The Spirit at Camp Mack

November 22-24, 2002

Members of the Church of the Brethren came from as far away as San Diego, California, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania to participate in "A Spirited Gathering," called together by Voices for an Open Spirit at Camp Mack, in Milford, Indiana. There were 116 registrants representing 11 states, 13 districts, and 35 congregations. Participants ranged in age from 23 months to 84. There were 12 in their twenties and 5 in their eighties. Three families were represented by three generations in attendance. Camp Mack's location in northern Indiana made it convenient for many Hoosiers, and the congregation sending the most members was the nearby Manchester Church. More than 30 different people gave leadership to the sessions and meditation times.

Friday night began with discernment. Participants asked the questions "what do I need to flourish and grow as a person of faith?" and "what does the church need to flourish and grow?" Answers ranged from "a spirit that accepts differences," through "reclaiming the Bible as our ally," to "leaders who won't settle for second-class citizenship," to speaking out and listening "without fear," to being in "harmony not unison," to "focusing on Jesus as the center," to "letting the Spirit have its way with us," to an "environment of trust where we intentionally shape ourselves through exploration and action." This session connected participants to one another and set the mood of acceptance and hope that would build throughout the weekend.

Saturday morning began with a panel of five discussing the places for pessimism and optimism in the church. Benton Roades, member of the La Verne Church of the Brethren in California, said the larger church has grown increasingly cautious. He cited the fear gripping leadership and the "repressive" reactions in recent church controversies. As signs of hope he mentioned Womaen's Caucus, the open and affirming congregations, the Christian Peacemaker Teams, the presence of a Church of the Brethren member in the Geneva, Switzerland office of the World Council of Churches, the Song and Story Fests, the editorial courage of Messenger, BMC, and the Camp Mack gathering itself. He said VOS was called for such a time as this.

Melissa Bennett of northern Indiana described what she is learning from a remarkable correspondence with a person who differs with her on many of the controversial matters of the church but is willing to be open to discussion. This heartwarming story raised participants' hopes that communication across differences is possible.

Other panel members were Roger Schrock, moderator, (Cabool Church, Missouri), Anita Smith Buckwalter (Lansing Church, Michigan), Matt Guynn (Richmond Church, Indiana).

In the second half of Saturday morning, Bob Gross of the Manchester Church and Deanna Brown from the Beacon Heights congregation in Indiana led exercises to help participants do the internal work necessary to reconciliation. First, they asked participants to gather in triads to talk to one another about their own fear, anger, and hurt. Then again in triads people were asked to put themselves in the place of those who most deeply disagree with them and who judge them most harshly and think about those persons' fears, angers, and hurts. Participants found the first exercise much easier to do than the second, and the session produced sober soul-searching and thoughtful discussion.

With such a full and demanding schedule, people were given a choice between rest and discussion groups early Saturday afternoon. Still these small group sessions were well-attended and the lively exchanges ranged over issues of spirituality, biblical interpretation, faith as a journey, Jesus as the way, peace and justice, and our ordinary and not always predictable humanness. These sessions left people with a sense of affirmation because deep convictions and questions were validated in a spirit of open, hopeful exchange. Participants were reminded that there is a place in the church for all people of faith wherever they may be in their journey.

Then in the late afternoon the planning and action began. Six work groups met to discuss the identity of VOS, its organization, events it may want to stage, resources it may want to produce, its method and vehicles of communication, and its connections to the larger Church of the Brethren.

Energy at the Saturday evening session was high as these work groups presented their ideas and proposals to the whole gathering. The results, written on newsprint and copier paper, were taped on the stone wall in the front of the meeting area. The stones were soon plastered with dozen of possibilities. Barbara Daté from Oregon provided different colored self-stick dots; with a key explaining what each color meant, she invited participants to use the dots to show which ideas they supported.

At the end of this jam-packed day participants relaxed with the humorous and entertaining late-night storytelling of Jonathan Hunter from San Diego, and the engaging and uplifting music of Peg Lehman (Elgin congregation) and Lee Krähenbühl (Manchester Church), who also provided music throughout the gathering. The mike was open and many others shared songs and stories as the laughter and good spirit swirled round the room and in and out and around the brainstormed ideas taped to the wall.

Sunday morning began with participants sticking the colored dots on the idea sheets. Then after a moving and evocative Sunday morning worship led by Kerby Lauderdale (Peace Church, Oregon) and Jonathan Hunter, Dave McFadden from the Manchester Church led the whole group in an intense and lively session to survey the sheets and identify emerging ideas and directions.

The group decided to keep "Voices for an Open Spirit" as its official name. It created a provisional coordinating council to give direction to the movement and act as a bridge (for 18 to 24 months) to a more permanent organization. Participants were invited to offer five names of people to serve on this council. From these nominations five persons will be chosen. They in turn will choose five more. Added to this will be Jim Lehman, VOS organizer, and Bob Durnbaugh, VOS treasurer—for a total of twelve on the council.

The participants agreed on the following working statements as the mission and intentions of VOS (to be sharpened by the coordinating council):

Our mission is:

• to be a prophetic voice that proclaims for all the radically inclusive love of God
• to call the Church of the Brethren to embody more fully this radically inclusive love of God in Christ
• to model this love as a group and live it out.

We will fulfill our mission by:

• developing our own gifts for discernment
• helping the church develop discerning approaches to decision-making;
• training people in the church to listen respectfully
• empowering people to speak
• studying the Bible and especially Christ's teachings with open eyes and ears for further inspiration
• creating safe, grace-filled spaces to explore all the questions of our faith
• collaborating with like-minded organizations
• supporting and encouraging all persons to offer their gifts to Christ and the church
• using power responsibly and with integrity
• continuing to work with and build bridges to those who are not of like mind with us
• identifying and enlarging common ground within the Church of the Brethren.

Concrete proposals for carrying out this mission included adding many resources to the VOS website, strengthening the listserve, producing a variety of printed materials and publications, sending out deputation teams, connecting with the kindred spirits in the church, connecting with the colleges, offering models and materials for people and congregations to strengthen their discernment processes, taking the word back to local congregations, writing articles for Messenger, maintaining a presence at denominational events, and holding more gatherings.

Participants made the point several times throughout the weekend that VOS is not a one-issue movement focused only on sexual orientation as some have wanted to characterize it. The inclusion of people of different sexual orientation in the life and leadership of the church is one of many areas of reflection and concern. However, at the end of the action session on Sunday morning Ken Smeltzer, from the University Baptist and Brethren congregation in State College, Pennsylvania, reminded participants that VOS should take a stand regarding last year's Annual Conference action and offered a well-worded statement. The discussion that followed focused not on whether to make the statement but when. Matt Smucker of the Skyridge congregation in Michigan urged participants to wait, reminding all that we are entering the season of Advent when we wait on the new light the Christ child brings. So formal affirmation of the statement was postponed until after the holiday season.

This Sunday morning session was the culmination of the activity and energy of the whole weekend and participants had the satisfaction of seeing their work, an astonishing array of creative ideas, winnowed down into a clear and workable direction they could be proud of and enthusiastically support. And not just with time and energy but with money as well—an offering basket in the dining hall collected $965.

One cannot think of "A Spirited Gathering" without mentioning the central role that music and worship played. Each session began with a meditation that enriched and focused the participants and lifted them beyond themselves, connecting them to God and to one another. The music that began and ended most sessions and sometimes enlivened them in progress and the storytelling and sing-along session reminded everyone that stories and songs often express the deep parts of us that talking, reflecting, and planning cannot touch.

In a quick wrap-up at the end Jim Lehman asked for short phrases to express what the weekend had meant. People responded, "Awesome!" "Right on!" "Empowering!" "Hopeful!" "Praise God!" "Connected!" "Enabled!" "Full!" And then one participant said in a quiet voice, "Isn't it wonderful to come home?"