Encourage One Another
Paul Clay, June 5, 2009
At Pacific Grove, one the point beyond Monterey, is a very nice conference center. Asilomar was originally a Campfire Girls facility. The older buildings were designed by Julia Morgan, the same architect that that designed Hearst Castle at San Simeon and many of the fine old building of San Francisco. In keeping with the function and the location, these are more rustic. The main meeting hall is gothic in style, with pointed arches in the windows, but built of wood on a foundation of large stone. The welcoming facility, dining hall, and chapel have the same friendly feeling with open timber trusses and wood paneled walls. Most of the sleeping facilities are modern, generously sized rooms much like you might expect in a slightly upscale motel. Asilomar is a part of a state park, and the beach and the tide pools are within a few minutes walk.
This weekend I had the pleasure of gathering at Asilomar with 450 representatives of 60 local churches of our denomination. You may have noticed that our church is sometimes listed in community calendars as “First Congregational UCC”; this is because we are a part of the United Church of Christ. The Congregational Christian Churches merged with the Evangelical and Reformed denomination in 1957 to form the United Church of Christ, and the Congregational Church of Oroville voted to become a part of it soon after.
In keeping with the Congregational tradition, the United Church of Christ is respectful of the freedom of each local church to define its own approach to faith, to discern its own mission, to own its property, and to select its pastor. Most of the local churches, in turn, allow and encourage each member to think for themselves about faith, and to live out the implications of our beliefs. A traditional way of saying this is “Unity in essentials, diversity in all else, and charity (Christian love) in all things.” We are united by our trust in God, by the love of Christ, and by the work of the Holy Spirit among us. And though we are free to disagree, we often reach common ground and genuine consensus. We find that we are of one heart and mind.
Our business sessions filled only three hours out of the three days at Asilomar. What did we do with the rest of the time? We sang new songs and heard great preaching in worship services with the full crowd of youth, young adults, parents and children, and senior citizens. We gathered in workshops on hunger, homelessness, marriage rights for all, care of the environment, music, stewardship, church growth, faith and mission, and many other topics. We walked in the sand, and watched the hermit crabs in the pools. Some of us gathered each morning and evening for Taize, which is a form of worship in which we offer our praise and prayers through beautiful songs. We met new friends and renewed old friendships, and some talked far into the night.
One afternoon, we met in small groups and talked about how the economic recession was effecting each of us personally. We sat on the porch of the meeting hall, with the roar of the ocean in the distance, and shared stories. Several of us were facing reduced income, insecurity about the future of our jobs, losses on home sales, and decreased value of investments. Others were assisting adult children who were feeling the stress. Even in this gathering of people who could afford the time and money to come to Asilomar, each of us was carrying burdens, and each of us was in need of encouragement.
“Encouraging Each Other, Carrying Each Other’s Burdens” was the theme for the weekend. That is what we are about, in our relationships with each other personally, in our connection between the local churches, and even in our caring for our neighbors in our communities, our brothers and sisters on all the continents, and all of the creatures of God’s beautiful world.
Paul Clay, June 5, 2009
At Pacific Grove, one the point beyond Monterey, is a very nice conference center. Asilomar was originally a Campfire Girls facility. The older buildings were designed by Julia Morgan, the same architect that that designed Hearst Castle at San Simeon and many of the fine old building of San Francisco. In keeping with the function and the location, these are more rustic. The main meeting hall is gothic in style, with pointed arches in the windows, but built of wood on a foundation of large stone. The welcoming facility, dining hall, and chapel have the same friendly feeling with open timber trusses and wood paneled walls. Most of the sleeping facilities are modern, generously sized rooms much like you might expect in a slightly upscale motel. Asilomar is a part of a state park, and the beach and the tide pools are within a few minutes walk.
This weekend I had the pleasure of gathering at Asilomar with 450 representatives of 60 local churches of our denomination. You may have noticed that our church is sometimes listed in community calendars as “First Congregational UCC”; this is because we are a part of the United Church of Christ. The Congregational Christian Churches merged with the Evangelical and Reformed denomination in 1957 to form the United Church of Christ, and the Congregational Church of Oroville voted to become a part of it soon after.
In keeping with the Congregational tradition, the United Church of Christ is respectful of the freedom of each local church to define its own approach to faith, to discern its own mission, to own its property, and to select its pastor. Most of the local churches, in turn, allow and encourage each member to think for themselves about faith, and to live out the implications of our beliefs. A traditional way of saying this is “Unity in essentials, diversity in all else, and charity (Christian love) in all things.” We are united by our trust in God, by the love of Christ, and by the work of the Holy Spirit among us. And though we are free to disagree, we often reach common ground and genuine consensus. We find that we are of one heart and mind.
Our business sessions filled only three hours out of the three days at Asilomar. What did we do with the rest of the time? We sang new songs and heard great preaching in worship services with the full crowd of youth, young adults, parents and children, and senior citizens. We gathered in workshops on hunger, homelessness, marriage rights for all, care of the environment, music, stewardship, church growth, faith and mission, and many other topics. We walked in the sand, and watched the hermit crabs in the pools. Some of us gathered each morning and evening for Taize, which is a form of worship in which we offer our praise and prayers through beautiful songs. We met new friends and renewed old friendships, and some talked far into the night.
One afternoon, we met in small groups and talked about how the economic recession was effecting each of us personally. We sat on the porch of the meeting hall, with the roar of the ocean in the distance, and shared stories. Several of us were facing reduced income, insecurity about the future of our jobs, losses on home sales, and decreased value of investments. Others were assisting adult children who were feeling the stress. Even in this gathering of people who could afford the time and money to come to Asilomar, each of us was carrying burdens, and each of us was in need of encouragement.
“Encouraging Each Other, Carrying Each Other’s Burdens” was the theme for the weekend. That is what we are about, in our relationships with each other personally, in our connection between the local churches, and even in our caring for our neighbors in our communities, our brothers and sisters on all the continents, and all of the creatures of God’s beautiful world.
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