Initial Invitation from
President Veazey
Initial Phase of
Discernment Process
The rhythm of initial phase of the discernment practice involved a pray step one month followed by a share step the next month. This gave the church opportunity to engage in meaningful reflection personally and collectively, and then to share responses with the First Presidency.
Awaken to New Possibilities
March 2023
Pray
We begin this time of discernment by praying for spiritual freedom. This means laying aside personal agendas and assumptions while seeking greater openness to hearing God and each other on our discernment journey.
We want to grow in our desire to follow God’s call as it becomes clear in each of our lives and for the church as we help discern the next prophet-president. With open hearts, we prayerfully imagine:
God, where is your Spirit leading us next, as a worldwide church?
This question invites us to consider what the next faithful steps may be for our collective journey of faith into God’s preferred future.
April 2023
Share
After you have taken time to pray for spiritual freedom and greater openness to God and each other, what is your response to the guiding question:
God, where is your Spirit leading us next, as a worldwide church?
Share around the table with family and friends. Share in sacred community in person and online. As you share, also listen deeply to what others are saying and imagining. Our prayerful sharing with one another will continue to shape our collective discernment and sense of God’s call.
Opportunities to share will be available in April.
Ask and Dream
May 2023
Pray
Prayerfully explore the church’s current situation and the world in which leadership will occur. Consider the question from your context while also being mindful of the church’s global context.
What are the most significant situations, opportunities, or challenges that a prophetic leader will need to address?
June 2023
Share
After taking time to prayerfully reflect, find spaces where you can share and listen to others in response to the question:
What are the most significant situations, challenges, or opportunities that a prophetic leader will need to address?
Share around the table with family and friends. Share in sacred community in person and online. As you share, also listen deeply to what others are saying and imagining. Our prayerful sharing with one another will continue to shape our collective discernment and sense of God’s call.
Pay Attention
July 2023
Pray
Using the question below, engage the 6 Lenses for Discovering God’s Will (Knowledge and Reason, Continuing Revelation, Tradition, Personal and Communal Experience, Scripture, Common Consent) to expand our shared vision of who God is calling the church to be amid the situations, opportunities, and challenges we have described. What insight comes from prayerfully engaging these intersecting lenses?
What is God’s call for the worldwide church in this time?
August 2023
Share
How did prayerfully engaging the 6 lenses inform your response to this question?
What is God’s call for the worldwide church in this time?
Share around the table with family and friends. Share in sacred community in person and online. As you share, also listen deeply to what others are saying and imagining. Our prayerful sharing with one another will continue to shape our collective discernment and sense of God’s call.
Listen and Pray
September 2023
Pray
This is a time in the process to hold prayerfully all that we have been gathering through prayer, reflection, and sharing together. Considering what you have heard and discovered through discernment so far:
What kind of leadership (qualities, style, competencies, gifts, skills) is needed to respond to God’s call for the worldwide church at this time and into the future?
October 2023
Share
What kind of leadership (qualities, style, competencies, gifts, skills) is needed to respond to God’s call for the worldwide church at this time and into the future?
At this point in the process, there may be individuals you begin to hold prayerfully who demonstrate the kind of leadership you sense or hear described. You are encouraged to share these names with the Council of Twelve Apostles by sending them to World Church Secretary Susan Naylor. She is holding these names on behalf of the Council of Twelve.
We know that sometimes even our best intentions of considering specific persons can impact other’s lives and families as we all hold the weight of this leadership role in the life of the church. Please refrain from sharing the names of specific people in public settings, including social media.
As we mutually discern both the kind of leadership and specific persons who come to mind, we want to be mindful of the type of listening and sharing environment we are creating in person and online, where we commit to holding one another in Christ like love and mutual respect.
Share around the table with family and friends. Share in sacred community in person and online. As you share, also listen deeply to what others are saying and imagining. Our prayerful sharing with one another will continue to shape our collective discernment and sense of God’s call.
Act
November 2023
Pray
The next faithful step in this process will occur as the Council of Twelve Apostles sifts through the church’s responses to prayerfully hold the concerns, hopes, and dreams. We hold leadership in prayer as we consider the call of God for our next prophet-president, and for each of our lives as we shape the future together.
December 2023
Share
What words of blessing and hope do you share for the worldwide church in this important time of discernment for our future?
Share around the table with family and friends. Share in sacred community in person and online. As you share, also listen deeply to what others are saying and imagining. Our prayerful sharing with one another will continue to shape our collective discernment and sense of God’s call.
January 2024
Pray
Seek Confirmation of the Holy Spirit as the next prophet-president is named for Community of Christ. An indication of confirmation of the Holy Spirit is often the presence of the fruits of the Spirit, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
As a prophetic people discerning together, who we become as we collectively discern is as important as whatever the outcome may be. We pray that our intentional journey of prayer and discernment will bear fruit in the life of the church for years to come.