Praise Fest 2006, “Boasting in Christ,” will be held Saturday to promote unity among different denominations and to support the Invisible Children campaign, its coordinator said.Feleceia Benton, a senior advertising/public relations and theater major, said the main goal of Praise Fest is to support Christ by bringing together people of different faiths to celebrate him.
The Invisible Children campaign is a movement to raise awareness and funds for the children of northern Uganda who are being abducted by a rebellion army, the Lord’s Resistance Army, and being forced to fight, said Kelly Krammer, a sophomore social work major and committee member for Praise Fest.
Krammer said the event is open to anyone and begins at 8:30 a.m. with breakfast at University Christian Church.
After breakfast, Sean Reed will lead worship. Praise Fest will continue with “Digging Deep” conferences led by various ministers speaking on different aspects of the “Boasting in Christ” theme.
The afternoon will include a forum for local ministries to gather and share information that Krammer said she hopes will promote cooperation among believers in the area. A screening of the Invisible Children documentary will be shown in the Sid Richardson Building at 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.
The festival will end Saturday evening with an appearance by Rickie Rush, pastor of the Inspiring Body of Christ Church in Dallas, and a concert featuring various Dallas/Fort Worth artists.
Although Praise Fest is not sponsored by any certain organization, Angela Kaufman, minister to the university, said the event is being supported by several organizations including University Ministries, International and Inclusiveness Services and the chancellor’s office.
Kaufman said she has acted as a mentor to the Praise Fest central committee, a role that has included supporting planning, fundraising, and finding resources throughout the community.
University Ministries helped spread the word about Praise Fest by sending e-mails, making phone calls and visiting local churches.
Kaufman said University Ministries tries to save the Praise Fest committee as much time as possible.
“Every student’s first job here is to be a student, and part of our job is to be whatever resource we can for student leaders,” Kaufman said.
Kaufman said although events in the past have brought together Christians from TCU and the Fort Worth community together, Praise Fest is unique because there will be a chance to make discoveries about the Christian faith through conferences during the day.
Benton said she “wants people to get out of themselves.”
“I want people to get out of their preconceived notions of what they think something is or should be,” Benton said. “I believe people can find unity in their differences and I hope this event will bring light to our commonalities.
