Four of Our Speakers

Building the Beloved Community
Celebrating our Diversity and Making It Count

The people who worship in the churches of the Metropolitan Association, New York Conference, UCC (United Church of Christ) may be/are the most diverse population in any UCC Association. Therefore, "Building the Beloved Community - Celebrating Our Diversity and Making it Count" was a fitting theme for the gathering June 11-13, 2004 held at the LaGuardia Marriott - in the heart of the Metro Association.

More than 500 persons registered for the Twelfth Joint Meeting of the Northeast Region, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and New York Conference, United Church of Christ. Statisticians will report how long it's been since we've had 500+ persons at such a meeting. Participants will report how long it's been since they've been at a meeting which inspired them as much as this one, welcomed them as warmly as this one, provided them with as many actionable ideas as this one.

One way to view the three days is through the words of four of our main speakers.

Our Sunday preacher Larry Burnley with Conference Minister Geoffrey Black

Larry Burnley's closing sermon on Sunday, June 13, summed it up with his description of "Divine Mathematics" - the mathematics where one and one equal one. These are the mathematics where the category of "other" does not exist in the Beloved Community. We are all one beautiful and glorious body. (Larry serves us through the Office of Racial/Ethnic Relations in the Global Ministries of the Disciples of Christ and the United Church of Christ.)

Our Bible Study Leader, Barbara Essex.

Barbara Essex led our Bible studies which challenged us to accept the poor in the Beloved Community. She asked us to read Luke 4:14-21 where Jesus proclaims his call to ministry with these words (as recorded in New Revised Standard Version): "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Barbara is Minister and Coordinator of Community Life at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley , CA . Her standing as a minister in the UCC is held in the Metro Association, to which she said she hopes to return.)

Our Keynote Speaker, Joan Brown Campbell.

Keynote speaker Joan Brown Campbell defined the Beloved Community in the words of the first verses of Ephesians 4: "I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all." She urged us to be sure our dedication to the Beloved Community is reflected in our political action. "Whatever happens after November 2004 is the result of our voting." (Joan is Director of the Department of Religion at the Chautauqua Institution. Earlier she was the General Secretary of the National Council of Churches. Her standing as a minister is with both the Disciples of Christ and the American Baptist Church .) . Given her enthusiasm for political action, it seems likely Joan would support a conference participant who quoted Pete Seeger: "If the people will lead, the leaders will follow."

Our Saturday night speaker, Chris Hobgood.

"Asking what Jesus would do cheapens Jesus and ourselves," said dinner speaker Chris Hobgood. "Instead we should focus on what Jesus did, what Jesus is." Chris pointed out that Jesus would never ask us to do anything he hadn't done first. "If we are children of God, we should all be treated as princes and princesses." Chris believes this is true even when we have profound differences, one with the other. (William Chris Hobgood is the General Minister and President of the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ.)

Reported by Lucy Werner