We are three weeks away from the festival and we are still adjusting the preaching schedule as some who have registered have, for one reason or another, had to cancel, and others, just hearing about the festival, have called to sign on.
Among those who have stricken their name from the festival are Stacey Nowell of Virginia, for work related issues, Walter Dodd of Kentucky, for family health reasons, and Tim Brink of South Carolina, for congregationally related responsibilities. We will miss all three of these and are hopeful that two of them will roll their registration over to next year; Nowell will not be eligible as she will have exceeded the upper age range of our target demographic.
But in their place several others have come forward, including Nicholas Richards of New York, Brooks Talbott of Louisville, and Paul Booth of Atlanta; and we expect others to contact us as more of the pre-festival publicity goes out. We are maintaining a waiting list and to date all those who have placed their name on the waiting list (and submitted their registration and festival information) have received a preaching slot at the festival.
Our prayer calendar for today calls upon us to intercede on behalf of young preacher Jordan Casson of Morehouse College in Georgia, young preacher Christopher Dodson of Truett Seminary in Texas, and Jean Hawxhurst, Methodist pastor in Louisville, who will also serve as a convener during the festival.
And for all you coffee lovers who have volunteered to help: Starbucks is providing free coffee in the Volunteer Room at the church.