June 2008
Wednesday, June 11
Friendship Luncheon Party
LADIES, please save the day for the annual wives' pot luck Friendship Luncheon Party on Wednesday, 11 June, 11:00am to 1:00pm Please bring your favorite national dish (salad, meal or dessert) to share with one another on this joyful occasion.
More Information...
March 2008
Tuesday, March 18
Easter Dinner and Concert
Our 2008 Easter Dinner was held at the Yale Club Grand Ballroom for about 200 members of the diplomatic community representing 80 nations. Our hearts were touched by the inspiring music of Lisa Lynne Mathis, an outstanding concert pianist and vocalist. Additionally, we were honored to hear from Dr. Richard Pratt, a renowned scholar of the Old Testament and passionate communicator. He discussed how God's universal design for human dignity is restored in the reality of Easter.
More Information...
December 2007
Tuesday, December 04
2007 Christmas Dinner and Concert
Christian Embassy was pleased to host Vanguard, an a cappella jazz quartet that has performed internationally on three continents and extensively throughout the United States. Vanguard entertained and inspired over 200 guests from the diplomatic community as they wove their festive vocal arrangements with favorite holiday traditions and thoughtful reflections, centered around the historical and personal significance of Christmas.
More Information...
September 2007
Tuesday, September 18
22nd Annual International Prayer Breakfast
The International Prayer Breakfast has been observed each year since 1985 in recognition of the opening of the United Nations General Assembly. It is a non-political, non-partisan event facilitated by the Christian Embassy and other NGO's. Invitations are sent to each of the 191 ambassadors and other high-level delegates who represent their governments at the United Nations. Nearly every religion and nation have been represented in previous years.
The objectives of this gathering are:
- To acknowledge the sovereignty of God over all peoples and nations
- To invoke God's wisdom and blessing on those involved in the work of the United Nations
- To express the support of the faith community for those who serve at the United Nations
- To provide for an expression of friendship and fellowship in the spirit of Jesus
More Information...
July 2006
Tuesday, July 04
Caribbean Heads of Government Prayer Breakfast
Christian Embassy facilitated the first prayer breakfast ever held at the start of the gathering of all of the Presidents and Prime Ministers in the Caribbean as they met for the annual meeting of CARICOM (Caribbean Community). For an overview and some pictures, please read the official government press release from the Office of the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis.
More Information...
May 2006
Wednesday, May 10
Breaking the DaVinci Code
So many responded to our invitation that we had to change the venue at the last minute!
Over a hundred guests came to our dinner forum at the Millennium UN Plaza Hotel Ballroom to hear Dr. Darrell Bock, Research Professor of New Testament Studies, who wrote the New York Times best-seller called Breaking the DaVinci Code: Answers to the Questions Everyone's Asking. He challenged the claims of an historical basis in Dan Brown's book, The DaVinci Code, which has raised numerous questions about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and the Bible. With the creativity of a good novelist, Brown raises the ultimate question that deserves careful thought and an informed answer: "Did the church perpetrate a lie?"
Dr. Bock answered that question with a resounding "No!" Drawing on a wide range of historical resources, his research reveals the truth of the Christian faith by focusing on the 325 years immediately following the birth of Jesus to separate verifiable facts from the fictional claims of Dan Brown's famous book.
More Information...
April 2006
Thursday, April 06
The Harmony and Hope of Easter and Passover
Christianity and Judaism are both “religions of the book” that promote worship of “one God.” But the similarities end there . . . or do they? The Jewish Passover Seder recalls God’s deliverance while simultaneously anticipating the Messiah, whose death and resurrection are celebrated by Christians at Easter. Exodus 12, Luke 22, and Isaiah 53 show the connection and implications to us today.
LAURA FELS, our speaker, was raised by a Jewish father and Protestant mother but as she entered the university, she rejected both religions as irrelevant to her life. Years later she embraced a faith that linked her Jewish and Protestant roots, and it changed her life. After fifteen years in corporate management, she has just celebrated 20 years with an international NGO.
More Information...
March 2006
Wednesday, March 01
Makoto Fujimura
“MAKO” was born in Boston but did his doctoral studies in Tokyo. He is a world-renowned Nihonga artist, a master of this ancient Japanese style of painting.
Valerie Dillon, owner of the Dillon Gallery in New York City, said, “Spending time with Fujimura’s work invites one to enter a meditation. His paintings evoke a sense of reverence and contemplation that moves us out of the mundane, and into a visual dimension that speaks to the soul.”
According to Eric Walstedt, the Gallery’s Director, Fujimura “views his work more in the nature of offerings than as personal expressions…. Each painting is an attempt to span the void between the human and the divine, the transitory and the eternal.”
Read his speech here
More Information...
December 2005
Wednesday, December 07
Christmas Dinner Concert
TATIANA, "a performer like no other, a voice you will always remember, an evening you will not forget." Known as Tajci in her Croatian home, she presented "Emmanuel - The Christmas Story," a beautiful program that tells the story of Jesus' birth through Scripture, treasured carols and original compositions. The audience of 176 diplomats from 63 countries were given an inspiring opportunity to understand and appreciate the true meaning of Christmas.
More Information...
September 2005
Tuesday, September 13
20th Annual International Prayer Breakfast
On the occasion of the High Level Meeting of the Heads of State and Government,
Dr. Rick Warren, author of "Purpose Driven Life" addressed 175 dignitaries with a
speech entitled, "Living Purposefully in Uncertain Times." The objectives of the International Prayer Breakfast are to acknowledge the sovereignty of God over all peoples and nations, to invoke God's wisdom and blessing on those involved in the work of the United Nations as peacemakers, to express the support of the faith community for the United Nations, and to provide an expression of Christian fellowship.
Watch a 7 minute video from the 2002 International Prayer Breakfast. Click here for the higher quality video
More Information...
July 2003
Thursday, July 10
1st Annual African Union Prayer Breakfast
On July 10, 2003, in Maputo, Mozambique, we witnessed an unprecedented gathering of many of Africa’s top leaders. President Chissano of Mozambique invited all the Heads of State, Secretaries of State and national delegation leaders from 53 African nations to Maputo, Mozambique for the African Union Summit.
The President also invited these same leaders to join him for a Prayer Breakfast on the opening day of the Summit, which was organized by the Christian Embassy teams from New York and Washington DC in partnership with two other UN-focused ministries. Nearly 250 accepted the president’s invitation. President Obasanjo of Nigeria, President Mwanawasa of Zambia, Prime Minister Zenawi of Ethiopia, the Secretary General of the Africa Union and the Secretary General of the United Nations (Mr. Kofi Annan), participated on the program.
The speaker for the morning, Mr. Ravi Zacharias, spoke convincingly on the wisdom, indeed the necessity, of building a life and a nation on the only sure and lasting foundation, Jesus Christ.
At the close of the Breakfast, as delegates prepared to leave for the opening session of the Summit, the moderator, President Obasanjo (Nigeria), asked all to stand and grasp the hands of those seated next to them, while he prayed a prayer of dedication in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
More Information...
September 2001
Tuesday, September 11
9/11 International Prayer Breakfast
When the Sixteenth Annual International Prayer Breakfast was scheduled for 11 September 2001, who could have anticipated how important prayer would become on that dreadful day? Some headlines have called it “The Day the World Changed.” For a season at least, all our lives have been personally affected, and we are only too aware of the global impact of those acts of terror.
As 225 of us sat peacefully in the Delegates’ Dining Room that morning, the city outside which all of us called “home” was already under siege. While those mighty towers were under attack and thousands were facing death, Dr. Miroslav Volf reminded us that the “will to embrace the other” – even an enemy – is at the heart of reconciliation and peace and hope.
Because the program for that morning was such a source of inspiration to so many, we want you to have a copy of it in its entirety. We believe you will find much that’s worthy of reflection and personal application, to provide guidance in your personal journey.
It could be said that the will to embrace is what the work of the United Nations is all about. Our will to embrace is continually and profoundly tested. May God give us the grace to respond from hearts transformed by His love.
More Information...
September 2000
Tuesday, September 05
Millennium Summit Prayer Breakfast
When the Secretary General of the United Nations announced the Millennium Summit, we decided to invite the heads of state and government to our annual Prayer Breakfast at the United Nations. With a host committee of 21 ambassadors, and the co-sponsorship of 6 Christian organizations, Christian Embassy chaired the Program Committee for this Prayer Breakfast on the opening of the Summit. Ambassador Andrew Young gave the main address to 350 distinguished delegates from 100 countries. The highlight was the prayer which was offered by His Excellency Olusengun Obasanjo, the President of Nigeria. Click here for the President's prayer.
More Information...
