Tuesday, July 2

Caroline Hutchinson receives a blessing from moderator Paul Grout following several songs performed by a children's chorus.

WEATHER: Partly sunny, high in the 90s.

KEY EVENTS: Morning and afternoon business sessions, On Earth Peace Assembly breakfast, Un-Luncheon, Ecumenical Luncheon, Bethany Theological Seminary luncheon; Cross-Cultural Ministries Dinner, Association for the Arts in the Church of the Brethren quilt auction; evening worship.

TODAY'S QUOTES: "The practice of holiness is like a sail that's been raised – in the sail we catch the power of God's grace." — evening worship speaker Dr. Tex Sample

"We need to learn to pray. . . . It is so much more than we often understand." – Standing Committee member Louie Baldwin Rieman, introducing the query on "A Call to Prayer."

BUSINESS: Delegates again had a full agenda before them, beginning with an updated discipleship and reconciliation polity that presents a model called "Shalom Teams" for districts and congregations. The teams would work at tasks of consulting, assessment, educating, and mentoring. Delegates overwhelmingly passed it.

They also gave strong support to "A Call to Prayer," in which Standing Committee answered a query from Mid-Atlantic District with a recommendation that the "denomination be called to a renewed emphasis on prayer," and that each institution would make it a major focus. The 2003 Annual Conference is also asked to allow one hour for sharing on the blessings of prayer over the coming year.

A long line of delegates waits to speak to the issue of the licensing and ordination of homosexuals.

A more controversial item came in the afternoon, as the query on the licensing and ordination of homosexual persons came to the floor. The Standing Committee recommendation called for affirming the 1983 Human Sexuality from a Christian Perspective statement while having "helpful and compassionate ministries toward homosexual persons." It states that "we consider it inappropriate to license or ordain to the Christian ministry any persons who are known to be engaging in homosexual practices" and that "licensing and ordination of such persons" will not be recognized.

Long lines at the microphones and passionate speeches on both sides of the issue, with many points of clarification and points of order along the way, eventually led to a vote by paper ballot. Standing Committee had determined that the item would require a two-thirds vote, and the delegates topped that margin by less than 40 votes to approve the statement.

The session also included a lengthy period of "prayers for a hurting world," which included the ringing of a bell from the Louisville fire department in part to remember the pain of Sept. 11. Earlier in the day, Grout apologized if his comments about a flag in the conventional hall offended anyone and asked for a time of silence and prayer, saying he was speaking from a precedent set by then-moderator Dan West at a Louisville Conference in the 1960s and by what Grout hoped was God's leading. No motion came to suspend business or remove the flag, and it remained hanging as of Tuesday.

Delegates also elected Ben Barlow, Jeff Carter, Alberto Gonzalez, Shawn Kirchner, and Shirley McCracken Spire to a committee to study the denominational name and heard several reports, including those from ecumenical groups related to the church.

Dale Brown of Elizabethtown, Pa., holds up a photo of an Afghan mother and child as part of a peace witness.

WORSHIP: Noted Methodist author/speaker Dr. Tex Sample gave the message Tuesday, talking on "The Upside-Down Kingdom." He lifted up the story of God's kingdom as "the ultimate story of the world" and called the denomination to live as people of God committed to nonviolence. He spoke in a down-home, easygoing style, using stories from his years in the South and images including baseball and pickups.

A choir of Conference children opened worship with energetic songs, and moderator-elect Harriet Finney and moderator Paul Grout blessed each child as he or she walked off the stage. The worship again included music pieces from a variety of different styles.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS: Dee Strycker of Goshen, Ind., was selected as recipient of a $1,000 Brethren Found Charitable Gift Fund that will be established in her name after she won a drawing at the Brethren Benefit Trust booth. . . . Camp Swatara director Marlin Houff received the 2002 Outdoor Ministries camp staff award, and Camp Peaceful Pines volunteer Elaine Harty received the camp volunteer award. . . . A walk/peace witness Tuesday afternoon lifted up the plight of the people of Iraq and peace concerns in general.

BITS FROM THE CONFERENCE JOURNAL AND ELSEWHERE:

The Monday night worship was attended by 3,055 people; an offering of $8,806.81 was received. . . . Registration through Monday night stood at 3,802. . . . Tuesday's Conference Journal noted that it will be the last for Journal editor Fred Swartz after 23 years of preparing and publishing the information sheet. Swartz was elected Conference secretary on Monday. . . . Tuesday's Association for the Arts in the Church of the Brethren quilt auction raised $18,400, which Conference executive director Duane Steiner said was the largest total he could remember in his 10 years on the job. Four wall hangings and four quilts were sold, one for a single-sale record $6,000.