Welcome to the Liturgical Dance Ministry Homepage of Ebenezer A.M.E. Church!

The dance ministry was a vision of our Co-Pastor Rev. Dr. JoAnn Browning. Rev. JoAnn wanted sacred dancing and praise included in the worship experience at Ebenezer. In 1986 Rev. JoAnn appointed Faye Chandler as the director of the ministry.

The ministry has grown to include adult men and women, teens, juniors and children. In addition to the membership increasing, a coordinating team has been established to accomodate the needs of the growing ministry.

I hope you visit some of our other links, and if you have any suggestions,  please let me know via the suggestion box.  Enjoy your visit,  and praise the Lord. 
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What is Liturgical Dance? 

Like prayer, music and preaching, liturgical dance can be integrated into the worship service. In its highest form, liturgical dance like a silver thread woven into the fabric of worship. As a ministry, dance is most effectively used to illuminate the scriptures by bringing to life the stories of the bible, and to celebrate the holy days of the church.

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High praise is a natural part of the worship experience at Ebenezer A.M.E. Church. The Liturgical Dance Ministry ministers and has ministered at many prayer breakfasts, homeless shelters, hospitals, trial sermons and ordination services; as well as having ministered at the Kennedy Center, Howard Divinity School, the Black Family Reunion on the Mall, Ressurection 99 and at our annual Women's Retreat.

In 1990, Sister Joan Cambridge-Syers formed the Ebenezer African Dancers as part of the Ebenezer Rites of Passage Ministry. The African Dancers ministered at the Rites of passage Crossover Ceremonies, African Liberation Sundays and also during our Women's Retreat. They have blessed many schools and community outreach programs with their dance as well.

Our dance ministry has been blessed to minister internationally in Bermuda, facilitating their first dance ministry worshop involving participants from many denominations across the island. This series of workshops has provided guidance to other churches interested in starting dance ministries. These workshops have laid a foundation for spiritual growth and provided an opportunity to allow the dancer to understand their purpose in a Ministry of Dance.

The vision of the Ebenezer Liturgical Dance Ministry continues to unfold daily. although it may tarry, we will work, worship, and wait until by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the vision accomplishes itself.
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• To glorify God in praise and worship through dance
• To Bring new souls to Christ through outreach and community service
• To provide a visual demonstration of what God is doing and saying in the worship service, and to usher the congregation into a higher realm of praise and worship.
• To provide education and training on the uses of dance for "spritual warfare" and "ministry", versus "secular" dancing and performing.
• To be a support to other ministries in the church.
• To help those who feel a calling to dance to identify their calling and learn how this gift can be used in God's Kingdom
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Scriptures

Psalms 150: 1 - 4 "Praise ye the Lord.  Praise God in his sanctuary.  Praise Him in the firmament of His power.  Praise Him for his mighty acts. Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.  Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet. Praise him with the psaltery and harp.  Praise Him with the timbrel and dance."

Job 21:11
 They send forth their children as a flock; their little ones dance about.

Ecclesiastes 3:4
a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.

Song of Solomon 6:13
Come back, come back, O Shulammite; come back, come back, that we may gaze on you! Why would you gaze on the Shulammite as on the dance of Mahanaim? 

Jeremiah 31:4
I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the  joyful.
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Jeremiah 31:13
Then maidens will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.

Matthew 11:17
"`We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang arge, and you did not mourn.'

Luke 7:32
They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other: "`We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.'

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