Our 1st Daniel Weekend took place in Florida on August 7-9, 2015 just before school got rolling for our 27 participants. The Daniel Weekend is a unique time of spiritual renewal designed by Tentmakers and supported by Christian Educators to encourage, equip and empower educators to transform their schools through God's love and truth. The setting was the beautiful Cocoa Beach Hilton where the teachers were treated to all their materials, a 2-night stay and all their meals. Funds were raised and supporters caught the vision of teachers as missionaries in the public school. They gave so that the teachers need only to bring themselves.
All 27 participants created Action Plans for their schools and students (when appropriate) and are fired up to see their plans through. The plans ranged from creating an intentionally positive experience for the children this year to starting prayer groups on campus. All the educators were excited to be with other educators from around the state to realize that they are not alone.
Being a Christian in the public school can be tricky at times because most administrators and teachers do not know the law. Teachers do not lose their 1st Amendment rights at the classroom door and can participate in prayer and Bible study groups before and after school. Teachers cannot pray with the students but can certainly pray for the students. As long as there are tests in school, there will be prayer! Finn Laursen, executive director for Christian Educators Association, Int. (CEAI) gave an exciting presentation of the legal rights of teachers and students that helped all the participants understand how to be both a legal and graceful Christian in the public school.
FL districts that were represented were: St. Johns, Clay, Indian River, Seminole, Orange and Osceola. Positions included principals, assistant principals, district leaders, classroom teachers, support teachers and retired educators. We even had a representative from CEF - Child Evangelism Fellowship who sponsor Good News Clubs for the elementary level.
If you are interested in partnering with us to support another group of teachers through a Daniel Weekend, please contact Karen C. Seddon. A teacher empowered by the Lord is a jewel for the public schools. Not only do they know how to love the children as image bearers of God, they also know what they can and cannot do. Heather, one of the Daniel facilitators gave the participants frogs to help them remember to be Fully Reliant On God. When it came time to try to explain the Daniel Weekend in one or two words, one of the participants said, "FROG license." He now has the legal backing to be all He can be for the Lord in his classroom. Special thanks to Tentmakers, Christian Educators and all our sponsors for making this one of the greatest outreaches to public school educators anywhere.
As always, I am
Prayerfully yours,
K
PS. Don’t forget to spread the word about the 1:16PM Prayer Movement and Around the Word in 180 Days:
• Visit, "like", and add comments the 1:16PM Facebook page and the Around the World in 180 days Facebook page.
• Follow us on Twitter for the prayer prompts @one16pray
May God bless you with success His way this 2015-2016 school year.
Note: To more fully understand the 16-9 Movement, please read the first blog entry by clicking here.
Christian Educators Association International is the only professional association in the United States specifically for Christian educators in public schools. CEAI protects our members first in prayer, next with excellent professional liability insurance and other benefits while helping them live out their high calling as a Christian in the public school.
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