The first business session (one of four) lasted for three hours this afternoon. The main part of the session was the "State of the Church" presentation by the General Minister and President Sharon Watkins. It was an interesting presentation about the progress of Disciples in the past couple of years, including some stories about exciting things happening in some of our congregations.
Additionally, there were reports from the ethnic Disciples ministries -- NAPAD (North American Pacific Asian Disciples), National Convocation, and Hispanic Ministries -- and the Council on Christian Unity.
Only a couple of items of business came before the session. A resolution passed encouraging greater openness in the business of the General Assembly and General Board, particularly in their meetings.
The time and place of the 2013 General Assembly was also approved. This assembly will be held in Orlando, FL in July of 2013.
Tonight, we had an uplifting worship service, featuring a good sermon by Cynthia Hale, a pastor from the Atlanta area. She was raising the roof, preaching "You Are a Piece of Work" (and what a wonderful thing it is to be a piece of God's work). The music has also been a pleasant surprise -- it has been mostly excellent, with only a couple of exceptions.
Personally, I've been running into all sorts of people that I know. Some from West Virginia, but many from all over the US now (amazing what a small world the Disciples church can be). It took me a long time to get out of worship tonight, talking to everyone. It's been a joy to reconnect with them and see how they're doing. I imagine I'll spend a lot of my free time doing that the next few days.
More information on the assembly, including photographs, is available at the Disciples web page and the DisciplesWorld website.
1 comment:
The heirarchy will get a lot more points for appearing to stick to business if they schedule the conventions for places like Topeka, Eau Claire, Tupelo or Glenville. Orlando is a touch suspicious.
R
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