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A MEETING BY ANY OTHER NAME...
Meetings, meetings, meetings, I hate meetings! Many of
us feel that way. We see meetings as necessary evils
that we just have to do!
Lately, we have been wondering if we could rename our
Annual Meeting so that it would not sound like a
meeting. We have thought of calling it a Leadership
Conference, an Inspirational Gathering, a Reunion, or a
Coming Together of God’s Pilgrims.
I make light of our attempts, but truth be known, if it
looks like a meeting, sounds like a meeting, and smells
like a meeting, it is probably a meeting! So what we
need to change is not the name of our meeting, but our
perception of meetings. Let me give you an example: I
have had chance meetings, such as encounters with people
in airport terminals, which have changed my life. There
was no time set, there was no calendar appointment, it
just happened! I have found that serendipitous encounter
has had the presence of God as much as a scheduled
worship service. We are meeting and greeting every day
of our lives and what makes it meaningful for us, what
makes an encounter worthwhile is that we bring something
away from that face to face encounter!
Now we are talking about attitude. The depth of the
meeting, the content of the meeting, the outcome of the
meeting depends on what you bring to it as much as what
is prepared or already cast in stone.
What I will tell you is this: If you come to Costa Mesa
ready to learn, ready to be inspired, ready to laugh,
and ready to have an encounter with that which is Holy
and Good, our Awesome God, then you will not go home
disappointed. We will do all that we can do by June of
2006 to insure this will happen. So, just think of this,
make it your mantra:
Costa Mesa, here we come, right where we will have fun,
the ocean, the scenery sure will be grand! The Meetings,
the greeting, will go hand in hand. Costa Mesa, here we
come!
Your Moderator,
Dick Adair |
Dear Friends,
An “Acorn Fund” of the Congregational Foundation has
supported a fund called the “Providence Fund” for the
past two years. This fund enables smaller churches to
send a delegate to the National Annual Meeting. This
scholarship provides part of the expense for a
qualifying church. It was started to encourage our
sister churches to attend this gathering of our
fellowship. In the last two years we have assisted nine
people to attend our Annual Meeting in Providence and
Kansas City. This is a good program and deserves to be a
part of our continued support. This is one way we can
grow our church family and stir up interest in the
Congregational Way. Churches which may apply are those
that are already member churches of the National
Association and that have not sent a delegate to an
Annual Meeting for the past three years. Application is
made to the Congregational Foundation at the Oak Creek
office. The name of the Church, the name of the delegate
and the portion of the expenses the Church would be able
to cover are needed. Donations should be made to the
Congregational Foundation, “Providence Fund.” 40% of
each donation is used to grow the fund for the future
and 60% is used for delegate expenses.Dick Adair
2006 Moderator
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