By Bob Walker
Rocky Mountain USA Mission Center
Community of Christ 2023 World Conference.
Thoughts of the event in Independence, Missouri, USA, had been going through some people’s heads for, well, four years, since last we met. The April gathering created anticipation in the mind and coaxed memories from the heart.
People from fifty-some countries drove, flew, and rode trains for hours or days just to attend a seven-day event and business meeting.
Who would do that? Well, along with a couple of thousand other people, I would!
Thoughts of the event in Independence, Missouri, USA, had been going through some people’s heads for, well, four years, since last we met. The April gathering created anticipation in the mind and coaxed memories from the heart.
That’s because World Conference is so much more than a drawn-out business meeting. Yes, we do the business of Community of Christ on most days. We listen, dialogue, sometimes argue, and we vote on legislation that can and will affect the future of our church and our place in the world.
But blending with all that business stuff is the fun stuff, the memorable stuff, energizing stuff: worship, fellowship, laughter, tears, hugs, reconnection with longtime friends, and meeting potentially lifelong friends. We hear about one another’s sacred journeys, loves, stories, losses, hopes, and joys.
Conference is a cacophony of sound—choirs (large and small) and music of many genres, cultures, languages. You try to sing along, though you don’t know the words. But you know the meaning: some facet of God’s love and care. Guitars, drums, organ, piano, brass, and woodwind all mix with loving gusto or meditative reverence. People greet and laugh deeply, children run and chatter excitedly. And they all pray reverently. All this noise stimulates the extroverts and somewhat drains the introverts.
But blending with all that business stuff is the fun stuff, the memorable stuff, energizing stuff: worship, fellowship, laughter, tears, hugs, reconnection with longtime friends, and meeting potentially lifelong friends. We hear about one another’s sacred journeys, loves, stories, losses, hopes, and joys.
Conference also is a cacophony of color. Tahitians wear long patterned dresses with flowers in their hair. Africans dress in intricate patterns and rich colors. Skin tones range from deep black to rich brown to light, and more. And hair colors include pink, purple, gray, white, black, and more.
People share and interpret beautiful languages. Striking worship centers artistically use materials to help focus on the diversity and beauty of God’s creation. Flowers, arranged with love, decorate and inspire. All this connects and uplifts visually stimulated people.
The photographs, words, and thoughts in this magazine and online can do only so much to convey all that is World Conference. It needs to be experienced in person to fully understand.
Laughing, listening, reaching out to others far away, sharing joys and tears are all parts of Conference that we can experience daily.
But parts of Conference that all can understand are the love and ministry we share with family, friends, neighbors, and communities in which we interact daily. Laughing, listening, reaching out to others far away, sharing joys and tears are all parts of Conference that we can experience daily.
Maybe you can’t make it to Independence, but you can make it to your congregation and feast on the worship and fellowship that nourishes. And if words and pictures on a page or online aren’t enough for you, ask someone who was there. They’ll gladly share their experience.
Amen.