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Page 9 July 2008
TOWER CHIMES
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Delegate Report #2
I came away from my first-time attendance at
an Annual Rocky Mountain Conference meeting with many insights about the
make-up of the Conference and programs it is currently pursuing. In this
brief note I would like to share with you one thing that I learned and was
personally moved by at this gathering in Rock Springs.
The RMC is geographically
the largest conference in the UCC with very diverse terrain (mountains,
high deserts, fertile plains). The eighty some churches spread over this
area range in size from nearly 1,500 members to less than twenty. They are
located in large urban cities, suburban outliers to the large population
centers, isolated farming and ranching towns, high country resorts, and
towns with strong ties to energy fuel extraction.
I found that this diverse
demographic group, meeting at this conference, were not diverse in their
love of Christ, commitment to equality, and activity in similar types of
outreach ministries. I was much moved by discovering these common bonds of
the human spirit which unite the Rocky Mountain UCC family and saw how
such bonds far out-trump the diversity imposed by geography , employment
and education.
Regards, Tom Hemborg,
Delegate |
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Delegate Report #3
The meeting in Rock Springs was once again a
great experience. The UCC church at Rock Springs is small but they did a
great job of hosting such a large event – great teamwork and cooperation!
The highlight for me was
hearing Paul Nickerson both teach and preach. I can see why those of you
who heard him last year enjoyed him so much. His message is one which on
one hand is very simple but also very hard to implement. What I got out of
his message is that in order to “grow”, the first thing that churches and
church members need to do is re-claim their Christian identity and become
much more intentional in their activities, Becoming active in prayer life,
Bible study, mission work (locally and globally) and creating
relationships with all of God’s children are but a few examples. We need
not apologize for what we believe but also need to know what it is that we
do believe.
As with other annual
meetings, we had great food and fellowship. I had a long discussion with
the moderator from Rock Springs, and it was interesting to learn that
their community has many of the same issues as Grand Junction in terms of
the impact of the energy industry. We agreed that perhaps we need to think
about ways to reach out to this segment of our population in each of our
areas.
One of the themes of the
Annual Meeting was to increase our efforts in becoming “green.” Our
Association proposed that the Conference Board of Directors investigate
alternative ways that Conference committee meetings occur, to save travel
costs, reduce our impact, and encourage more participation in committees.
We also requested that LaForet become more active in promoting activities
for children and youth not only on the Front Range, but throughout the
entire Conference, so more of our kids can participate in them.
Overall, I felt good
about the outcome of the meeting, I learned a lot, and met some great
people. And I felt very good that the Western Association once again is
providing a prophetic voice within the Rocky Mountain Conference.
Sincerely, Bob Peterson,
Delegate |
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