2010 World Conference News Day 7
 
Good Morning Fellow Travelers,
 
Have you ever been on a journey with a lot of other people?  Some get packed quickly and are raring to go.  Others seem to take forever.  Some pack hastily, not even sure where they are going or what they need en route.  Still others seem so methodical and laborious in their packing you just feel like leaving them behind.  Some are not sure if they even want to go.  Others seem to want to go, but worry about everything that might go wrong.  Still others won’t leave until every detail of the itinerary is clearly spelled out.
 
Welcome to Community of Christ World Conference 2010.  This journey we start here and then begin to implement in the whole church is like that scenario.  Some people have been getting ready for many, many years and just want to begin some actual movement.  Some are afraid of any movement.  Some are convinced it is a dangerous journey with deadly consequences.  Some are unsure.  Some are considering not going.  Some are not waiting and are seeking other journeys.  Please be kind and gracious to any and all as each one struggles with our collective journey together.
 
Thursday we began to just see the beginning of the change and growth the church will spend the next several years traveling.  We began the day in our quorums and mass meetings.  In the joint Seventy Quorum meeting we discussed and elected seven new Presidents of Seventy.  Four were elected by natural attrition because they were leaving their offices to either take on other assignments, or to prepare for retirement.  That filled the original seven quorums.  But Section 164 (sounds cool doesn’t it) makes provision for ten Quorums of Seventy – a real departure from more than a century and a half of history.  Each Apostolic Field will have a Quorum of Seventy and therefore a President of Seventy over each quorum so we elected three additional to present to conference.
 
All the delegates then moved into the Auditorium to begin the day’s business.  The Presidency of the Church reiterated the pending legislation that would not be considered because of passage of the letter of counsel (Sec. 164).  All these pieces of legislation dealing with some aspect of homosexuality will be referred to the Presidency and the appropriate Field Officers for discussion and possible implementation in each nation or country as appropriate.  Like everything having to do with the letter of counsel some were pleased and some frustrated.  Since so many mission centers worked hard to pass legislation in their conferences they would have liked to have had them considered by the conference.  It feels anticlimactic and unfinished.  It will be interesting to see how long it actually takes to see some change in this area of full inclusion.
 
The Conference began to consider pieces of legislation that were in order.  One resolution asked for an annual report by the First Presidency in regard to progress in the whole discussion of the human sexuality issue.  After an amendment it passed.  We also looked at and passed one resolution trying to make conference and the church aware of the problem of human trafficking which is going on even in our own country.  The resolution contained some possible areas a person could get involved if they felt led in that direction.  The last order of business before the lunch break was to ordain the seven new Presidents of Seventy. 
 
Always at conference with changes in leadership (new Apostles), and particularly at this conference with such large changes in and additional leadership (Ten Quorums of Seventy) there are changes of assignment.  I’m sure by the time you read this newsletter you can also go online and see all the assignment changes.  But for most of the people on my main mailing list we have a new Apostle for our area, Scott Murphy.  As far as I know right now Robin Linkhart, one of the new Presidents of Seventy, will remain in our area and be the President of my Quorum.  The quorum number will be given to us today I imagine. 
 
This morning today, Friday, will be spent in our new fields with our new field officers (Apostle, President of Seventy, etc), so more on that tomorrow.
 
Thursday’s theme was, “We Share…….the Pursuit of Peace.”  Jesus was called The Prince of Peace.  One facet of his Messiahship is the coming age of peace.  Are we poised on the precipice of truly seeing peace in our world?  Can we, Community of Christ, in all the various communities in which we interact, model the Peace of Christ to all in those communities?  And can our witness and impact on those communities: neighborhoods, villages, workplace, school classrooms and playgrounds, and even in lines of traffic, usher in the Reign of Peace?  Will we answer the call to discipleship?
 
Until tomorrow, Peace.