Community of Christ’s desire for peace is reflected in the observance of the International Day of Peace on September 21. The day is among the many ways the church shows its commitment.

A physical display of that commitment is at Lexington Avenue and Walnut Street in Independence, Missouri, USA, near the Auditorium. It’s a fountain that features the statue of a girl who seems to float on joy as she releases a dove. The figure is above a dome that represents Earth, the center of the site known as the UN Peace Plaza.

The dedication October 26, 1997, was a stand-out event with a who’s who list of diplomatic, federal, and local officials. The UN Singers performed.

The site, dedicated to those who gave their lives in the cause of peace, grew from activities commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the UN and the pivotal role played by President Harry S. Truman at its founding. Truman was famously from Independence, and his home, now a national park, is a few blocks from the Community of Christ International Headquarters campus.

The site, dedicated to those who gave their lives in the cause of peace, grew from activities commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the UN.

Truman signed the UN Charter in San Francisco, California, USA, on June 26, 1945. He arrived in Independence the next day and addressed about 10,000 people in the Auditorium.

The peace-plaza concept came from Kevin Flattery, then president of the UN Association of Greater Kansas City. Tom Corbin, an artist also known for the Kansas City Firemen’s Memorial, sculpted the 12.5-foot bronze statue that stands on a 4-foot pedestal.

JE Dunn served as general contractor; Theis Doolittle was the architect.

The plaza and sculpture cost an estimated $427,938, which would be $893,531 today. It was paid for by public donations. The church owns and maintains the plaza.

Bill Richardson, then a UN ambassador and later a presidential candidate and governor of New Mexico, gave the keynote speech. Art, essays, and poems from middle- and high-school students were submitted to a contest, with winners announced as part of the events.

Information from Community of Christ Archives.

When Bill McKibben accepts the Community of Christ International Peace Award on October 16, he will become one of only about two dozen people since 1993 to receive a sculpture of hands cradling an etched globe of Earth created by Wyoming artist Gail Sundell.

In McKibben’s case, the globe will have specific meaning. He is one of the most urgent—if not the most urgent—voices on the world stage pushing for an end to the many things that aggravate climate change.

His straightforward opinions likely will be front and center as he delivers the keynote speech for the Community of Christ Peace Forum in Independence, Missouri, USA. McKibben took a few minutes to respond to the Herald’s questions.

McKibben has never shied from sharing his straightforward perspectives based on his research and knowledge. While his views often spark robust debate and differing perspectives, it is exactly that energy the movement needs. We celebrate McKibben for his extraordinary dedication to the climate emergency and his relentless drive to challenge us all to consider how we can help heal the planet.

He is one of the most urgent—if not the most urgent—voices on the world stage pushing for an end to the many things that aggravate climate change.

Herald: What can we be hopeful about regarding the world’s environmental issues?

Bill: The one big hopeful thing is the very rapid fall in the price of clean, renewable energy. We now live in a world where the cheapest way to make power is to point a sheet of glass at the sun. This finally gives us a tool in the fight against climate change, a tool that can scale fast.

In California, for instance, they’re using 60 percent less natural gas to make electricity than three years ago. That’s a big number in a big place—the fourth-largest economy in the world. It’s not enough to stop global warming—we’ve waited too late for that. But it’s enough to start shaving tenths of a degree off how hot the planet will get, and each tenth of a degree we raise the temp moves 100 million of our brothers and sisters from a safe climate zone to a dangerous one.

Herald: What are the three best ways for individuals to help the environment?

Bill: For Americans: Put a solar panel on the roof (or on the balcony if you’re in an apartment that has one). Choose an e-bike or EV for your transportation if you can’t rely on the bus or train. And—above all—be less of an individual, joining others in movements large enough to change the economic and political ground rules so we can make change at the pace required.

Work should be an extension of our values, not a contradiction of them.

Herald: What are your main concerns for the immediate future? For the next generation?

Bill: I’m very concerned that America is slipping into an authoritarian, anti-science era, a historical whirlpool that will suck us down. And I’m very worried that it’s helping leave the world unprepared to face the climate crisis, even as it breaks above our heads. The El Nino that’s getting underway will be a taste of the weather in the world to come.

Herald: So many communities are dealing with the possibility of data centers. Your concerns? Can any positives come of a data center being built in a community? How can an individual deter construction OR deal with the aftermath if the data center already is underway?

Bill: If you’re going to build a data center, you should have to bring your own new clean energy. That is to say, build a solar or wind farm and a bunch of batteries to run the thing. Otherwise, you’re going to run up everyone’s power bill, foul their air, and overheat the planet. All for a technology whose main promise seems to be that it’s going to cost us our jobs.

Herald: How can individuals persuade employers to become greener?

Bill: Point them to the numbers. Most people, and hence most of their workforce, feel better about working at a place that cares about the environment. Work should be an extension of our values, not a contradiction of them.

It must be said—we know the language of blessing well.

We have received it, offered it, and spoken about it. We have read scriptures that speak of blessing. We have seen lives open, hearts steady again, and paths appear where none seemed possible.

And we recognize those moments when a prayer brings peace, when a word lands just right, when a hand becomes a balm on a wounded heart, when a message arrives like breath in a day that has grown too heavy.

All of this is real.

And yet…

What if, despite all this, the blessing stopped with us?

We have learned to bless with discernment. To listen deeply. To recognize the dignity of each person and to accompany with care. This is part of who we are.

What if becoming a blessing changes us more than we are ready for?

But deep down, we know it: The mission of Christ never ends where things are good. It always calls us further. Not to do more, but to let God do more through us. Because blessing, in the heart of God, is never a destination. It is always in motion. We thought we were holding the blessing. But in truth, it is the blessing that carries us.

“Jesus Christ, the embodiment of God’s shalom, invites all people…to receive divine peace” in the midst of life’s struggles. But following Christ does not mean staying where peace feels comfortable (Doctrine and Covenants 163:2, adapted). It means going where it is needed.

There is a moment in the Gospels—a man approaches. Marked, excluded, kept at a distance. No one comes near.

Jesus does not begin with words. He comes closer, he touches. And he says, “I am willing.”

In that moment, blessing becomes real. It crosses fear. It refuses distance. It restores what had been cut off.

This is the blessing of Christ. Not only a word rightly spoken, but a life that dares to come close. We bless, often simply. A prayer, a thought, a message. And it matters!

Sometimes, it is all we have to give. And it is enough. God is present there, too, in what seems small, in what is offered with faithfulness. And I know this.

Even now, in the pain of a separation in my life, still present, still shaping me, I feel the blessing. The blessing of God. The blessing of community.

Blessing, in the heart of God, is never a destination. It is always in motion.

A presence that holds my hand, keeps me from falling alone and slowly rekindles hope within me. The blessing is there. Even there. …In those moments, something shifts.

Blessing does not erase suffering. It does not always make life easier and does not answer every question. But it holds. It remains. It carries us.

It appears in a presence we did not expect. In a look, in a community that carries on without always knowing how. And it is there within us as well, fragile, maybe, but real, like a light that does not go out, even when everything feels uncertain.

And this is where something begins to change. Because blessing is no longer only something we give. It becomes something that moves through us…even when we feel we have nothing left to offer.

Sometimes, something stirs within us. Quiet, but real.

If it stays there, it has not yet reached its fullness.

Blessing becomes alive when it takes form, when it becomes presence in fragile places, when it is embodied in choices that protect life.

It takes shape in faithfulness that does not withdraw. And in courage that refuses what diminishes life—the courage to name injustice, the courage to live divine love, even in the presence of fear.

This is where blessing becomes mission.

We are becoming a living blessing, through which the shalom of Jesus Christ takes flesh and reaches the world.

In the vision of Community of Christ, blessing is not limited to a moment or a gesture. It is participation in what God already is doing: restoring, reconciling, healing, opening.

And that participation does not always feel comfortable. It leads us beyond what is familiar. Into places where it becomes necessary to speak. To remain and to love differently.

What we already live is not to be left behind. Prayer remains. Words do, too. So do the messages we carry.

But they open. They deepen. They become presence. Commitment. Relationship.

What once was a gesture becomes, little by little, a way of being.

Following Christ is not about changing what we know. It is about letting it become alive.

The peace we receive does not stay contained. It looks for a way. Blessing is not ours to hold. It continues.

And slowly, quietly, something changes.

The blessing does not stop.

It continues.

And we begin to see that we are no longer only those who bless.

We are becoming a living blessing, through which the shalom of Jesus Christ takes flesh and reaches the world.

Community of Christ’s 2026 Peace Forum is nearing, and energy at the Temple in Independence, Missouri, USA, is soaring with preparations. Whether joining 16–18 October online or in-person, readers’ involvement will help make this event the best it can be.

Peace Award Recipient

Environmental author and activist Bill McKibben will receive the Community of Christ International Peace Award and will share his knowledge and experience throughout the weekend.

McKibben’s realistic optimism in the face of the climate crisis is inspiring and empowering. He has been steadfast in this movement and his work, and we can learn a lot from him and his example.

Also, the Community of Christ Human Rights Award will be given to recipients named at the 2025 World Conference: Randie Marsh and the Munson family.

Although we learned much about their contributions when they were named during World Conference, the Peace Forum will provide more opportunities to hear and learn from them.

Registration

To register, visit the Peace Forum page. Categories: adult attending in-person; adult attending online independently; groups and congregations attending online; or for a young child, child, or youth. If at an online site, you need to register only if you are the person hosting; remote attendees do not need to register separately.

At registration, depending on age and the type chosen, optional add-ons might be offered. In-person attendees can add the Friday spirituality retreat, “So That Life Might Flourish: Praying with the Earth.” Other add-ons: event shirts, event mug, and a boxed lunch for Saturday. Online participants should watch the CofChrist.org page for information about requesting event merchandise.

Registration is generosity-based, with a minimum cost applied to every registration. The estimated total cost per person varies based on the age and location of the attendee. It’s included on each form, so participants have a general idea of how much they might choose to give.

Sharing for the common good is the spirit of Zion, so if you can contribute more, please do so.

Schedule

Events are full of opportunities for learning, connection, and engagement. The peace forum officially will begin the evening of 16 October with award presentations and a keynote address from McKibben. 17 October will offer breakout sessions and an exciting evening worship. The forum will close the morning of 18 October with the First Presidency sharing in a worship service.

Breakout Sessions

With the immense diversity of our gathering community in mind, the planning team organized breakout sessions into four tracks. This will help participants decide what they want to learn and how they will apply the information when they return home.

• Deep Roots will focus on the theology that grounds and fuels our commitment to environmental justice. This track is perfect for people who want to discover how their faith might shape their daily discipleship.
• Expanding Trunk will introduce and explore practices that strengthen our capacity to live and act for climate justice. This track is a good fit for those seeking specific examples of changes that individuals and small groups can make to better care for creation.
• Branching Out will engage public witness and partnerships in civic action for environmental justice. Folks interested in this track will be ready to act in the public sphere, moving us closer to climate justice in our communities and nations.
• Bearing Fruit will uphold justice that nourishes communities, economies, and Earth. This track is for those who want to identify and uphold elements that help us be the new community. It is about structural and systemic approaches that help us live God’s peaceable kingdom.

It is important to know that participants won’t be limited to one track. Organizers won’t ask at registration, and participants won’t be expected to commit on arrival at the forum. Participants can move between the tracks.

Online Participation

While it would be wonderful to have the Temple full of participants, not everyone can attend in-person. Online participation will be an option. The award presentation and the main worship services will be available to stream for anyone. Those who wish to attend breakout sessions will need to register. Individuals can register to join online or can participate in an online site organized by local leaders.

Recently, I celebrated another birthday. I like to joke that candles no longer are an option for my cake because having that many would be a fire hazard! But birthdays are a wonderful time to pause, look back, and look forward. An ancient Ignatian prayer practice called the Examen focuses on taking time to reflect with God. In my time with God, I asked: What did I experience? What did I learn? What mattered most?

This led me to want to sing my own verse: 525,600 minutes—how do you measure a year sharing Christ? We measure it in prayers said, scriptures read, hard times overcome, and new communities. We measure it in shared hopes, bearing one another’s burdens, and God’s generous grace. In 525,600 blessings—that is how we measure a year shared. Onward in love!

Taking time to look back helps us use the lessons learned for the last 525,600 minutes to guide our future. We want to live life faithfully and to the fullest, making the most of every minute so it lines up with God’s purposes for the world. Imagine what your next year could look like if you tried to be a blessing every single minute. How would you treat yourself, your family, your community, your enemies, and all of God’s creation?

Imagine what your next year could look like if you tried to be a blessing every single minute.

For me, I imagine a year when I live Christ’s mission through small and brave acts of kindness and justice. I imagine visiting you, listening to your stories, and living Christ’s mission with you where you serve.

I picture myself creating helpful and engaging tools to share with our worldwide church family. These resources will help us get closer to God’s dream of new communities focused on healing hurting people, bringing broken communities together, and caring for our beautiful Earth. I also imagine us bravely praying the Mission Prayer, stepping out of our comfort zones to try new ways of being the exact blessings God needs us to be.

I clearly see a huge crowd gathered in the Temple and online for the International Peace Forum in October, when we will explore how to be better caretakers of God’s creation. Finally, I imagine finding a healthy balance—spending quiet, refreshing time alone with God and my family so I have the energy and passion to live my faith in the world actively.

To stay on track with how God is calling you to be a blessing, I offer this simple guide:

• Practice a yearly Examen (look back honestly): Pick a time, like your birthday or the start of the year, to review your past year. Ask yourself when you felt connected to God’s plan and when you were distracted or caught up in arguments.
• Audit your alignment (inventory your habits): Think about the habits and commitments that take up your time. What needs to be left behind to make space for Christ’s mission, and what needs to be fed and grown?
• Prophetically imagine (picture your circle): Pray and take notice of exactly who needs your God-given presence right now. This includes yourself, your family, your community, creation, and even your enemies.
• Live the Mission Prayer (practice courage): Ask God to help you step out of your comfort zone. Write down three new ways you feel led to bless others in the next 525,600 minutes.
• Embrace prophetic agility (stay flexible): Set aside time at the end of each month to check how you are doing. Ask yourself if you are still using your time for God’s vision of healing people, reconciling communities, and restoring creation. Decide what you might need to adjust.

Greetings in the peace of Jesus Christ from the Presiding Bishopric. We continue to be deeply grateful for the many expressions of generosity, ministry, and faithful discipleship shared throughout the church. Stories of compassion, stewardship, and mission continue to remind us that we are participating in Christ’s transforming mission around the world.

The June 2026 Financial Update reflects discussion and actions at the May 2026 World Church Finance Board meeting and includes information about Worldwide Mission Tithes, endowment growth, Bridge of Hope finalization, and long-term financial planning for mission.

Stories of compassion, stewardship, and mission continue to remind us that we are participating in Christ’s transforming mission around the world.

Some highlights:

• Worldwide Mission Tithes in 2025 totaled about $11.1 million. Strong year-end generosity, including contributions on Giving Tuesday, contributed significantly to this outcome.
• Prudent budget management and strong investment-related income resulted in a 2025 consolidated-budget surplus of about $2.6 million.
• During the 2025 closing process, about $4.6 million from surplus funds and investment earnings was transferred to the Worldwide Mission Endowment as part of the Presiding Bishopric’s long-term sustainability strategy.
• As a result of the generosity of the church related to the Bridge of Hope retirement and endowment goals, $20 million recently was transferred to the Worldwide Mission Endowment, meaning about $25 million was to be added to the endowment before June 20, 2026.
• The Temple Endowment ended 2025 with total assets exceeding $241 million, including about $229 million in liquid assets supporting Temple ministries, mission support services, and Temple operations.
• Long-term contribution trends continue to challenge the church. The number of contributor households in the USA and Canada declined from 5,754 in 2024 to 5,268 in 2025. Approximately 71 percent of contributors are 65 and older and provide approximately 77 percent of Worldwide Mission Tithes.
• The Presiding Bishopric continues prioritizing initiatives that engage younger generations in mission and whole-life stewardship response, including:
  • Completion of the Generosi-Whatzit family generosity resource.
  • Expansion of online financial literacy and stewardship-education opportunities.
  • Development of additional mission storytelling resources.
  • Continued ministry of mission-development ministers focused on adults 25–45 and 46–65.

Your faithful response continues to make life-changing ministries and communities of joy, hope, love, and peace around the world possible.

• As of early May 2026, Worldwide Mission Tithes generally were tracking close to projections for the year.
• The May 2026 World Church Finance Board approved income and expense assumptions for preparing the 2027 Worldwide Mission Budget, including:
  • Total income: $19.4 million.
  • Total expenses: $17.9 million.
  • Projected surplus: $1.5 million.
• Recent growth in the Worldwide Mission Endowment has improved long-term financial projections and reduced the size of a projected budget reduction for 2030 from $1.5 million to $550,000, primarily due to growth in the Worldwide Mission Endowment. The Presiding Bishopric has developed a strategy to defer the need for a budget reduction from 2030 to 2033. You can read more about this in the June Financial Update.
• Church leaders remain committed to strengthening the long-term sustainability of mission through:
  • Growing the Worldwide Mission Endowment.
  • Engaging new generations of generous disciples.
  • Connecting generosity more directly with visible mission outcomes.
  • Exploring new mission partnerships and funding opportunities.
  • Supporting sustainable global mission and ministry.

Church leaders are deeply grateful for the generosity expressed throughout the church in leadership, ministry, local mission, and financial support. Your faithful response continues to make life-changing ministries and communities of joy, hope, love, and peace around the world possible.

Those cookies actually weren’t scarce at all—my mom could make another batch at any time. But I didn’t live as if that were true. I lived as if what I had was all there was. That’s scarcity thinking.

Many of us learn that way of seeing the world early on. We carry it with us into adulthood, into our relationships, our finances, our politics, even our faith. We live in a culture that constantly tells us there isn’t enough—enough money, enough time, enough security, enough opportunity.

The gospel tells a different story. God’s vision for creation is not one of scarcity, but of abundance.

Consumer-driven economics in highly developed national economies reinforce this message, encouraging us to accumulate, compete, and protect what we have as if our well-being depends on it. Over time, scarcity thinking shapes our fears, narrows our imagination, and pulls us away from one another.

The gospel tells a different story. God’s vision for creation is not one of scarcity, but of abundance—life overflowing with possibility, generosity, and well-being for all. God’s creative abundance inspires this vision and invites us to embrace it.

At its heart lies a simple, yet profound, truth: All abundance originates with God, who gives generously for the benefit of all creation. When we embody this truth, we are liberated to become cocreators with God, sharing what we have so that life may flourish more fully for everyone.

All abundance originates with God, who gives generously for the benefit of all creation.

The vision of creative abundance does not ignore the suffering in our world. Many communities still lack clean water, safe homes, education, and basic health care. Our planet also suffers from human overconsumption and environmental degradation. These problems are serious and urgent. They show not just a lack of resources, but a failure to share what belongs to God and is meant for everyone’s well-being.

Scripture reminds us that true abundance is not measured by what we own, but by how we relate—to God, one another, and Earth.

This is why economic justice and climate justice belong together. The same systems that concentrate wealth and privilege also exploit land, water, and delicate—but life-giving—ecosystems. Those who already are poor or marginalized often are the first to suffer the effects of climate disruption.

Inspired counsel in Doctrine and Covenants 163 challenges us to awaken to suffering and truly become communities of Christ that embody a just and peaceful alternative. Caring for the poor and caring for Earth are not competing commitments; they are expressions of the same faithfulness.

The same systems that concentrate wealth and privilege also exploit land, water, and life-giving ecosystems.

Creative abundance challenges scarcity-driven systems by inviting us to imagine economic relationships shaped by generosity, restraint, and what is in the interest of the common good. It asks hard questions about excess and consumption and calls us toward simpler, more intentional, ways of living that are sustainable for Earth’s living systems.

The Enduring Principle of Grace and Generosity reminds us that God gives freely and abundantly, inviting us to mirror that generosity—not as a transaction, but as a transformation that reshapes how we live together in interdependent loving relationships.

Living this way requires a major shift in worldview. Scarcity shrinks our imagination and breeds fear and withdrawal. Abundance opens our hearts and minds to creativity, mutuality, and cooperation. The Apostle Paul reminded the Corinthians that God provides enough so that we may “abound in every good work.” Doctrine and Covenants 164 and 165 deepen this call, inviting us to live as a people shaped by oneness, equality, and shared responsibility in Christ.

God’s abundance is real, creation is sacred, and shared flourishing is possible when we live generously with and for one another.

Worldwide, congregations and small groups are finding impactful ways to serve—through hospitality, compassionate relief, online outreach, mental-health support, and creative expressions of discipleship. These are not acts of wealth, but imagination, grounded in a living faith that what we possess becomes sufficient when it is shared generously.

The vision of Zion—a world with no poor or oppressed—is not yet fully realized. God’s creative abundance invites us to participate courageously here and now. Each generous choice, each act of stewardship, each step toward justice moves us closer to the world God desires. Creative abundance ultimately is a way of living rooted in trust: trust that God provides enough, and that we are enough when we place what we have, no matter how small, into God’s generous flow for the good of all.

In a world shaped by fear of scarcity, the church is called to bear witness to a better story—God’s abundance is real, creation is sacred, and shared flourishing is possible when we live generously with and for one another.

Although the details are fuzzy, I still remember entering the Community of Christ Auditorium Chamber in the fall of 1999. I walked toward the seats in front of the transverse aisle, not with other church members, but with my first-grade class. We, along with 5,000 other students from around Independence, Missouri, USA, had been invited to hear Jane Goodall speak.

Though I was only seven years old, the excitement and pride I experienced in that moment are etched in my memory. Knowing that my faith community was hosting this important speaker and inviting others to hear her affected me profoundly. That event instilled in me, at that early age, a passion for peace and for honoring those working for it in the world.

Fast forward twenty-seven years, and we are preparing to recognize another environmental peacemaker at the 2026 Peace Forum, hopefully instilling or affirming in all who attend a passion for peace and for honoring those working for it.

That event instilled in me, at that early age, a passion for peace and for honoring those working for it in the world.

Author and activist Bill McKibben will join us October 16–18 to receive Community of Christ’s 2026 International Peace Award. He will share from his deep wisdom on issues related to climate justice and care for creation as we explore the theme, “Seeds of Peace: Environmental Justice and Action.”

The theme was chosen with great intention. At the 2023 World Conference, the gathered body adopted a resolution calling Community of Christ to join others in declaring a climate emergency. A declaration in solidarity with others is important, but if it isn’t backed by meaningful action it fails to have its intended effect.

In addition to requiring a declaration, this resolution called for specific responses that further the work of climate justice. At the 2025 World Conference, two additional pieces of legislation related to climate justice also were adopted. Their adoption showed that a commitment to fulfilling their mandates is a priority for Community of Christ. We, as a faith community and a prophetic people, understand the urgency of the climate crisis.

The forum’s theme shows not only our collective discernment and Conference action, it reflects the very core of who we are as a people in pursuit of peace. We don’t pursue just any peace, not one that is shallow, false, or hollow. We are a people in pursuit of God’s peace, shalom—a complete, all-encompassing, holistic peace that includes all creation.

In Doctrine and Covenants 155:7 we are told:

…the time for hesitation is past. The earth, my creation, groans for the liberating truths of my gospel which have been given for the salvation of the world.

This important reminder highlights for us that the gospel we proclaim is not intended only for the human occupants of Earth, but all the other-than-human elements of creation.

Our Enduring Principle of Sacredness of Creation upholds this perspective. This principle, officially adopted in the early 2000s but evident throughout the movement’s history, communicates our understanding that “…God created and called it all good” and that “we join with God as stewards of care and hope for all creation.”

The 2026 Peace Forum, centered around climate justice, invites us to more fully integrate our care for creation as an essential element of our gospel witness and peace work.

We are excited to have a schedule full of inspiration and challenge. Although the Peace Forum officially begins on Friday evening, those interested are invited to join “So That Life Might Flourish: Praying With the Earth,” a wild spirituality retreat during the day Friday to explore how creation can inform and shape our spiritual formation.

We hope you will join us…planting seeds of peace together—seeds that will flourish as new, sustainable communities of justice and peace for all creation.

Later that night, the International Peace Award and the Human Rights Awards will be presented in a special service. McKibben will deliver the keynote address. He also will lead sessions during the day Saturday. He will be joined by other individuals and groups passionate about this issue who will share during worship services, breakout sessions, and hands-on activities throughout the weekend.

Children and youth will be active participants and will add their voices to the conversation around climate justice.

As a people of faith, we are called to respond to the shuddering of the Earth, challenging the structures and systems that perpetuate unrestrained consumption and unchecked greed. As we approach October, I find myself again feeling excitement and pride as Community of Christ commits anew to amplifying voices for the cause of environmental justice and to working toward God’s preferred future on, for, and with Earth.

We hope you will join us at the 2026 Peace Forum as fellow gardeners, planting seeds of peace together…seeds that will blossom into embodied faith, seeds that will grow into prophetic personal changes, seeds that will bloom into discipleship in the public sphere, and seeds that will flourish as new, sustainable communities of justice and peace for all creation.

Join the Peace Forum

Join us for the Peace Forum from 16–18 October 2026 at the Temple in Independence, Missouri, USA.

Register Today

As we approach Pentecost, I return to that sacred memory. Pentecost is not merely a story from long ago; it is a declaration that the Spirit still moves. The same Spirit that rushed through the upper room, loosened tongues, and created understanding across difference is not finished with the church. The wind still blows. The fire still refines. Voices still rise in testimony and hope.

At Pentecost, the miracle was not sameness, but harmony. Everybody heard the good news in their own language. Diversity was amplified, not erased. That holy moment calls us into deeper listening and braver speaking. If we are to be a prophetic people, we also must become a listening people, trusting that the Spirit speaks through the whole body.

Pentecost is not merely a story from long ago; it is a declaration that the Spirit still moves.

One year after World Conference, I see signs leading to global action. In the Philippines, the International Resource Summit gathered seventy people from twenty-three countries to prepare resources for the international church, honoring diverse voices and contexts.

In Nigeria, congregations are being equipped with solar panels to address unstable electricity and respond faithfully to the climate crisis. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, more than forty emerging groups have begun—signs of courageous discipleship taking root.

In Manono, a city in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a church building of solid concrete blocks was raised from foundation to roof entirely through local initiative—a testimony of radical generosity expressed in sacrifice and shared labor.

We are becoming a people where everyone has a place at the table—where every culture, generation, language, and calling is welcomed as a gift.

These are not isolated successes. They are signs that something new is forming among us. The Spirit of Pentecost is not merely sustaining an institution; it is shaping a community. We are becoming a people where everyone born has a place at the table—where every culture, generation, language, and calling is welcomed as a gift. This is not uniformity; it is belonging shaped by grace.

To speak of prophetic imagination is to see not only what is, but what could be. It dares to envision a church shaped more by Christ’s peace than fear, more by compassion than control, more by invitation than exclusion. Prophetic imagination refuses to accept that things must remain the same. It listens for the Spirit’s whisper of possibility and responds with courageous faith.

Yet, imagination is not enough. Our times require prophetic agility. The early disciples did not remain in the upper room; they stepped into the streets. They trusted the Spirit. Agility means moving when the Spirit moves, releasing what no longer serves God’s mission and embracing practices that nurture life, justice, and belonging for all.

The Spirit is not finished. A new community is being born.

We invite the church to offer feedback to the First Presidency by responding to a survey. Watch CofChrist.org/News for a link. I encourage you to see this not as an administrative task, but as sacred participation. Your voice matters. Your context matters. When we listen deeply, we make room for the Spirit to guide us collectively. Amplifying all voices is not a slogan; it is a Pentecost practice shaping our shared future.

We stand at a holy threshold. The Spirit that stirred us at World Conference continues to call. Will we choose hope when cynicism feels easier? Practice generosity when scarcity tempts us to hold back? Trust that God is cultivating this new community, even when the future feels uncertain?

May we be a Pentecost people—attentive to the wind, willing to carry the flame, courageous enough to speak and listen in love. The awakening is not behind us. The Spirit is not finished. A new community is being born. Let us rise together, agile and imaginative, and follow where the Spirit leads!

By The First Presidency

As a follow-up to our introduction of the global-farm metaphor in the March-April issue, this article outlines the specific elements of our shared work. The First Presidency introduced this image to answer frequently asked questions about how our identity, mission, message, and beliefs fit together across diverse contexts.

While the last article introduced the Global Farm as a unifying theological foundation and missional framework, this piece features a comprehensive introduction to the metaphor.

This includes a diagram that shows how our identity and diversity hold together in a single vision. Imagine Community of Christ as a vast, living farm in various places around the world. We are not just an organization; we are cultivating and harvesting God’s peaceable kingdom one season at a time.

1. The Soil: Ministry Context

Our foundation is the soil, which is the context of our ministry. We fertilize the soil by adding nutrients such as our Basic Beliefs and Enduring Principles. Without these nutrients, nothing we plant will grow strong. We keep this soil fertile by relying on the peace of Jesus Christ as the Light, and the scriptures as the water, which we hold in common with other people.

2. The Tools: Our Resources

In our barn, we have equipment to work the ground. We have tractors, plows, combines, and spades—these represent tools that help shape our identity as disciples. These tools include our name, sacred story, priesthood, sacraments, worship, and Christian education. We know that not all formation resources are available in all languages and places. However, as we expand access, these tools help us more fully work the ground and support the crops.

3. The Methods: What We Do (Mission Initiatives)

If the soil nutrients represent who we are, the five Mission Initiatives represent what we do. They are our farming methods—the specific ways we toil, till, and tend the field. We do not scatter seeds randomly; we live Christ’s mission in specific ways. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, this labor turns the potential of the seeds into harvest.

4. The Crops: Our Strategies and Goals (2025–2028)

The field mission strategies and goals of each team are the crops. The World Church Leadership Council’s Shared Understandings guide us on what needs to be planted for this specific farming period. Here is our strategic focus for 2025–2028:

• Lead through Discernment and Agility: Make discernment the primary leadership practice for shaping vision, while implementing ways to evaluate faithfulness and maintain flexibility in a changing world.
• Develop Leaders and Empower New Voices: Boost leadership development across the church, specifically empowering emerging leaders and younger generations to influence the church’s purpose.
• Focus on Grassroots and Contextual Mission: Shift support toward grassroots initiatives, embracing identity, mission, message, and beliefs (IMMB) in local contexts.
• Nurture the Soul and Share Christ’s Peace: Deepen global connections and embody the soul of Community of Christ through the incarnation of the purposes of the Temple.
• Expand Stewardship and Sustainability: Develop true capacity for generosity while diversifying income sources to support global mission.
• Selection: When a team sets a goal, it is selecting specific seeds to plant.
• Technique: Teams often use “three-sister farming” or other techniques, planting complementary goals that grow together, rather than one item at a time.
• Care: Throughout the year, we faithfully nurture, water, and weed these specific goals.

5. Context and Experiments: Different Soil, Same Nutrients and Sources

A wise farmer knows you cannot force the same crop to grow in every climate, illustrating the contextualization of mission. A wise farmer also knows when fields need to rest to renew the soil and when experimenting opens new methods and opportunities for growth.

A field in one nation might plant “rice”—a specific cultural expression of the church. A field in another nation might plant “wheat.” Fields will experiment with different ways to create communities, looking for what yields the greatest harvest. Though they look different on the surface, they are grown from the same nutrients (Basic Beliefs and Enduring Principles) and nurtured by the same sources (Christ and scriptures) to feed the people in that specific context.

6. Stewardship: Sustaining the Farm

To keep the farm running, we rely on whole-life stewardship, our response to God’s grace. We practice tithing—giving generously to our true capacity. When we tithe our time, talent, treasure, and testimony, we support local and worldwide ministries that increase the harvest.

7. The Harvest and the Vision

We farm to fulfill a vision of healed people, reconciled communities, and restored creation.

• The Harvest: When goals are achieved, we harvest crops that feed the church and the world, moving us closer to God’s vision.
• The Temple: The Temple stands as a life-giving symbol, reminding us of this vision. It points us toward our true calling: to be a household where all feel at home—one that unites, heals, and restores.

By tending the soil, using our methods, and harvesting our crops, we move closer to creating new communities of healed people, reconciled communities, and restored creation based on God’s vision of shalom, where we live and serve. Ultimately, this framework is designed to help everyone find their place in the bigger picture. Whether you are enriching the soil or tending a specific crop in your congregation, you can see how your labor combines with the harvest of others around the world to move us all closer to God’s vision of shalom.