If you’re unfamiliar with the amazing new 3-year LEAD program. Here’s a short snippet from my perspective about the start of my journey in this program…

Why did I sign up to the program you may ask? I took time to reflect on what felt very much like a void in my life. Not having an answer, I continued to listen for answers. Until I was asked to help at the Peace Summit in 2022. Something just clicked, it was the turning point of filling that void. A couple of events later, I was introduced to Tuesday Church. An online place to listen, discuss and learn mostly with individuals of similar age about the Church, faith and spiritually related topics. However, aliens have been a hot topic of choice.

The program, built from the ground up by the incredibly capable team of Lisa Yen, Gail Robinson & Kristie Woodward, who were backed by the ever-knowledgeable Malcolm and June Stephenson, has started off strong. 17 of us ranging from 20 to 50+, all with a yearning, to learn, to discover and to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.

The weekend gave me time to reflect, think and ingest what I was learning (theology, scripture and spirituality) with plenty of downtime and journaling. It helped me to see where I was coming from, who I was going to be making this journey with and gave me plenty to further investigate, study and think about for the future.

A common thought kept bubbling up to the surface, with all the activities we were doing throughout the weekend: Strength in connection.

Gail had collected some seashells for us to choose and discuss. “What characteristics of the shell resonate with you?” For me, it was a tiny little shell, with a naturally made hole through it. My mind instantly raced back through time, thinking of fun days at the beach with family and friends, to Celebration ‘99 in Tahiti. This shell could be strung upon a necklace with many more shells. In my mind it represented strength in connection.

Malcolm spoke about Community of Christ being a theocratic democracy. Something I knew, but didn’t truly have a grasp on what that meant globally for the Church. An easier way to put it is, The Community of Christ acknowledges a line of prophets, while emphasising the importance of individual agency and active participation of members in shaping their faith and community.

With the next World Conference around the corner, it was timely to have a greater understanding of the proposed legislation and gain an understanding of how a single voice in a congregation can make its way to the Conference and potentially become a part of our future as a global church. If you’re not familiar with how this plays out, have a chat with someone within the church who’s been to World Conference. Although the Conference was not a topic of the weekend, it did become a topic for Tuesday Church. The discussions had resonated with the whole weekend, but also that common thought... Strength in connection.

Side quest: If you’re like me and find legislation a little monotonous and a danger to falling asleep, have a listen to this podcast episode on World Conference Legislation by “Ministry for Dummies”, which discusses what some of the legislation is all about.

I’ve walked away from the weekend with not only a continued and deepened faith but what is likely to be a continuing reflection for me:

What is my connection to God and my faith, and how can I strengthen it?

Shalom,

Tim Kent, NSW