The design on the picture that accompanies the conference invites us to to journey round the circle of life from its beginnings to an end that in resurrection becomes a new beginning.
Joint pastor of the church we will be visiting next weekend, Wendy, took us through that circle of life in moving prayers and a hymn specially written for the occasion.
The preacher in our opening worship took us to New York City and RCA building outside of which is a sculpture of Atlas holding the weight of the whole world on his shoulders. Across the street is St Patrick's Cathedral with a sculpture of the child Jesus holding the world in his hands. In our Christian calling to discipleship and concern for the world it is easy to imagine that we are called to carry the world and its problems on our shoulders: better by far to realise that Jesus carries the world in his hands. Realise that and it releases the courage Joshua sensed. It is a wonderful blessing to know that the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Five new churches were received into the Association, making a commitment to be fully partners with their sister churches in the work of the kingdom. One of the founding figures of the NACCC, a contemporary of my father's and one who endowed a series of pamphlets I edited for the Federation, the Savoy Papers was quoted as saying that it is the essence of our Congregational way to engage in 'the quest for community by the achievement of fellowship not by the use of power'.
We then had a glimpse of the work of the NACCC and the way it is engaging in a process of changing its structures.
The annual Congregational Lecture was delivered by Margaret Bedndrath, executive director of the Congregational Library.
She suggested that the value of doing church history is not so much in the quest for some kind of blueprint for action today, as in the process of entering into a conversation with the people who have gone before us so that we may better fulfil our calling to be disicples of Christ today. An interesting insight into the importance and of history, and an interesting invitation to enter into the conversation.
Dinner had a focus on mission and the International Congregational Fellowship and we had the opportunity to share greetings from the ICF.
After dinner we walked over to a set of sculptures in a small sculpture park just beyond the hotel.
It turned out to be a set of six installations challenging prejudice and urging respect with the thought provoking title, Typecast, Re-cast.
One was a big set of rusting, twisted steel that had been taken apart and in our mind's eye we were invited to put it together again. Another invited us to think of those with access to water and those who have no access. One was a moving bust in wire standing 20 feet high of a woman who had given a life time of service to breaking down barriers in the city of Omaha and now had died. Finest of all was a woderful sculpture made by pulling coloured nylon rope taut and creating lettering on a steel framework. The lettering spelled out the key words to overcoming prejudice and nurturing respect. Always Forgive. Never Forget.
In the context of the story we had explored yesterday of conflict and change in teh city of Omaha and the USA it was a powerful piece.
The evening came to an end with a quiet conversation on a terrace watching the crowds passing by on the street on the way to the neighbouring convention centre (indoor seating for 42,000 people!!!) and the World Lightweight Championship decider in boxing. Quite some entertainment. The evening started with a clear blue sky and bright sunshine with temperatures heading towards 30. By the end of the evening we were entertained to a stunning electric storm, lightening filling the sky above the Baseball stadium opposite.
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