This week there is no sermon because I was attending the 155th Annual Meeting of the Christian Church of Northern California-Nevada. This is the regional expression of our denomination, the Disciples of Christ. We have about 70 congregations in our region and once a year we gather at Asilomar, the state-run conference center in Pacific Grove. It's a beautiful setting and about 350-400 of us were there. There are several worship services, workshops (I actually co-led one this year rather than going to any), meetings, and just plain running into folks, many of whom I see once a year.
Our presenters this year were excellent: Rick & Laura Hall and Bill Thomas, all of The Church of the Valley in Van Nuys, CA led us in worship and music. They are extremely talented and thoughtful people. The music they brought to us (both Laura & Bill are musicians; Rick is an actor) and the stories of their own lives were inspiring and challenging. Bill especially challenged us in regards to the vote in California regarding same-sex marriage and wondered how God could ever not sanction and love the love between two people, whatever their gender.
This picture, by the way, is of the three of us from our congregation who were there for the weekend. Allen, Ann, & I (along with Loma, who came down for the day) each came away with some new thoughts.
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