Greetings to all in the Love of Jesus Christ:
Greetings from Indianapolis, where our Regional Moderator, Kerry Swindle; Rev. Jessica Braxton from Saguaro Christian Church; Lori Tapia; and I participated in the General Board meeting of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada. In addition to regular business, the major focus of the General Board was to plan for our first ever fully on-line General Assembly, to be held this July 10-11, 2026. View the schedule here and registration at disciples.org – because YOU are invited. Here is some context and background.
After 50 years of meeting in person every 2 years for a General Assembly, we have made the decision to meet in person every 3 years – but also to have online meetings in the other 2 years of each “triennium.” The goal is to have Disciples all over feeling more connected to each other. Attending an in-person General Assembly, although delightful, can be expensive due to travel, lodging, food, and registration fees. So, we are trying a new approach – inviting people to join on-line 2 out of every 3 years.
You can participate in the General Assembly from the comfort of your own home. OR … you can get together with fellow Disciples and watch/participate together. OR … you can gather with other Disciples in a local congregation to have a mini-Assembly without the travel and lodging costs. When you register, you will be asked whether you prefer to watch from your own home or from a local gathering. Even if you don’t know which you’ll end up doing, click whichever you PREFER because that will help us plan. And if your congregation is interested in HOSTING a gathering, or if you’d like to host one in your home for a smaller group, please let us know.
New for this Assembly – all congregations receive 3 voting delegates. Before the end of April, congregations will be able to begin entering their 3 voting delegates into the ALEX database. As always, all commissioned and ordained ministers who have standing, even if retired, also have voting privileges.
As with all new things, nobody knows exactly how this is going to go. There will be worship and education and conversation in small groups and an exhibit hall. We look forward to trying it this summer and then improving things in the future.
Dios les bendiga!
Pastor Jay
Regional Minister and President
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Arizona
