Date: May 3. 2005
Location: Lake Springfield Baptist Camp, Springfield, Illinois
Host: Ministers Council of the Great Rivers Region
Facilitators: Sarah Hallstrand & Kate Harvey
Participants: 40, includes one from the Mid-America Region
We followed the same process that other Jerusalem Councils have followed.
Kate gave a brief history of the Ministers Council in general including the history of the
how the issue of homosexuality has been discussed and dealt with in the past.
We then did the group process of the Lectio Divina which brought to light some new and interesting insights concerning this passage and what took place when the early church met to deliberate on what was a divisive issue and the impact their decision made on the future of the Christian Church.
After lunch we again gathered and each person was allowed two minutes each to express their belief and opinion about the proposed amendment to the Senate By-Laws. There was an overwhelming majority of those present who supported the amendment. Several expressed the desire to respect the diversity of our denomination and allow Senators sent by their region to be seated regardless of their sexual orientation. The two senators of the GRR as committed to voting for the amendment per the wishes of the majority of their members. The meeting was fairly low energy since so many of those present were of the same persuasion concerning this issue.
After this session, those who remained, about 27, brainstormed about how the future of the ABC/USA might look. There were a variety of responses that can be read in the Response part of the GRR report. There was a good deal of discussion about the first and second parts of the proposed amendment: concern about how to enforce the amendment, etc. Still, there remained a clear indication that most wanted their senators to vote for the amendment.