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Don Vermilyea and an exuberant Daniel Radcliff share their "Journey of Hope" during this year's Live Report.
Weather: Abundant sunshine, high near 90.
Key Events: Hour of Prayer (see page 2), morning worship service, college luncheons, age-group activities, Live Report, opening business sessions, Messenger dinner, full slate of insight sessions, ice cream social sponsored by Bethany Theological Seminary.
Quotes of the Day: "You're supposed to 'Amen!' the religious parts!" — Sunday morning speaker Steve Reid, quipping after a person in the crowd loudly affirmed a joke Reid made about his former home state of Texas.
"We can neither make nor break our unity, for we are already one in Christ Jesus." — spiritual director Glenn Mitchell, leading the morning Hour of Prayer
"You can't say enough about your friends, your family, and your church, and what God will do for you, too." — John Unger, speaking at the Messenger dinner
Steve Reid preaches his sermon "The Big Empty is Awake" during the Sunday morning worship service.
Opening Worship: Vibrant music again filled the service, ranging from a beautiful prelude piece by a special music group to a majestic rendering of "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name." Los Angeles pastor Gilbert Romero brought the congregation to their feet and clapping with a high-energy version of "This Little Light of Mine," mixed with "When the Saints Go Marching In" and other pieces. The Conference choir added a zippy performance of "O Lord, Our Lord, How Majestic" at the end of the service. Newly called Bethany academic dean Steve Reid delivered the morning message, titled "The Big Empty Is Awake." The "big empty" referred to a piece of artwork he once saw in which the "canvas" was actually a gray, empty space. Jesus Christ, Reid said, invites Christians "to participate in emptiness" rather than filling up the space with their own plans and agendas. "Emptying is embodied in obedience," Reid said. "You have to get rid of all the stuff you have that makes you unavailable." It is that emptying, Reid said, that "becomes the foundation for the raising of Jesus Christ."
Live Report: Titled "A Journey of Hope," this year's dynamic report featured the music of southern Virginia band 2MJ and a dialogue between Brethren young adult Daniel Radcliff and Don Vermilyea, a Brethren Volunteer Service worker on a "Walk Across America." The song "I Want Jesus to Walk with Me" — appropriate for Vermilyea's 6,000-mile-plus journey across the western US to date — wove its way throughout the presentation, providing an interlude between highlights shared by the five Annual Conference agencies. Older adult ministry, community development work, church planting, an Organizing for Peace conference, the Bethany Connections offsite study program, National Youth Conference, the witness to the war in Iraq, and the outreach of special funds were among the ministries highlighted. The band ended with a song that proclaimed, "This is the great adventure!"
Family members and church representatives gather around newly called general secretary Stanley Noffsinger to consecrate him for service.
Business: Moderator Harriet Finney opened business for 2003 with gavel in hand, outlining rules and delegate responsibilities. New church fellowships were recognized and their delegates seated. Reports were received from the Annual Conference Anniversary Committee and from the Annual Conference agencies and their boards. Annual Conference executive director Lerry Fogle noted that the Brethren Church of Ashland, Ohio, would plan its 2008 assembly in conjunction with the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the denominations' shared roots. Judy Mills Reimer received a framed picture as a present for her retirement as general secretary of the General Board, and Stanley Noffsinger was consecrated as the new general secretary, beginning immediately after Annual Conference. Brethren Benefit Trust marked the 60th anniversary of its Pension Plan with the singing of "Happy Birthday" and a hall-wide blowing of noisemakers. Delegates also approved the agenda for the meeting, and the ballot was presented.
Ron Muthler and Mary Schiavoni helped Brethren Benefit Trust mark the 60th anniversary of its Pension Plan with a birthday salute.
Other Highlights: This is the first Annual Conference in Idaho since 1937, the only previous time the big meeting was held in the state. That Conference took place in Nampa, about 20 minutes west of Boise. . . . A total of $10,489.81 was collected in the Sunday morning offering. Attendance at Sunday morning worship was 3,165. Saturday night's attendance was about 2,300. . Through midday Sunday, total registration stood at 2,752, including 823 delegates. . . . Children's worship packets, prepared by the General Board's Congregational Life Teams, are again being made available at each worship service. . . . John and Sue Unger shared their gripping and inspiring story at this year's sold-out Messenger dinner. John Unger was among the nine miners trapped in a flooded mine near Somerset, Pa., last summer before ultimately being rescued. "God gave me a second chance at life," Unger said. "That's the best gift you can get." . . . All business sessions and worship services are being translated into Spanish by a team of volunteers coordinated by Nadine Monn of Cumberland, Md. . . . Four new fellowships/congregations — Bowden (W.Va.) Family Fellowship Center, Orlando Haitian Fellowship, Cincinnati Church of the Brethren, and Sunrise Fellowship (Harrisonburg, Va.) — were officially welcomed to the denomination in Boise.