220th Annual Conference Des Moines, Iowa July 1-5, 2006

Index	Theme	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Wrap Up

Black cloths covered some booths in the exhibit hall that symbolically "closed" Sunday afternoon at the invitation of Brethren and Mennonite Council (BMC). - photo by Dale Seese

A Communion service was offered by BMC during the action, with participants invited to dip their bread into salt, referring to Matthew 5:13. - photo by Dale Seese

Members of the 300th Anniversary Committee dressed in plain garb for an insight session. - photo by Keith Hollenberg

GROUP OFFERS COMMUNION IN EXHIBIT HALL
An action titled, “Salt for the Church: A Service of Hope,” was held by the Brethren and Mennonite Council for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns (BMC) in the exhibit hall this afternoon. Serving communion from a “table of welcome” constructed at last year’s Conference in Peoria, Ill., the council invited members and friends to “unapologetically claim this space as a part of our church.”

The communion service was preceded by a procession carrying a BMC banner and the communion elements around the exhibit hall.

Other Brethren organizations and agencies had been invited by BMC to symbolically close their booths in the exhibit hall this afternoon, to mark the 20th year of BMC being denied a booth. Some of the booths were closed and draped in black or dark cloth.

Before offering communion to the 200 or more people who gathered for the action, speakers representing a variety of organizations and backgrounds offered reflections on being salt for the earth, based on Matthew 5:13.

“We will continue to season and flavor and add our salt to this denomination in as many ways as we can,” said one speaker.

GUESS WHO’S HAVING A BIRTHDAY?
The 300th Anniversary Committee announced, to the delegates and in an insight session, numerous opportunities to begin celebrating the upcoming anniversary of the Church of the Brethren in 2008.

The anniversary year will formally begin with a celebration at Germantown (Pa.) Church of the Brethren on Sept. 15-16, 2007, with worship, seminars, and possible local tours.

A 16-month calendar is being published jointly with the Brethren Church, and will include photos, historical dates, dates for 300th anniversary celebrations, and extra pages of facts about all the Brethren denominations. Prepublication orders are currently being accepted, with a special rate for bulk orders.

Coming in October to all congregations is a resource packet that includes worship, curriculum, study guides, music, and many other items. The resources interpret the anniversary theme, “Surrendered to God, Transformed in Christ, Empowered by the Spirit.” As other resources come in they will be posted on the 300th Anniversary Committee website www.churchofthebrethrenanniversary.org.

A children’s curriculum, “Piecing Together the Brethren Way,” will help children integrate historical Brethren beliefs into their faith life. It is a 13-session curriculum that is flexible enough to be used in many configurations.

Plans are beginning for joint worships with the Brethren Church at a joint Annual Conference in Richmond, Va., in 2008. A subcommittee of people from both denominations is working on those plans. Initial plans call for three joint worship services, with many more activities being envisioned.

The committee encouraged districts and congregations to be actively planning for local anniversary celebrations. The committee would like to hear about such plans and will share ideas in appropriate ways. Everyone is encouraged to watch for more information as we move closer to 2008.

--Karen Garrett is a student at Bethany Theological Seminary

Members of the 2006 Annual Conference news team, a ministry of the Church of the Brethren General Board, contributed to the Annual Conference web pages: Jake Blouch, Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, Kathleen Campanella, Eddie Edmonds, Karen Garrett, Clara Glover, Amy Heckert, Keith Hollenberg, Jill Kline, Sarah Kovacs, Frank Ramirez, Jesse Reid, Regina Roberts, Frances Townsend, and Becky Ullom.