or the sick and shut in etc.
2. Visitation e.g. to the Homes for the Elderly or the sick and shut in at home
3. Rap Sessions with Rev. Richardson on various topics of our choice. Some suggested topics were: Worship, devotions, friendships, abuse, family life, Christianity, relationships etc
4. At least once per quarter or it can be monthly - we have a NIGHT OUT
E.g. Bon Fire night or games night in the Manse yard at the back, this will be in partnership with the Youth Choir Ministry OR Moon Light walks OR Night on the Pier OR Fishing OR Dinner at a restaurant of our choice...
Sectioned below shows an agenda we've put forward for this month.
JANUARY AGENDA
9th - Dance Ministry Resumed - Meeting was Held
16th - 5:30 - 6:45 - Art & Craft
6:45 - 8:00 - Dance
23rd - 5:30 - 6:45 - Rap Session with Rev. Richardson: TOPIC: Christianity & Devotions
6:45 - 8:00 Dance
30th - 5:30 - 8:00 Dance
For Art and Craft I kindly ask that you purchase these items (or bring if you already have them):
1. 2 yards cotton (Can be purchased at Hunkins for approximately $7.50 or so per yard) OR you can opt to buy fabric of YOUR choice with a print.
2. Needle and thread kit....the ones with different threads in it.
MEMBERS
Active Members
Tineesha Chapman
Shelly-Ann Phillip
Paul Challenger
Derolyn Clarke
Shinel Dore
Janita Matthew
Delores Gumbs
Kennishe Nisbett
Nina Williams
Deslyn Williams-Johnson
Tasha Parris
Julie-Ann Parris
Shelisa Charles
*Mauricia Claxton
Honourary Members
Mrs. Elencia Baptiste
Isaidah Baptiste
Rev. Careen White-Richardson
Mrs. Bernice Daley
DANCE MINISTRY KNOWLEDGE CORNER
What is Liturgical Dance?
“Liturgical dance is dance or gesture used within worship for the glory of God. It is intended to add depth and dimension to the spoken or sung text and/or music within the worship service by use of visual display, as enhancement for the words as they come to life through movement and drama.
Why Dance in Worship Service
Liturgical dance is an invitational art. It invites us to respond to God with our whole being; it helps us move beyond verbal expressions to a fuller experience and expression of our relationship with God. Liturgical dances are choreographed to bring life and form to the joys, visions and struggles of a searching heart. When the dances are danced with the sincerity and confidence and spiritual discernment that worship requires, the Christian message is brought to life.
Six Types of Dance
- Praise - A dance of thanksgiving, giving glory to God by using your movements to either testify to others of His goodness or thank Him for His goodness.
- Worship - An intimate dance between you and the Lord. Movements are personal, reverent, and yielding.
- Celebration - A victory dance full of excitement! A "party" dance that celebrates anything from love to God's grace to a financial blessing… whatever God's placed on your heart to celebrate!
- Warfare - A militant, forceful dance full of confidence and boldness that speaks to your circumstance or to the devil with directness.
- Travail - A dance of encouragement either to yourself or others, in times of discouragement or trouble. It reaches to God for help, guidance, direction, and relief.
- Prophetic - A God-given dance that ministers to a person's heart for a specific word of encouragement, direction, or confirmation.