by James F. Myer
1. The Annual Conference theme, “So that God is not ashamed to be called our God,” was a good theme, and the second year in a row where the emphasis was on faithfulness. But it is still pretty uncertain how really serious the Church of the Brethren is about being faithful.
2. The Annual Conference Manager, Duane Stainer, reported that the attendance was considerably lower than expected. There may have been as many Brethren in Orlando as at other Annual Conferences, but who knows how many chose Disney over Annual Conference?
3. The Orange County Convention Center is oversized for the Brethren. Its 1.3 million square feet of space required too much walking for many people.
4. We were reminded of the ‘glory days” of mission endeavors as the 75th anniversary of the start of our Nigerian mission field was celebrated.
5. There was much more heat in the Florida brush fires than anything generated at this Annual Conference. A small amount of business allowed for a “too relaxed” agenda, and business was over by mid morning on Saturday. At times boredom was evident.
6. If Annual Conference continues to have a limited amount of business, a plan to include more inspiration and instruction should be devised.
7. In spite of the reduced attendance, the meal events at the BRF meetings were filled to capacity. Two hundred seventy-seven meals were served at the BRF Friday evening dinner meeting.
8. The membership in the Church of the Brethren is now about 141,000. These figures indicate a continued decline in membership.
9. It was said that during the last few years the dollars received annually by the General Board have dropped by about two million dollars. This has caused serious reductions in staff and program.
10. The new executive director, Judy Mills Reimer, will have her hands full to try and tum these sobering statistics around.
11. A paper affirming the value of the plural nonsalaried ministry was approved. This comes after many years of hearing that the professional pastoral ministry is the answer for leadership needs in Brethren congregations.
12. A request to study the use of fetal tissue was sent bade to the congregation from which the query originated. It was thought that the church could not come to a consensus on that matter.
13. The National Council of Churches report listed the four priority issues of that ecumenical body–racial justice, ending poverty, religious liberty, and (government) campaign finance reform. All this is more evidence of the erroneous focus of the NCC goals.
14. The 50th Anniversary of the founding of BVS was observed. A booklet telling how BVS started was available free of charge at the BVS exhibit.
15. The Annual Conference delegates overwhelmingly approved a very well written paper entitled “The New Testament as Our Rule of Faith and Practice.” The Brethren do have a creed; our creed is the New Testament.