{"id":24023,"date":"2024-07-07T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-07T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/?p=24023"},"modified":"2024-07-08T03:21:13","modified_gmt":"2024-07-08T03:21:13","slug":"annual-conference-is-foundational","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/2024\/annual-conference-is-foundational\/","title":{"rendered":"Annual Conference is foundational: Opening comments by 2024 moderator Madalyn Metzger"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The following comments were offered by Madalyn Metzger, who served as moderator of the 2024 Annual Conference, when she opened the business sessions on the morning of Thursday, July 4, in Grand Rapids, Mich.:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Annual Conference is foundational to the life of the Church of the Brethren.<\/strong> It\u2019s an opportunity for us to come together\u2026to strengthen and equip the denomination, our congregations, and ourselves to follow Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And in support of this foundation, every congregation is asked to send delegates to Annual Conference, as a representative of their local faith family in the life of the larger denomination. That\u2019s what\u2019s brought many of you here, and I\u2019m so grateful for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, I know that as we look at the faces around our tables and in this hall, we also notice those faces that aren\u2019t here\u2026of friends and fellow Brethren who have made difficult decisions to leave the Church of the Brethren, over theological disagreements about biblical authority and the fundamentals of Christian living.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Madalyn Metzger (second from right), moderator of the 2024 Annual Conference, joins in worship during this morning’s closing service of the Conference. Photo by Glenn Riegel<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

These differences–and the tensions around them–have beleaguered us for generations and, for some, culminated in decisions to leave our denomination, which I know has caused a lot of pain and grief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It would be easier if the people involved weren\u2019t people we know\u2026or love\u2026or have relationships with, right? But, sadly, that\u2019s not the case. Those who have left, whether it was years ago or more recently, represent the real loss of friends and family whom we were committed to walking alongside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when people who have walked their faith journeys together separate, there\u2019s a flood of emotions to wade through, including grief\u2026resentment\u2026disillusionment\u2026and maybe even a little pride. It can lead to feelings of spiritual homelessness, and fears that we are moving further away from Christ\u2019s desire for his disciples to be united in love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pain is real. We need to recognize that, in order to work through it. But at the same time, I also encourage us to remember that unity of the Body of Christ does not mean homogeneity of the Body of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her book Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again<\/em>, author Rachel Held Evans wrote that Christianity can\u2019t be an individual endeavor. Following Christ is a group activity–and one that, simultaneously, has been messy and incarnate since the beginning. Because, as she writes, \u201cThe church is not a group of people who believe all the same things; the church is a group of people caught up in the same story, with Jesus at the center.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s easy for us to focus on the differences in front of us, in this moment. But struggles over differences and divisions are not new. In fact, the Apostle Paul\u2019s letters to the Romans and the Corinthians and other parts of the early church show us that Christians have wrestled with conflict for over two millennia. But, yet, God\u2019s Spirit continued to work through this increasingly diverse group of Christ-followers, just as the Spirit is working in us today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Paul–in guiding those early Christians–reminds us that there is space for difference. There is space for variety, because it is God who gifted us with our unique perspectives and gifts. So we need to not only accept, but CELEBRATE our differences because our unity in Christ needs diversity within it, so that we can function FULLY as the Body of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look around at your tablemates\u2026and then at those sitting around other tables nearby. Each person here has their own distinctive thoughts and opinions, perspectives and gifts\u2026and each of them represent congregations made up of others who also have their own perspectives and gifts. But I invite you to remember, as well, that each person here is a distinct part of the Body, committed to Christ\u2026and committed, individually and voluntarily, to one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her book This Here Flesh<\/em>, liturgist, author, and poet Cole Arthur Riley talks about community as \u201cmutuality, the truth that says, We don\u2019t just welcome you or accept you; we need you. We are insufficient without you\u2026. In mutuality, belonging is both a gift received and a gift given. There is comfort in being welcomed, but there is dignity in knowing that your arrival just shifted a group toward deeper wholeness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your arrival here–each of you–has brought this Body toward deeper wholeness. Thank you for being here. Thank you for being part of this diverse and holy community. And thank you for serving God and the church and each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#cobac2024<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following comments were offered by Madalyn Metzger, who served as moderator of the 2024 Annual Conference, when she opened the business sessions on the morning of Thursday, July 4, in Grand Rapids, Mich.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":24024,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1703],"tags":[1258,2886,2032,1712],"wf_post_folders":[],"class_list":["post-24023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-church-of-the-brethren-newsline","tag-annual-conference","tag-annual-conference-2024","tag-madalyn-metzger","tag-moderator"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24023"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24023\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24026,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24023\/revisions\/24026"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24023"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=24023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}