Annual Conference: It’s how we do church

By Frank Ramirez

If I come away with one strong impression of the 2024 Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren in Grand Rapids, Mich., it has to be the hubbub, laughter, and general bonhomie (thank you, Duolingo, for the ability to sprinkle gratuitous French words in my writing) of the attendees gathering at the Exhibit Hall following opening worship.

As it says in the hymn, “Surely the Spirit of the Lord is in this place….”

Of course, it helped that Annual Conference moderator Madalyn Metzger blessed us with a marvelous, biblical message. There have been many exceptional messages delivered over the years, but Metzger got her Bible right (I’ve always felt Romans 16 makes it clear that the believers in those house churches had it all figured out when it came to women and men in ministry), got her Brethren history and sociology right, and most of all, her personal story anchored the message in truth and love.

Nor did free ice cream hurt. Ice cream bars were handed out swiftly and efficiently at the Eder Financial booth.

But the fact that it was an easy walk (and this is often out of the control of our Annual Conference officers and planning team) from worship to the Exhibit Hall meant we Brethren could do what we do best–hang around after worship and become the Beloved Community of Jesus Christ. That is, after all, what Jesus says: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35, NRSVue).

Endings and beginnings were on my mind when I rushed over to the business session late Saturday morning. The one thing I never miss is the Memorial Tribute video presented each year by Eder Financial. Always well produced, it was good to reflect on lives well-lived and friendships that endure beyond our temporary parting. This sadness was magnified by a bittersweet phone call I had received earlier, that a dear friend and a life-long devoted member of the Church of the Brethren had passed away. My wife, Jennie, and I will miss this Dear Heart who was so important to our lives, but as it says in the hymn: “When we all get together, what a day of rejoicing that will be! When we all see Jesus we’ll sing and shout the victory.”

Other blessings I received during the Conference week included multilingual worship and praise at the Spanish Speaking Brethren Leaders Luncheon, sharing a short Bible study with the youth and later in the week driving and accompanying them on their service project at Camp Brethren Heights, and listening to the music from the worship team in the evening services.

Annual Conference. It’s how we do church. It’s fun for its own sake.

— Frank Ramirez is retiring from pastoring Union Center Church of the Brethren near Nappanee, Ind., in just a few weeks. As he sent this reflection on Annual Conference to Newsline, he noted that many people stopped to congratulate him on his 45 years of pastoral ministry, or, as he wrote on his Facebook page at the close of the Conference: “Twenty-five hundred sermons down. Eight to go!” He assures readers that he is not retiring from writing and continues his columns “County Road 7” and “In Context”–both of which appear in small, local newspapers in northern Indiana–on his Patreon page at www.patreon.com/CountyRoad7.

Photos of the Annual Conference Ice Cream Social by Donna Parcell