Saturday, July 3, 2004
Page 2

Kurt Borgmann was among those who shared at a hearing on an unfinished item of business, "Congregational Disagreement with Annual Conference Decisions." photo by Regina Bryan

Ice cream social photo by Regina Bryan

“God is here!” announced Sally Morgenthaler as she began her presentation to the 2004 Church of the Brethren Minister’s Association meeting held Friday and Saturday July 2-3. Over 200 Brethren pastors were there as well, eager to learn about new ways to connect the emerging culture with God through worship.

Morgenthaler, founder of Sacramentis Consulting, energized the overflow crowd with her ideas. Involved with cutting-edge worship design since the 1980s and consulting for the past several years, she now has suggestions for both traditional congregations and those who have been using a contemporary seeker-oriented worship style.

With computers and DVDs, Americans have moved from being an audience for broadcast, top-down programming to being interactive. Morgenthaler explored how this shift can change and enhance worship as participants become more active during worship and in the whole process. “Worship that is done for people is not going to reach people,”she said, encouraging pastors to engage people from the fringes of their congregations in worship planning.

According to Morgenthaler, people in today’s culture are in a spiritual conversation, but the church is seldom part of it. She said that Christians must go into the neighborhood and become “salt and light.” Emerging churches will arise as communities develop outside the church building, and emerging worship will flow from those people and their experiences.

Video clips projected onto a screen livened up her lectures, providing unforgettable illustrations of lament, redemption, and other spiritual topics. According to Morgenthaler, around 70 percent of the population, regardless of age, are visual learners. She advocated using more video and other visual media in worship, with a reminder that children as young as ten might find a place in worship as technicians.

In a corrective to churches that have jettisoned traditional worship, Morgenthaler lamented the loss of valuable traditions and use of symbols. She spoke of recovering the sense of mystery and majesty of God, and of “blessing the past,” and using the traditional rituals of the church.

In other Minister’s Association business, the newest officer was named. Lisa Hazen, pastor of the Beavercreek Church of the Brethren in Southern Ohio District will serve a three year term. The Minister’s Assistance Fund was supported with an offering totaling $1755.

Annual Conference officers led Standing Committe meetings: Moderator-elect Jim Hardenbrook, moderator Chris Bowman, and secretary Fred Swartz. photo by Jesse Reid

Standing Committee recommends action on new business

At its pre-Annual Conference meetings June 30-July 3, the Standing Committee of district delegates made recommendations to the Conference on how to respond to three new business items, talked about hurt and brokenness in the denomination, and discussed receiving concerns from sources other than districts or Conference agencies.

With regard to the “Query: Doing Church Business,” Standing Committee recommended that a study committee of five be named. Standing Committee recommended that the other two queries this year—“Becoming a Multi-Ethnic Church” and “The Need for Cross Cultural Ministries”—receive a combined response. After a lengthy discussion including moments of personal sharing and debate of what keeps the church from becoming multi-cultural despite previous statements and studies, Standing Committee recommended that the concerns be directed to district leadership in consultation with others in the denomination, “so that an increased priority to do cross-cultural ministry might be pursued.” The action included recommendations for training church leadership and annual progress reports to Conference with a reassessment in 2010. “Some things we have to come back to over and over again because we have not done what Jesus calls us to do,” commented Kreston Lipscomb, of Illinois/Wisconsin District.

Two new items of business were added to the Standing Committee agenda from the floor, discussions of hurts in the denomination and how to receive concerns. After hearing an explanation of the rules Conference officers follow in accepting new business for Standing Committee to consider, the group adopted a motion made by James Myer of Atlantic Northeast District to “encourage its officers to relax their rigid rules of not sharing anything they have received” and encouraging the use of some meeting time to share concerns heard by the officers and to allow Standing Committee to decide if there are items of business to consider. A second action formed a subcommittee of Standing Committee members to evaluate ways to hear concerns, with instruction to report back by Wednesday, July 7.

An expanded mandate for the Review and Evaluation Committee, a once-a-decade review of General Board program, was brought as well, to expand the scope of the committee to include evaluation of the total structure of the denomination. Standing Committee also received a preliminary report on a strategic planning process by the Annual Conference Council and reviewed unfinished business coming to Conference this year.

General secretary Stan Noffsinger addressed the General Board during its preconference meeting. photo by Regina Bryan

General Board sets budget parameters, considers a resolution on Iraq

At its pre-Conference meeting the General Board set budget parameters for 2005 that necessitate a budget reduction, and asked for a proposed resolution on Iraq to be rewritten and brought back later in the Conference week. The board also affirmed a document describing a new Property Stewardship Committee and dedicated its Conference exhibit with prayer.

The board set a 2005 budget parameter of $5,426,000, which represents a $199,000 budget reduction for next year. “The Planning Team recommended a budget that included a much greater financial challenge,” said Stan Noffsinger, general secretary, “but the board chose a more moderate plan to spread out the deficit over a number of years.” The board also reviewed its policies on endowment, quasi-endowment, and investment income. “The board endorsed a philosophy that will help those resources provide support to the ongoing ministries of the General Board well into the future,” Noffsinger said.

A resolution on Iraq brought by Brethren Witness/Washington Office director Phil Jones was sent back for revision with help from a small group of board members, and will be brought to the board for consideration at its reorganization meeting on Monday July 5.

A document describing a Stewardship of Property Committee was accepted by the board. The committee will offer recommendations regarding use of board properties in Elgin, Ill., and New Windsor, Md. The document calls for nominations of committee members to be submitted to the Office of the General Secretary by August 30. Membership of the committee will be announced at the board’s October meeting. The committee is expected to report preliminary findings in Oct. 2005 and bring a recommendation in March 2006.

In addition, the board heard reports on an information systems audit, a cross cultural consultation in Puerto Rico, the new Gather ’Round curriculum, a polity manual update, and citations to staff and retiring board members.

Members of the 2004 Annual Conference news team, a ministry of the General Board, contributed to this report: Regina Bryan and Jesse Reid, photographers; Kathleen Campanella, Jill Kline, Frank Ramirez, Frances Townsend, and Sarah Leatherman Young, writers; Amy Heckert, technical support; Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, editor.