Changing the Meeting Time of General Assemblies of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

NO. 0918

Not Adopted

(OPERATIONAL BUSINESS ITEM)

CHANGING THE MEETING TIME OF GENERAL ASSEMBLIES OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH (DISCIPLES OF CHRIST)

WHEREAS, the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) meeting in Denver, Colorado, July 25-29, 1997, voted to hold only summer General Assemblies in order to include more children, youth, young adults, families and lay persons; and

WHEREAS, the 2001 Summer Assembly experienced a 3% decline in participation from that in 1997, the 2005 Summer Assembly experienced a 32% decline in participation from that in 1997 and the 2007 Summer Assembly experienced a 27% decline in participation from that in 1997 (based on Yearbook figures); and

WHEREAS, the Mission Imperatives of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) adopted in July 2000 include our covenant that affirms our need to "strengthen relationships among all manifestations of the church, [and] share mutually and more fully the stewardship of God's gifts of our life in Christ"; and

WHEREAS, the 2020 Vision of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) includes "The calling and forming of new leaders and the continuing re-forming of current leaders"; and

WHEREAS, having a summer General Assembly every other year has a significant negative impact on the Regional summer camp and conference programs that historically have developed our children, youth, and young adults as Disciples and leaders in the Church; and

WHEREAS, having alternating summer and fall General Assemblies would allow youth to participate in a General Assembly once in their high school careers without missing school; and

WHEREAS, alternating fall and summer General Assemblies would require Regions to plan their camp and conference programs around the General Assembly only once every four years, making staffing and scheduling less difficult in the other years;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada, meeting in assembly in Indianapolis, Indiana, July 25-29, 2009, declare that beginning in 2013 or as soon as practical thereafter, the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) will alternate between summer and fall Assemblies.

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Montana
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Kansas
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the Upper Midwest
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Indiana
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in West Virginia
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Virginia

The General Board recommends that the General Assembly
NOT ADOPT Business Item No. 0918. (Debate time: 24 minutes)

Discussion on this Resolution

This discussion board is closed to new comment submissions.

Comments from the Community

19 total comments.

From: Becki Nunnally - Thursday, July 30, 2009

I'm one of those crazy parents who believe that church comes first. My children have been to ALL assemblies fall or summer. Our public schools give excused absences for church events, and there is much to be learned in whatever city we gather. School should not be used as an excuse! (And I have one in college and one in high school now.) I support the alternating assemblies because the camping programs are adversely affected, especially on the Friday-Tuesday schedules which cut out two weeks of camp. And I'd rather be in session in the fall with cooler temperatures. Please support 0918.

From: Mark Anderson - Thursday, July 30, 2009

It's about time we come to our senses about this! Lay people only have so much vacation time. Our camping programs and our General Assembly could not exist without their generous participation. Please pass this resolution! It makes good sense!

From: Sean Harry - Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Attendance at General Assemblies has declined. How do these figures compare with the overall decline of the denomination since 1997? I don't believe that holding an Assembly in the summer is the real culprit here. Perhaps it "us".

From: Kim Dorsey - Wednesday, July 29, 2009

My daughter attends year round school and is unable to come with us this year because her school started on the first day of this assembly. Many schools are now year round and holding the assembly in the end of July is no better than holding it in October. We should look at the typical intersession times for year round schools if we want to get more young people involved.

From: B. Williams - Monday, July 27, 2009

Having GA in the summer month, I feel is a wise decision. Because it will be difficult having to take youth out of school .most church hold there camp in early weeks of June. and some family use this time to have vacation and some family time together.

From: Sarah Kingsbery - Monday, July 27, 2009

As a former camper and then camp staff at Chrstmount Christian Assembly, I have experienced the difficulties associated with only summer assemblies. Alternating when the assemblies are held will widen those who are able to share in the celebration of the church joining toghether. Please adopt this business item.

From: Todd Adams - Friday, July 24, 2009

Michael - you make a great point! If you look at the 2009 General Assembly Youth Schedule, the youth leadership who plan their own events did just this. They will have eye-openers and eye-closers but otherwise participate in all of the business and worship sessions of the assembly. Look forward to seeing youl.

From: Michael Davison - Friday, July 24, 2009

It is unfortunate that the General Board did not recommend adoption of this resolution. The adults that work with youth do not have the opportunity to network or participate in the business of the church because they are typically off-site with the youth that are doing the mission projects of the church. Why not include the youth of the church in the business of the church so they can learn from the experience. A large youth turnout at General Assembly may help the church feel younger, but that does not mean the church is including the youth of the church in actual leadership or listening to them as a relevant voice. A change to the fall / summer format will allow the adults that work with youth the opportunity to participate in a General Assembly more fully than when they are responsible for a group at Assembly. It also provides congregations latitude for planning summer youth trips, and Regions can focus on recruiting, supporting, and funding Outdoor Ministry. Support the change to a rotation of fall and summer General Assembly.

From: Mark Phillips - Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Why does this resolution compare attendance at summer and only summer assemblies when it wants to go back to alternating summer and fall? How is that relevant information? And the baseline, the 1997 Denver assembly is the 2nd largest in attendance in the past 30 years. The proponents of this resolution have yet to give me any reasons to change my vote from both the 1997 and 2001 assemblies.

From: Colton Lott - Wednesday, July 22, 2009

This will be my second General Assembly to attend. The first as a Freshman and this as a Junior. This is no doubt in my mind that I would not be able to attend a Fall General Assembly. I believe that the idea that interested high school students need only attend one General Assembly is flawed. The first time I attended, I had no want to see the Disciples Colleges and University booths, as that was too far away for me to feel a tug. Now that I am a tad older, I see how important it is for me to choose a college, and particularly a Disciples College. As all of our colleges DO need more attendees (as most colleges do) I believe it to be vital to continue having Summer General Assemblies.

From: Neil Allen - Tuesday, July 14, 2009

It is unreasonable to assume that lower % attendance was correlated directly to Summer Assemblies. It is more reasonable to assume, with lower attendance and higher travel costs, future assemblies will experience lower attendance. Fall assemblies come at a difficult time for churches and clergy as this comes at a time when churches are historically the busiest. What few farmers are left are usually not able to attend fall assemblies, due to harvest. I voted to have all summer assemblies knowing it would impact our camps and conferences, but felt it best for churches and clergy as fall assemblies came at the heaviest part of the church calendar.

From: Rev. Jared Trullinger - Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Thanks for the clarification, Todd. Order of Business makes more sense now. In what largely have been tough economic times for the general church for 8-10 years-plus, hearing that Fall assemblies generally would be more expensive with limited options is helpful. The Time & Place issue is tough, and it is hard to make even 20% of folks happy. I wish I had gotten the idea sooner about "Virtual Assemblies", though I am sure others already may have suggested such. Perhaps a proposal can be made to the next Time & Place Committee for Assemblies conducted via the web, particularly if there is a technology specialist who could understand and explain various possibilities and barriers. Wouldn't it be cool, though, for churches all around the U.S. & Canada to "host" worship from their own sanctuaries through a virtual environment for a night of the assembly? Wouldn't it be great if business items and votes could happen from our own offices or from our home computers?

From: R. Scofield - Monday, July 13, 2009

I think it is crucial to be all inclusive. The Church needs to encourage members of our church of all ages to attend the GA. Students from Kindergarten thru Graduate School ( and families ) cannot get time off easily in the fall other than summer because of school or work ( teachers ) schedule. So why put a stumbling block in the way of these persons by moving the GA to a rotational summer/ fall schedule? We should be opening doors for our youth , teenagers , young adults and young families especially by holding the GA in the summer.

From: Todd Adams - Monday, July 13, 2009

Jared - thank you for you comments on the discussion board. Orlando will be less expensive because of the current state of the economy. Unfortuantely, we cannot negotiate two sets of dates with a city as the pricing is also seaonal. We would not be able to afford Orlando (or many cities) as a fall assembly because of competing with businesses. The 2013 Time and Place and 0918 are separate items. If 0918 passes it would start in 2015, which would be as soon as possible.

From: Rev. Jared Trullinger - Monday, July 13, 2009

As much as I like "going" to the General Assembly, I would be in favor of making the General Assembly an online/virtual event. Of course, some sort of clearinghouse would be required for voter credentials, but I think that the overall costs for the event could be reduced significantly. If not every assembly, maybe such an approach could be used every other assembly, with an "in person" event every 4 years. Having an assembly through videoconferencing, though, potentially could allow the assembly to "meet" even annually.

From: Deborah Owen - Sunday, July 12, 2009

Let's encourage regions to put GA on the camp schedule. I love that my daughter has attended church camp AND General Assembly.

From: Lauralee Ihler - Thursday, July 09, 2009

In response to C. Miller, those of us that live on the West Coast usually have to travel clear across the country to attend a General Assembly. Portland was a fabulous & beautiful location, plus it was wonderful that we didn't have to travel clear across the states for once.

From: Kim Rea - Wednesday, July 08, 2009

I have friends in Regional Ministry who support this resolution and I understand the reasoning behind it. I do hope that Regional and General staff will be gracious to those of us with young families who choose not to attend the fall assemblies. We have enjoyed being able to attend summer Assemblies, but understand the hardship on church camp. We've always managed to help in camp each summer, even those years with Assemblies and would miss being able to attend GA. We won't miss the financial hardship that Assemblies put on our church and our family, however. See you in Indy.

From: C Miller - Monday, July 06, 2009

It seems to me that it could be price and location more than summer time GAs at work here. With the numbers expected for GA, it sure seems to me that the Church could do much better in getting discounts from the hoteliers. To have it in Portland, Oregon that almost required air travel instead of driving might have had more to do with the drop off than anything. Is it the best use of money for the church to have its GA in places where people have to travel the entire country to get there?