Three Things from the Elders Meeting

The Elders had their regularly scheduled meeting on Sunday September 11 right after worship. Here are "The Three Things" that you need to know from that meeting!

1) AZ Regional Assembly
We discussed the upcoming Arizona Regional Assembly (November 4 and 5 hosted by East Mesa Christian Church). This will be a joint Assembly/Asamblea as the Regional Assembly and Hispanic Asamblea will be held jointly for the first time in several years. We discussed the opening festival on Friday night, the guest speakers, business resolutions, and the registration process. You can learn more about the Regional Assembly/Asamblea by visiting RA.AzDisciples.org and you can register in the church office.

2) Open Letter on Racism
While I was attending the Regional Ministers and Moderators Forum in Indianapolis we set aside our business-as-usual agenda in order to have a Spirit-filled and Spirit-led conversation about race in the United States and Canada. As a result of that discussion the Open Letter to the Church in North America was written and then distributed (you will find my signature on the letter). I invite all church members to read that letter and engage in the type of faithful conversation that is described therein. We'll be talking more about this in our September 25 worship service that will focus on the Reconciliation Special Mission Offering.

3) Dialogue Team at FCC Scottsdale
Speaking of Spirit-filled and Spirit-led conversations, the Elders were brought up to speed on work of the Dialogue Team here at FCC Scottsdale. You'll remember that in the wake of the horrific gun violence of this past summer I invited members of congregation to join me in engaging in serious, faithful conversations on what can be a controversial subject. I am pleased to say that the Dialogue Team has been meeting regularly and made significant headway in this project. They have constructed a "Civil Discourse Agreement" that helps guide their conversations, modeled faithful discussion and dialogue, researched the topic of gun violence, and taken steps leading to real action on the issue. One such action is the upcoming "Sing Along for Peace" that we will host at FCC Scottsdale on Sunday September 25 at 2PM as part of Faiths United Concerts Across America series.