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Greetings from the Annual Conference Moderator
to the Pacific Southwest District Conference
meeting October 12-14, 2007
at La Verne Church of the Brethren
La Verne, California
Brothers and Sisters in the Pacific Southwest District,
I invite you and the congregations of your district to celebrate the 300th Anniversary of the Brethren!
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Eight believers were baptized in the Eder River in Schwarzenau, Germany in 1708 to form the first Brethren congregation.
Since then hundreds of thousands have faithfully followed Jesus as members of the many branches of our Brethren
family tree. Two of those branches will celebrate this 300th Anniversary together when our Church of the Brethren
Annual Conference and the Brethren Church General Conference worship and fellowship on Sunday and Wednesday during
our July 12-16, 2008 conferences in Richmond, VA – for the first time since the early 1880's!
I hope you will be there. I challenge each of you, as I challenged this year's Annual Conference, to bring
three persons to this historic 300th Anniversary celebration in 2008:
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(1)
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bring someone new into Christ's church this year and invite them to come to the special "Experience of Brethren
Faith Journeys" that will take place at Annual Conference |
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(2)
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bring someone to represent a congregation that has not sent a delegate in recent years – perhaps travel or room
together, to lessen expenses for smaller congregations |
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(3)
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bring a friend from your congregation who has not had opportunity to get to Annual Conference yet – in particular,
bring youth and young adults and young families. |
It is Life-giving to follow Jesus together as we do God's work in God's world. New horizons are emerging – exciting
"300" ideas are popping up all over the place! Imagine: 300 new churches planted, 300 refugees resettled,
300 persons called to ministry, 300 homes rebuilt in Louisiana, $300 given by 300 members – to provide $90,000
for new global mission ministries, 300 … Remarkable possibilities! Seeds to plant to bring forth fruitfulness
for generations to come.
Our 300th Anniversary scripture is John 12:24, "Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." Wow! Imagine what will happen
when we Brethren truly surrender to God, allowing Christ to transform us and inviting the Spirit of the Living
God to fully empower us! As your District Conference theme says, imagine what will happen when we are "Alone
Together with the Spirit" (John 14:15-17).
May your District Conference proclaim the power of God to accomplish great purposes through our life together –
as partners with all the people God wants yet to bring into our congregations. Each one bring one!
– Open your eyes to the people God is placing into your life, learn to more fully and authentically share your
faith with them, and invite them to put their faith into action through the ministries of the church. Then rejoice
– the new century of the Brethren will begin! And the God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead will work mightily
among us and through us.
Shalom, dear friends in Christ! ~ See you in Richmond, Virginia, July 12-16 ~
James M. Beckwith, 2008 Moderator, 300th Anniversary Annual Conference
paji@annvillecob.org * www.brethren.org/ac * www.churchofthebrethrenanniversary.org
Annual Conference exists to unite, strengthen, and equip the Church
of the Brethren to follow Jesus.
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