2010 World Conference News Day 8
 
Good Morning Fellow Travelers,
 
One last day and a wrap.  It has been a wonderful week for your reporter and I hope you have enjoyed the adventure with me.  World Conference is one of those things I do for me.  Renewing distant relationships, meeting and starting new ones, rich worship, powerful singing, laughter, hugs, and a little business; I come away refreshed and renewed.  And a little frustrated at times too.
 
Friday’s theme was, “We Share……..a Sacred Story.”  This theme is actually timeless to me.  We have the privilege of hearing and sharing “The Sacred Story” from fellow travelers in ages past through sacred writings.  We also get to share in the “Sacred Story” of those in this faith fellowship; folks who have walked the road before us and helped us get to where we are today.  We enjoy not only their written testimony, but we walk through and worship in the testimony of their witness and resources in the wonderful buildings and grounds they prepared for us.
 
We gather in this day and age, in many places, in large groups and small and share the “Sacred Story” with one another as we work side by side to make our contribution to this faith movement and to the larger Christian witness.  We listen, ponder, and respond to one another in loving and kind ways.  We wrestle and grapple with issues far more important to some of us than others.  We sigh and roll our eyes at some questions and answers we receive.  We bite our tongues in our better moments.  But we hang in there, with hope that one day our “Sacred Story” our sacred journey will be seen and felt by those who walk these same paths after us.  And we hope the “Sacred Story” will be better by our sharing it.
 
Friday we gathered by nation, country or field, in various rooms and halls and began a new phase of our journey.  Passage of the letter of counsel, now Section 164 of the Doctrine and Covenants, starts the church on a path we’ve not walked before.  Always we have been a world church, one body.  Now, like some other “mysteries” in the Christian tradition, we will try to figure out exactly how to be one, yet many.  There will be growing pains, questions to answer, successes and failures, and in the end, if we do it well, maybe we will lead others to journey similar paths, journey similar roads, but with fewer struggles and more confidence because of our experiences.
 
So we, in the Unites States, gathered in the auditorium conference chamber, with our collective US Field Apostles and began to discuss and prepare for the journey.  We looked at scripture; meditated on it, discussed it, and sought counsel from it.  We looked a videos and listened to visions of what can be; what is hoped for us.  We sang and prayed together, building community in our smaller part of the larger whole.  It was, what will be the first of many such gatherings.  We shared our insights into a possible U.S. National Conference sometime in 2012 to continue dialogue on two issues of considerable importance considering the legislation submitted from the various mission centers in the U.S.  Those issues are Priesthood and sexual identity, and marriages or unions of same gender couples.
 
This is where the actual report ends.  Your reporter left Conference and Independence after the morning session to travel home.  We have the privilege of attending our daughter’s graduation from Pastry Chef School Saturday in Boulder. 
 
But I know that there are still some issues of Legislation pending for Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.  I’ve already heard I missed an amazing International Hymn Fest Friday night for worship.  Imagine being part of an international choir of three or four thousand people.  It gives me Goosebumps just remembering past hymn fests.  And I know the Seventy are meeting in their new Quorums with their new leadership even as I am writing this.  And of course there is the closing worship and challenge to the church.  I guess we’ll just have to watch the videos and read the reports on the web and in the upcoming Herald magazines over the next couple months.
 
So that is, admittedly, this reporter’s take on World Conference 2010.  I have very much enjoyed sharing my journey and perspectives with you.  If you are active on FB you will already see some of the different perspectives, frustrations, longings, vision and hopes of fellow church members on this same journey.  Thanks for all your support, kind words, and love.  My hope is that what happened here will quicken the journey to where we need to be as a church; where I believe God is calling us as a church, and to equip us to truly become, truly live out, the name divinely given to us – Community of Christ.
 
This is your 2010 conference reporter signing off.