Erin Cackler explains that generosity is not about obligation but about allowing what we receive to flow naturally into the lives of others.
World Conference is just days away! Prepare for this historic event with an explanation of the schedule and a spiritual path to Ignite Hope.
A s Prophet-President Steve Veazey leaves office, friends and colleagues recall his faithful work for the church.
Apostle Catherine Mambwe outlines the many aspects of a dynamic church leadership training session in Zambia—from financial record-keeping to church history.
Kevin White explains how a scheduled intergenerational gathering makes it easy for people of all ages to interact. Herald readers offered photos from their experiences.
We proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace.
The HERALD is the denominational magazine of Community of Christ, with headquarters in Independence, Missouri. It is published bimonthly by the church publishing division, Herald Publishing House, 1001 W. Walnut St., Independence, MO 64050, USA. Materials are official only when they report a formal decision by a legislative or administrative council and are so marked. Individual USA subscriptions are $36. Subscriptions in other countries are more. Electronic subscriptions are $24. Congregational group rates available. Preferred Periodicals postage paid at Independence and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Herald, 1001 W. Walnut St., Independence, MO 64050. (In Canada: Station A, P.O. Box 54, Windsor, Ont. N9A 6JF.)
In 2024, the Presiding Bishopric completed an extensive study with JE Dunn Construction to review the Temple and Auditorium exterior and interior systems. This review resulted in a list of maintenance and replacement projects that will be occurring over the next few years. Funding for these projects will come from a portion of the proceeds from the historic-assets sale set aside for this purpose.
Updates will be produced as these projects are initiated over the next several years.
The first of these projects is the replacement of concrete steps beginning outside the bronze peace doors and ending on the World Plaza. The steps are scheduled to be completed by World Conference.
SPRING LECTURES BEGIN
Join Community of Christ Historic Sites Foundation as a series of spring lectures explore Community of Christ’s past. Each weekly program begins at 7:00 p.m. Central Time USA and ends with a question-and-answer session with the featured speakers. Online space is limited. Register for each lecture you are interested in to save your seat. Find more information at Historicsitesfoundation.org/spring-2025-lecture-series.html.
• M ay 8: “Your Story Is Church History”
Join us for an intimate evening with Apostle Bunda Chibwe as he takes us on a journey through his life story.
• M ay 15: “Unearthing Truths: Unraveling Stories Through Cemetery Logs”
Meet Jim Jones, sexton at the historic Rose Hill Cemetery, and learn what it takes to preserve and share the stories behind those buried at Rose Hill in Lamoni, Iowa.
• M ay 22: “The Nauvoo Expositor and the Origins of Reorganization Theology”
Our spring series will conclude with Community of Christ theologian Tony Chvala-Smith exploring the historical context and theological significance of the first and only edition of The Nauvoo Expositor
BE “IN THE KNOW” ABOUT WORLD CONFERENCE
Susan Naylor and Jenn Killpack (World Conference director and Communications director) delve into a range of Conference topics online in the “In the Know” series. They provide behind-the-scenes sneak peeks of Conference plans and host guests who have specific information about events. These videos are a chance to gain insight into the coming Conference. Watch the videos at Youtube.com/@CofChrist/streams or Facebook.com/CofChrist
A FEW PARTING THOUGHTS
I have been doing a lot of “last things” lately as my retirement approaches. For example, this is the last “Christ’s Mission, Our Mission” column I will write as president of Community of Christ. As I reflected on topics, I decided to answer some personal questions I frequently am asked.
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WHEN YOU RETIRE?
Several months ago, I participated in a church-sponsored retirement seminar. One recommendation to participants was not to finalize everything we planned to do in retirement. This approach allows space for new opportunities to emerge. At the same time, seminar leaders encouraged us to have some ideas about what we wanted to do so the transition would be less abrupt. Following that guidance, I have some activities in mind that will leave space for other possibilities. My retirement plan includes completing my oral history, traveling with Cathi, self-sustaining ministry, community volunteering, and fly-fishing in the mountains, not necessarily in that order. I also understand that household chores await my full attention.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF BEING CHURCH PRESIDENT?
The opportunity to be with church members and friends from many nations and cultures. Recently, I looked through my passports and discovered I had visited fortysix nations during my World Church employment; many while I was president. Experiencing the hospitality, love, testimonies, and faithfulness of the diverse peoples of the worldwide church has been a blessing beyond compare. Each culture has important gifts to bring to our understanding of God’s reign as envisioned by Jesus Christ.
WHAT WAS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE PART OF BEING PRESIDENT?
Being in leadership groups that had to make decisions to reduce World Church budgets, which resulted in the loss of employees. I cannot overstate how much we agonized each time reductions were necessary. I was heartbroken whenever we had to downsize staff because of the severe effect I knew it had on people’s lives. I also knew that because of employment separations, the church’s capacity to pursue its mission was diminished.
WHAT WILL YOU MISS MOST AFTER YOU RETIRE?
I already sense that I will miss day-to-day interactions with church leaders. Also, I will miss opportunities to visit many congregations to become better acquainted with members and friends. Additionally, as noted above, I will miss traveling to various areas of the world to learn about cultures and support the church’s mission.
WHAT DO YOU THINK WAS YOUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT AS PRESIDENT?
Everything achieved during my tenure was a team effort. With that said, I am glad that the concept of “sharing the peace of Jesus Christ” has become deeply rooted in the church. I am delighted with the major steps we took to further internationalize the World Church Leadership Council. Also, I am pleased with the emergence of the Enduring Principles. The Enduring Principles are shaping Community of Christ’s culture and mission in powerful ways.
As a reminder, the original version of the principles had the following introduction:
God’s revelation in Jesus Christ and continuing presence through the Holy Spirit, as proclaimed by
Continued on page 25
Letting Generosity Overflow Jesus
teaches that love is meant to be shared.
By Erin Cackler, mission development minister, Presiding Bishopric
Adapted from a Witness the Word message.
Generosity is more than an action; it is a way of being that reflects God’s abundant love. In a world shaped by scarcity and transaction, true generosity invites us into abundance and connection. It is not about obligation, but about allowing what we receive to flow naturally into the lives of others.
WHOLE-LIFE STEWARDSHIP
In Community of Christ, generosity is an expression of whole-life stewardship—using our entire lives to bring about God’s purposes on Earth. Everything we have— our time, talents, testimony, and treasures—is entrusted to us by God to be shared in ways that bring healing and hope. But stewardship is not just about what we return to God; it is about how we use what we keep.
Whole-life stewardship expands generosity beyond isolated actions into a daily way of living, ensuring that every aspect of our lives reflects God’s purposes. Instead of asking only what we will give back, it calls us to consider how we use everything in ways that remain faithfully focused on God’s mission.
When we truly receive God’s love, generosity becomes a natural response—not just in our giving, but in the way we live, make choices, and care for creation and one another.
THE OVERFLOWING CUP
To illustrate this, imagine:
• A jug representing God.
• Water inside the jug symbolizing God’s love.
• A n empty cup—you.
• A t ray beneath, symbolizing the world.
As God pours water into the cup, it fills and eventually overflows, spilling onto the tray below. This is how generosity works. When we recognize and receive the love God pours into our lives, our hearts are filled with gratitude. As our cup overflows, love and goodness naturally extend to others.
But generosity is not just about giving; it is about receiving. In a culture that often equates worth with selfsufficiency, accepting help, grace, or love can be difficult. Yet Jesus demonstrated the humility of receiving, allowing others to minister to him. Just as a cup must be filled before it can overflow, we, too, must be open to receiving God’s love and the generosity of others.
A WAY OF LIFE
Jesus taught that love is not something to hoard; it is meant to be shared. When we allow God’s love to fill us and we extend that love outward, we help fulfill Christ’s
mission in the world. Every act of generosity—whether a kind word, a helping hand, or a financial gift that supports mission—allows love to flow beyond us, making an impact we may never see.
GENEROSITY AND THE ENDURING PRINCIPLES
Generosity is deeply connected to the Enduring Principles. These values guide how we live, love, and give. When we practice generosity, we embody them:
Grace and Generosity
As we freely receive God’s love and blessings, we are invited to respond with generosity, creating a rhythm of giving and receiving that nurtures and sustains us all.
Blessings of Community
We are not meant to navigate life alone. Generosity strengthens our connections, and when we give collectively, our impact is multiplied.
Sacredness of Creation
Sharing our resources wisely reflects our commitment to caring for God’s creation and ensuring its well-being for future generations.
Worth of All Persons
Every act of giving affirms the sacred worth of others, recognizing that all deserve love, dignity, and the resources to thrive.
All Are Called
Generosity is not reserved for a few; it is part of discipleship. Each of us is called to share in ways that reflect God’s love and mission.
Responsible Choices
Living generously is a spiritual practice. How we choose to share our time, talents, testimony, and treasure shapes the kind of world we create together.
Pursuit of Peace (Shalom)
Generosity is an act of peacemaking, fostering justice, reconciliation, and healing in our communities and beyond.
Unity in Diversity
We give differently based on our gifts and circumstances, but every act of generosity—no matter its form—strengthens the whole.
Continuing Revelation
Generosity is a response to God’s ongoing guidance, calling us to new ways of sharing and living as disciples.
As we listen for God’s direction, we are invited to expand our understanding of generosity and act in ways that reflect divine love. Doctrine and Covenants 165:1c reminds us: “Opportunities abound in your daily lives if you choose to see them.” Generosity is not reserved for special moments—it is a daily practice, a way of life.
LIVING GENEROSITY DAILY
Generosity is not just something we do—it is how we live. When we embrace abundance, share what we’ve been given, and recognize our interconnectedness, we help shape a world of love, healing, and peace.
So, how will you let your cup overflow? How will you live generously today? Opportunities are all around us— every day, in every moment. May your generosity be a blessing to others and a testament to the abundant love that first has been poured into you.
World Conference to Open with Excitement
‘Hope
Is Here’ promises to be a historic gathering.
By Susan Naylor, Conference director and Jenn Killpack, Communications
The 2025 World Conference, themed “Hope Is Here,” will kick off May 30 in Independence, Missouri, USA. This highly anticipated event will bring together delegates and attendees from around the world for a historic week of worship, community building, and church business.
OPENING-WEEKEND ACTIVITIES
The opening weekend promises to be filled with inspiring and historic moments. On Saturday and Sunday, the worship experiences and legislative sessions will be live-streamed free at YouTube.com/user/CofChrist. We hope many of you can gather in person. For those who cannot, please be with us virtually.
FRIDAY, MAY 30
The Conference will begin with afternoon activities Friday. Come to the Prayer for Peace at 1:00 p.m. and stay for discussion sessions to learn more about pending legislation.
SATURDAY, MAY 31
WATCH LIVE
8:30–11:30 a.m.: The first legislative session will begin in the Conference Chamber. It will include opening ceremonies, statements by the departing First Presidency, and the letter of counsel calling Stassi D. Cramm to serve as the next prophetpresident.
After lunch, the caucuses, mass meetings, quorums, and orders will meet. Their primary task will be to discuss the letter of counsel and provide their group’s decision of support or no support to the World Church secretary.
WATCH LIVE
7:00–8:30 p.m.: A special worship service in the Temple Sanctuary will explore the theme, “Telling and Singing Our Story,” and celebrate President Stephen M. Veazey’s twenty years of leadership as prophet-president.
After the evening worship, people will be invited to the World Plaza for a Celebration Meet and Greet. Activities, music, and food will help attendees connect and socialize.
SUNDAY, JUNE 1
Onsite attendees are invited to join in reflection and meditation in the Temple Sanctuary from 8:30–9:15 a.m. in preparation for the Communion service later that morning.
WATCH LIVE
10:00 a.m.–noon: Be part of the worldwide family as we participate in the sacrament of Communion together. The Council of Twelve Apostles will preside over this worship experience in the Conference Chamber.
WATCH LIVE
2:00–4:30 p.m.: During the afternoon legislative session, presided over by the Council of Twelve Apostles, Conference delegates will participate in the official vote regarding Stassi Cramm’s call to serve as the next prophet-president. This will be a historic moment in the church, and live-streaming will allow as many people as possible to witness it.
WATCH LIVE
7:00–8:30 p.m.: If the Conference approves the call, this service will include the ordination of Stassi D. Cramm as the next prophet-president. Overflow seating will be available.
After the worship, people will be invited to move onto the World Plaza. This time of celebration will provide a relaxed atmosphere to reflect on the day’s events and build community.
The opening weekend of World Conference will set the stage for a week of significant events, decisions, and spiritual experiences. As delegates and attendees gather from around the world, they will shape the future of Community of Christ—celebrating our rich history and embracing the hope in the heart of our faith community.
Legislative live-streaming will be available for sessions Monday through Friday. Registration is required at CofChrist.org/2025-world-conference.
WORSHIP
Evening worship Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday will be live-streamed free at YouTube.com/user/CofChrist.
As we journey together toward the 2025 World Conference, we invite the church to a time of intentional examination of the faith journey we’ve been on. Where has the Spirit led us? Where is the Spirit leading us now?
FIRST PRESIDENCY
Ignite Hope
Join our spiritual preparation for World Conference 2025.
By Katie Harmon-McLaughlin Formation Ministries director
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
—Acts 2: 1–4 NRSVue
As we prayerfully anticipate the Conference experience for the worldwide church, we also move through the Easter season. This leads to the Pentecost experience (June 5) in Acts 2, which is the scriptural focus for World Conference 2025.
An international team of spiritual leaders created a spiritual-preparation guide, inviting the church into intentional prayer, holy curiosity, and spiritual preparation. The questions, songs, and prayers were crafted by members from around the world. They represent important reflections, traditions, and practices from various cultures.
You are invited to pray with the question for each item and return to the images in the spiritual practice to ignite hope in our hearts as we spiritually prepare to gather from around the world.
Each is structured around intentional invitations from the First Presidency, asking the church to embrace a time of prayer by following the movements of the prayer of examen The prayer of examen is a reflective practice that helps us discern God’s presence and calling.
This ancient spiritual practice has been divided into six steps. Additionally, the Daily Bread is offering complementary spiritual practices and questions to guide our preparations.
Watch the First Presidency’s video invitation and find the guide online at CofChrist.org/2025-world-conference
Additional recommendations for daily practice:
ONE
Adults: Provide spontaneous service to others.
Children: Surprise a friend or family member by doing something kind for them.
TWO
Adults: Listen to someone who needs to share a burden.
Children: Be a friend to someone new.
THREE
Adults: Say hello to others whom you don’t know. Children: Smile at a friend or family member.
FOUR
Adults: Plan to perform a good deed and do it.
Children: Do a good deed for a family member or friend.
FIVE
Adults: Do something you are afraid to do for someone.
Children: Be a peacemaker.
SIX
Adults: Give something away that will bring hope to someone.
Children: Donate something that another child will enjoy.
Church Teams Put Faith into Action
Efforts create a broad and positive change.
By Jenn Killpack director of Communications
World Church teams serve a crucial role in translating Community of Christ’s principles and mission into action, helping create positive change within the church community and the broader world.
These teams are chartered by World Conference resolutions or the First Presidency. They focus on topics such as peace and justice, environmental stewardship, inclusion, theology, spiritual formation, sacred story, and more.
Each World Church team will submit a report at 2025 World Conference. Below are a few highlights of recent work by some teams.
HUMAN RIGHTS
In a statement from the Human Rights Team, Community of Christ upholds the fundamental and equal human rights of all people regardless of sex and gender differences. The team challenges individuals and communities to uphold the equal Worth of All Persons, across all nations, societies, and cultures and to seek justice and equality for all persons regardless of sex and gender differences. Community of Christ believes God created all human beings diverse, of equal value, and of inestimable worth.
World Conference resolutions and recent passages of the Doctrine and Covenants also challenge the church to confess limitations in human understanding and to celebrate human diversity in creation.
Read more at CofChrist.org/news/human-rights-team -statement.
RECONCILIATION, JUST PEACE, DIGNITY
The World Church Peace and Justice Team shared excerpts of a longer statement about Gaza, calling for peace and dignity:
Grounded in our faith that upholds the inestimable worth of every person—regardless of religion or ethnicity— we affirm that the Holy Land must be a space where all communities enjoy equal dignity and rights. As members of Community of Christ committed to the reconciling purposes of God, we are called to challenge any political, cultural, or religious trends that perpetuate division and injustice. We decry war and violence.
We therefore welcome the recent but fragile ceasefire in the Middle East as a crucial step toward de-escalation. However, we are troubled by recent political proposals suggesting options which would lead to the forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza.
…Community of Christ echoes the call for respect for international law and the promotion of equal human dignity. The path forward must be one of reconciliation, healing, and just peace for all.
Read more at CofChrist.org/news/excerpt-of-statement-on-gaza.
UNITY IN DIVERSITY
The Diversity and Inclusion Team has engaged in several opportunities to share the beauty of our diversity. The team invites people to participate in the “we are one, we are many” initiative (deadline June 30) by sharing their personal stories about diversity and inclusion. The goal is to collect and share these stories to help build a more inclusive and understanding community.
The team has hosted online events and interactive workshops on topics like resisting unconscious bias, creating inclusion, and identifying microaggressions. During Black History Month in the USA, the team shared presentations on the impact of Black people in American history and Black members of Community of Christ history. Team members also hosted four dialogue sessions on diversity and the Enduring Principles in the current social and political climate.
Learn more at CofChrist.org/diversity-and-inclusion-team.
JOIN US
If you’d like to be part of a World Church team, please submit your name and area of interest to Susan Naylor (snaylor@CofChrist.org) for consideration.
The Path of Peace
Basic Beliefs excerpt shows violent revolt is not the way.
From Exploring Community of Christ Basic Beliefs: A Commentary,
by
Anthony J. Chvala-Smith
This new book’s overview of Community of Christ’s beliefs will be available at World Conference and from Herald House. The First Presidency encourages readers to ponder these adapted excerpts as we prepare to consider the Draft Statement on Nonviolence at World Conference.
The inauguration of [Jesus’s] ministry as narrated by Luke shows Jesus’s dependence on Israel’s prophetic tradition of linking justice with peace. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus cites Isaiah 61:1–2a and 58:6 to convey his identity and mission:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
—Luke 4:18–19
While the text does not explicitly use the word peace, it vividly communicates the contours of shalom as voiced in the Hebrew Bible. Astounding and utterly revealing, however, is that Jesus conspicuously omits Isaiah 61:2b, with its hope for divine vengeance, presumably on enemies. The peace Jesus comes to bring leaves no room for retaliation.
Thus, in the reign of God which Jesus’s life and ministry embody, the peacemakers—those who actively create conditions of shalom—are blessed
(Matthew 5:9). According to Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount, Jesus further taught his disciples:
You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you: Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also, and if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, give your coat as well, and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.
—Matthew 5:38–41
As New Testament scholar Walter Wink has carefully argued, these words in their original social setting in imperially occupied Palestine were not a call to passively accept suffering and injustice, but to expose and counter them nonviolently. For instance, in the phrase “do not resist an evildoer,” the Greek verb antistēnai, often translated resist, actually referred to military action or violent force: “don’t strike back at evil (or, one who has done evil to you) in kind.”
Jesus was not advocating passively putting up with abuse, but offering active alternatives to working against it. …in Christianity, the justifiable violence tradition and the nonviolence/ nonretaliation tradition will exist side by side in church life and thought, as differing ways of interpreting how disciples are to pursue shalom. Later developments will introduce other approaches, but these two will remain the predominant ways many Christians try to think about and act for peace. Moreover, these two main traditions will continue to inform reflection on violence and nonviolence in Community of Christ.
Shalom in the biblical tradition necessarily includes justice. Acting for the sake of justice is never without its costs. [Dietrich] Bonhoeffer deeply grasped that turning his pacifist ethic, even if derived from his reading of the sayings of Jesus, into a kind of immutable principle by which he could justify himself would not produce peace, but only
increase suffering and injustice of the most horrific kind for his Jewish neighbors.
As an important aside, even Walter Wink, a more recent advocate of Jesus’s nonviolence, states in a way reminiscent of Bonhoeffer:
Even if I am committed to nonviolence, I may find myself in a situation where I am not able to find a creative, third way, and must choose between the lesser of two violences, two guilts.
Bonhoeffer and [Maximilian] Kolbe help us glimpse how the two Christian peace traditions mentioned above informed their differing responses to Nazi violence. This is particularly instructive for the vocation of Community of Christ in the current era. The church is called to live out the peace of Jesus Christ in culturalpolitical settings vastly different from and yet often strangely like the setting in which these two faithful servants bore their witness.
Because the church is not monolithic in terms of its members’ experiences, understandings, and political commitments, it must practice Unity in Diversity paradoxically even as it devotes itself to the pursuit of peace. In regard to the seeming intractable persistence of war and violence in human experience, Community of Christ has in recent years begun exploring what it could mean for the church to nurture and advocate among its members an ethic of nonviolence. But as the church lives into the calling to peace it has long discerned, it has much to learn from figures like Kolbe and Bonhoeffer.
They offer historic depictions of the paradox. Based on their Christian faith commitments, they were both outspoken opponents of totalitarianism, racism, nationalism, and statesponsored hatred, and they used the power of pen and spoken word to oppose the Nazis. Both were put to death by the Nazis, and both, according to reports, died in the quiet confidence of divine acceptance. But one understood the situation as
so morally dire, that for the sake of the wellbeing of others, violence to end the terror was the only responsible choice he could make.
Community of Christ theology, which includes the church’s message, mission, and identity, can only move forward in “the costly pursuit of peace and justice for all people” by staying in deep, sustained conversation with all the traditions of the Christian faith that have tried to interpret what it means for disciples to be peacemakers. This demand is grounded in the mandate of Doctrine and Covenants 161:1b:
Claim your unique and sacred place within the circle of those who call upon the name of Jesus Christ.
…One can glimpse in the life and thought of these two mid-twentieth century leaders how the call to peace has continuously worked like leaven in the life of the church. This remained true even when the theme of shalôm was regularly overshadowed by other theological concerns, such as distinguishing this community from others sharing early Restoration heritage and validating Reorganization doctrine in religious environments hostile to the church. But the call to the peaceable kingdom never disappeared from the church’s identity.
One can see in even greater clarity how the church’s peace and justice vocation has risen to the foreground in a long succession of resolutions passed by General and World Conferences since 1958. The General Conference of that year adopted a resolution titled “Peace, War, and the Use of Force,” asking that the Presidency form a committee to explore these issues. The committee’s report to the 1960 General Conference acknowledged the moral complexities of the issue. It reaffirmed both the church’s opposition to war “as an instrument for the settlement of international differences,” and that “Christian love involves a double imperative—
an imperative against violence but also an imperative to restrain evil.”
Standing in the Reorganization’s long mediating tradition traceable back to Joseph Smith III, and in a way that predates the church’s current value of faithful disagreement, the report makes space in the church for individual conscience. Conscientious objection and service in the military are both protected by the church’s long-standing tradition. Looking to the broader ethical issues related to war and peace, the report states that because there is always a shared human complicity in creating and sustaining social conditions that lead to violence, “the only true pacifism is that which removes the cause of war.”
Pursuing the peaceable kingdom and announcing “the gospel of peace,” the report maintains, is the church’s divinely commissioned way to end “the problem of war.”
A decade later the 1970 World Conference reaffirmed in WCR 1087 the claims made in the 1960 report. Community of Christ’s unfolding vocation as a justice and peace movement is thus not a recent innovation. This vocation is grounded in the ancient prophetic tradition, the ministry of Jesus, and many strands of Christian tradition, as well as in the best insights of the early Restoration movement. But increasingly from the 1960s, the church has felt an urgency to step more fully into this calling, which Doctrine and Covenants 156:5e highlighted as “the essential meaning of the Restoration.”
ALSO CONSIDER
The divine call to pursue shalom will involve the church in complex social and political situations, as well as in all the complications that come with “the struggles as well as the joys of diversity” (Doctrine and Covenants 162:4b). But
there will ever be the temptation to acquiesce to what Canadian theologian Douglas John Hall (Bound and Free: A Theologian’s Journey) calls “religious simplism”:
[T]he most popular forms of Christianity… are those…that do not require continuous and profound contemplation of mystery but offer simple, immediate, and sloganized declarations of ultimate truth.
Religious simplism, however appealing, will only distort, not deepen discipleship and is out of place when it comes to the immense complexity of issues of war, peace, justice, and violence. The cause of peace thus will not be well served by proof texting favorite parts of the scriptures or by avoiding cultural difference or by misrepresenting theologies and thinkers who tackle questions of violence, justice, sin, and redemption with other modes of thought.
Pursuing peace demands the church reject pride, arrogance, and certainty in favor of faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13). The love of which Paul wrote has nothing to do with warm emotions or shallow acceptance but is what Joseph Smith Jr. called the “pure love of Christ” (Moroni 7:52). That is, it is love for and love from the Risen Christ himself, which is itself the power of reconciliation and redemption.
This divine agape—the self-emptying life of God in Christ—is alive in the church: When we celebrate the sacraments, when we live Christ’s mission, when we pursue peace on Earth, when we celebrate Unity in Diversity, and when we bend our wills to end needless suffering. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, Community of Christ has within its own life access to those resources that will help bring forth the kingdom.
COMING SOON TO HERALD HOUSE
If you’re at 2025 World Conference from late May into the first days of June, stop by the bookstore for Herald House publications and gifts. Some won’t be available until June, but you will find them on HeraldHouse.org.
EXPLORING BASIC BELIEFS: A COMMENTARY BY
TONY CHVALASMITH WITH PETER JUDD, EDITOR
The Community of Christ has no formal creed, so no statement on beliefs ever will represent the views of every member. However, the writers and editors of this book have found the “center ground” of the Basic Beliefs—a place where each member can connect and express a specific theological perspective. See excerpts on page 14.
JOSEPH SMITH III: PEACEFUL SERVANT BY RON
ROMIG
With a dose of imagination, this tour explores various eras of Joseph Smith III’s long and devoted life. The writer draws on the words of Smith and the memories of others to chart the early RLDS eras, from which he ultimately led the church into the twentieth century.
Available in June.
PURSUING PEACE BY COMMUNITY OF CHRIST STAFF
Many years ago, peace became the prominent theme in the identity and mission of Community of Christ. The church’s landmark Temple later was dedicated to peace, and a daily prayer has been offered since. This book includes 365 prayers written and submitted by church members.
Available in June.
CHOOSE HOPE: ADULT STUDY BY COMMUNITY OF CHRIST STAFF, MEMBERS
This compelling spiritual guide is for the 2025 camping and reunion season, exploring the transformative power of hope through lessons and practices. Drawing from Acts 2, Geoffrey Spencer’s “A Brightness of Hope,” and Luther Smith’s “Hope Is Here,” it offers a deep dive into Christian hope.
COME VISIT! Conference Bookstore
Location: Lower level of the Temple, former bookstore location in the museum
Schedule: May 30: noon–5:00 p.m.
READ ANY GOOD BOOKS LATELY?
Please consider contributing a “Bookshelf” column. Select four books and tell us why they were important to your faith journey. Send your submission to Herald@CofChrist.org These books are available at HeraldHouse.org
May 31: 8:30 a.m.–6:45 p.m.; 8:30 p.m.–9:30 p.m.
June 1: 1:00 p.m.–6:45 p.m.; 8:30 p.m.–9:30 p.m.
June 2: 10:00 a.m.–6:45 p.m.
June 3: 10:00 a.m.–6:45 p.m.
June 4: 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
June 5: 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.; 4:30 p.m.–6:45 p.m.
After over four decades of dedicated service, Stephen M. Veazey is set to retire as prophet-president of Community of Christ in June. He is leaving a legacy of growth, theological development, and emphasis on peace.
AsProphet-President Stephen
M. Veazey prepares to retire in June, Community of Christ applauds his legacy of growth, theological development, and emphasis on peace.
His tenure as president marks a significant chapter in the church’s history. It is characterized by his commitment to inclusivity, global outreach, and a profound understanding of the church’s evolving role in the modern world. One article cannot adequately capture twenty years of leadership, but this provides a selection of the remarkable contributions Veazey has made to Community of Christ and the indelible mark he has left on its future.
Honoring Stephen M. Veazey’s Retirement from Community of Christ
By Jenn Killpack director of Communications
pastor’s heart, always making time to be present and listen to those in need.
Veazey’s tenure as president was marked with many challenges. Shortly after becoming president, he faced his first: churchwide budget and staff reductions. Even as his leadership was challenged with difficult administrative situations, Veazey embraced the responsibility of shaping and articulating the church’s vision and mission by creating an environment of collaboration.
SHEPHERD TO A GLOBAL FLOCK
Veazey assumed the role of president June 3, 2005, becoming the eighth in church history and only the second who was not a direct descendant of the church’s founder, Joseph Smith Jr. His call to this position came after years of dedicated service in various capacities, including as a member and president of the Council of Twelve Apostles.
When he took office, Veazey brought a wealth of experience in missionary work, administrative leadership, and spiritual guidance. His background included ministry and leadership in multiple regions across the USA and internationally, particularly in Africa. This diverse experience equipped him with a unique perspective as he carried the needs of a church with members in more than fifty nations in his heart and work. He also brought the
He never lost focus on God’s call to the church and the church’s opportunity to respond in mission together. Under his guidance, the International Headquarters in Independence, Missouri, USA, continued to function as a vital hub, facilitating communication and coordination of resources and personnel across the church’s network. The church’s fields were empowered to live Christ’s mission in ways that increasingly incorporated the diversity of local contexts.
ARTICULATING A FOUNDATION
Under Veazey’s leadership, Community of Christ’s Enduring Principles and Mission Initiatives emerged as part of the church’s evolving identity and mission. Veazey’s belief in the importance of hearing from multiple voices and cultural contexts played a pivotal role in developing these important aspects of the church’s identity. Through his collaborative approach and active listening, these ideas were brought into being.
Photo by Danny LaBrecque
Together, these guiding concepts are among the most visible legacies of Veazey’s presidency. They provide a framework for the church’s beliefs, identity, and outreach efforts, helping unite and direct our diverse, worldwide faith community.
• T he Enduring Principles serve as a foundational framework for the church’s beliefs and practices, reflecting its core values and theological understanding. They recognize our heritage and guide our ongoing experience with God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
• T he Mission Initiatives, introduced later, focus on five key areas that embody Christ’s mission and aligning the church as partner in that mission. Veazey emphasized that “Christ’s mission is our mission” and directed all ministries, personnel, and resources of the World Church to focus on these life-changing, church-changing, and world-changing initiatives.
These guiding concepts are among the most visible legacies of Veazey’s presidency. They provide a framework for the church’s beliefs, identity, and outreach efforts, helping unite and direct our diverse, worldwide faith community.
MISSION INITIATIVES
Invite People to Christ
Pursue Peace on Earth
Abolish Povery, End Suffering
Develop Disciples To Serve
Experience Congregations in Mission
ENDURING PRINCIPLES
Grace & Generosity
Sacredness of Creation
Continuing Revelation
Worth of All Persons
All Are Called
Responsible Choices
Pursuit of Peace (Shalom)
Unity in Diversity
Blessings of Community
Stephen M. Veazey was ordained eighth president of the High Priesthood, prophet, and president of Community of Christ on June 3, 2005.
SHARING THE PEACE OF JESUS CHRIST
Veazey’s key phrase, “share the peace of Jesus Christ,” was introduced in his inaugural sermon. It encapsulates a central theme of his leadership and vision for Community of Christ. This phrase reflects a commitment to embodying and spreading Christ’s message of peace in the world.
Veazey emphasized that sharing Christ’s peace goes beyond mere words. It involves active invitation, compassionate ministries, and justice and peacemaking
efforts. He saw this as a continuation of Jesus’s mission, calling members to be “a prophetic people characterized by uncommon devotion to the compassion and peace of God revealed in Jesus Christ.”
The concept is rooted deeply in the church’s identity, mission, message, and beliefs. It helped guide how Community of Christ reads scripture as identified in the church’s statement on scripture and how we understand who Jesus Christ is as described in the church’s Christology statement. The call to share the peace of Jesus Christ challenges members and friends to courageously and generously share the invitation to follow Christ, working to restore shalom (peace) to creation. This involves caring for one another, all people, and Earth.
Veazey’s emphasis on sharing Christ’s peace also aligned with the church’s vision of creating communities of joy, hope, love, and peace. This phrase served as a guiding principle in his presidency, and he continually challenged members to embody Jesus, the peaceful One, by participating in God’s ongoing creation, building a world of reconciliation and healing, locally and globally.
Photos by Cathy Veazey, Jaylene O’Keefe, Dave Wheaton, and from Community of Christ Archives
Wallace B. Smith, president emeritus, with Stephen Veazey, holds a gavel once used by Joseph Smith III when Smith was church president.
SHAPING THE CHURCH FOR A MODERN WORLD
One of Veazey’s lasting contributions lies in shaping and clarifying the church’s theology through the introduction of three sections to the Doctrine and Covenants during his tenure as prophet-president. These additions, presented as inspired counsel and affirmed as scripture, addressed contemporary issues while maintaining a strong connection to the church’s spiritual roots.
Section 163, presented in 2007, provided guidance on topics ranging from caring for one another and the planet to priesthood and use of scripture. It began to set a vision for how the ministries and sacraments could be expressed contextually around the world.
Presented in 2010, Section 164 called the church to draw the circle wider. It emphasized the importance of baptism as a covenant with God and a commitment to lifelong discipleship. Instruction was given to allow people baptized in other denominations (after age eight) to be confirmed into church membership, without the need for rebaptism. This counsel also challenged the church to put aside fear to move in faith and provided for national conferences to address issues of importance to more regional venues.
Continuing to expand on the importance of welcoming others, Section 165 was accepted in 2016, highlighting the importance of shaping “communities that live Christ’s love and mission.” It challenged the church to relate to one another through Christ-like love and allow everyone to experience the dignity of human worth. In another bid to make the sacraments more accessible, the evangelist blessing was broadened to include families, households, and groups.
Veazey guided the church through a period of significant challenges and transitions during his presidency. He navigated the complexities of evolving social norms and declining participation in Western countries, a trend common among mainline denominations. He served as a voice of hope and faithfulness when responding to global crises affecting members worldwide and the economic fluctuations that impacted church finances. Despite these challenges, his thoughtful and pastoral approach, along with the persistent emphasis on sharing Christ’s peace, helped clarify the church’s positions on various issues and provided direction in a rapidly changing world.
FOCUSED ON PURPOSE
In 2017, Veazey built on counsel provided in Doctrine and Covenants 165 in his challenge to the church, “A Time to Act,” sharing:
Our chief purpose is to birth, nurture, and multiply communities of disciples and seekers engaged in spiritual formation and compassionate ministry and action. This basic blueprint—spiritual formation, community, compassionate ministry, and action—is true to the vision of Christ. Everything else, like organizational structure, resources, funding methods, congregational forms, etc., should support this primary purpose.
This clear, articulate statement continues to offer focus today and into the future as we courageously respond to where the Spirit is leading.
PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE
Veazey demonstrated foresight in his approach to leadership development within the church. In March 2023, he initiated an intentional process for discerning the next prophet-president of Community of Christ. This proactive approach showed Veazey’s commitment to the church’s
long-term health and stability.
In reflecting on his service, Veazey stated, “Serving the church has been a labor of love, bringing deep meaning to my life through relationships with members and friends around the world.” He also said his decision to retire was timely, for himself and the church, as it would create opportunities for younger World Church leaders to share their gifts more extensively.
As he prepares to retire and move into president emeritus status, he leaves a legacy of thoughtful leadership, spiritual guidance, and organizational development. His presidency has positioned Community of Christ to face future challenges while remaining true to its core mission. His contributions will bless the church for years, inspiring members to embrace inclusivity, pursue peace, and live the Enduring Principles that define our faith journey.
QUOTES
Mareva M. Arnaud Tchong
One thing I deeply appreciate about Steve is his genuine closeness and care for people, no matter how, who, where they live. When I received my call to the C12, I didn’t know how to respond and Steve gently offered, “I can come, visit and talk to your children, your husband, and your mom.” That simple sentence touched me deeply, it reflected his pastoral heart and his commitment to walk with us, not just lead from afar.
David R. Brock
I feel gratitude as I look back on decades of Brother Veazey’s ministry. As servant-leader he knew deep joy within the breadth of God’s love. But he so often also bore the weighty costs of discipleship.
I’m grateful for the small-town boy from Tennessee, USA, whose accent was heard in rural India, across Africa and Europe, in the urban sprawl of the Americas, and on Pacific isles as he shared God’s good news.
I’m grateful for the thousands of hours he patiently listened, then broke his silence with words of wisdom and compassion, words of authenticity and integrity.
I’m grateful for his capacity to look to a distant horizon and then make painful decisions necessary for a faithful future.
I’m grateful for divine counsel given through this prophet-president; counsel he first held himself to; counsel he “stood under” as a follower of Jesus in our beloved community.
Gratitude. Gratitude is what I feel today.
Jim Slauter
Steve has been more than just a leader…he has been a friend, a mentor, and a steady presence in times of uncertainty. At a time in my ministry when faced with a difficult personal and life-changing decision, Steve provided the pastoral support I needed to move forward with confidence and conviction.
Steve’s leadership ministry has been marked by a rare balance of decisiveness and compassion, always forward looking and yet deeply rooted in the values that define Community of Christ. His legacy of visionary leadership and grace have been an inspiration that will continue to shape Community of Christ for years to come.
Becky Savage
At the 2007 World Conference, I was ordained as a counselor to the First Presidency. Before business started the next day, Steve took a moment to share a statement with the church affirming the role of women in leadership. Here are a few excerpts:
• “… I am sure that it is not missed…that for the first time in the history of the church, a woman has been
Photos by Cathy Veazey, Jude Vickery, and from Community of Christ Archives
called and ordained to service in the First Presidency. We celebrate with all of the sisters of the church another step in the long journey toward equal regard and opportunity in the church and in society. While this is not the final step, it is a significant step. From this point forward there should be no question or hesitancy regarding the appropriateness or capability of women to serve in any leadership or ministerial role in the church at any level of church organization. In fact, I believe from God’s perspective there never was any question.”
• “…But, let us pause now and express appreciation and respect for all of the women who looked forward to this day, and worked for this day, and sacrificed for this day, before it even seemed possible that a day such as this could happen.”
Steve’s prophetic insight and leadership have blessed the church for decades, and Stassi (Cramm’s) call to serve as the next prophet-president is a continuation of those gifts.
Linda Booth
When I first joined the Council of Twelve Apostles after my ordination in 1998, Steve Veazey was the council secretary. I didn’t know him well but soon learned that in contrast to several of our colleagues, Steve was often quiet, dutifully taking the minutes. However, when he did speak, I was always impressed by his thoughtful, insightful, and inspiring reflections. His focus was always on Christ’s mission.
Seven years later I helped lead the discernment process for a new prophet-president. When Steve learned of his call to this new role, he said in his humble, servant way that during his life he had always said, “yes” to God’s call, even when he felt inadequate to do so. And he would say “yes” now.
For twenty years as Community of Christ’s prophetpresident, Steve has blessed the church through his ministry, leadership, and spiritual presence. At his core, Steve is a servant minister, willing to listen intently to each person, loving and valuing all people as children of God, and encouraging us to be a “true and living expression of the life, sacrifice, resurrection, and continuing presence of Christ” in our individual worlds.
Steve intentionally opens himself to God’s will and serves as a spiritual leader of a diverse international faith movement. He has faithfully and courageously led us during challenging times and systematically articulated who we are called to be as a people.
Perhaps Steve’s own words, written at the conclusion of Section 164, best describe his humble, servant leadership: …my dedication to the church, my love for our people, and my conviction regarding the church’s divine calling have not waned, but have grown stronger.
On behalf of a grateful church, we love you, Steve, and are so thankful you said “yes.” You have and always will humbly model the Living Christ and challenge us to do the same.
Photos by Cathy Veazey
After retirement, Veazey hopes to get in some more time with a favorite activity: fly-fishing.
Veazey and wife Cathi Cackler-Veazey (behind Veazey) with members of their family.
scripture, is the foundation of our faith, identity, mission, message, and beliefs.
I hope we will emphasize this foundation more when presenting the Enduring Principles.
WHAT MINISTRY EXPERIENCE MADE YOU LAUGH?
When Apostle Alex Kahtava and I were in Africa, each congregation we visited formally introduced us. As we were introduced, I saw people grin and cover their mouths. I asked an African staff member what was going on. He said the people had heard Apostle Kahtava as Apostle “Cassava” (a starchy root vegetable) and that my last name in Swahili meant “potato.” So, in essence, the people heard us introduced as Apostle Cassava and Apostle Potato. That is hilarious!
WHAT MINISTRY EXPERIENCE MADE YOU CRY?
While visiting villages in the Democratic Republic of Congo, we interacted with impoverished people of all ages. When we were departing one village, a small, malnourished child ran up and grabbed my hand. I knew he wanted to escape his circumstances by leaving with us. I looked into his pleading eyes and saw the gaze of millions of impoverished, malnourished children around the world. I knew I could not legally take him with us.
When it was time to go, I had to pry his grasping fingers off my hand. As we left, I watched as he faded into the distance. I wept inwardly because I was told that in Africa when a man cries, all hope is lost.
WILL WE SEE YOU AT WORLD CONFERENCE AFTER THIS YEAR?
Yes, I certainly hope so!
ANY LAST WORDS AS PRESIDENT?
There still is much to understand and experience about being Community of Christ. Trust in the continued guidance of God’s Spirit to define and refine our vision as a faith community. As I write this, I am drawn to Doctrine and Covenants 165:6a:
Beloved Community of Christ, do not just speak and sing of Zion. Live, love, and share as Zion: those who strive to be visibly one in Christ, among whom there are no poor or oppressed.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve Christ through the church in ways that have profoundly blessed my life and expanded my understanding of the gospel of Christ.
STEVE VEAZEY PROPHET-PRESIDENT FP@CofChrist.org
Tiona Chapel Dedication
Cramm blesses
Australian
site as a place of love and peace.
From the Australia Mission Centre
The dedication of the recently constructed Tiona Chapel, a significant milestone, was celebrated December 30 near Booti Booti National Park in New South Wales, Australia.
The theme, “Many Paths We Have Walked, Many Yet to Go,” reflected the rich history and hope-filled future of this sacred space.
spiritual connection to the land. It also honored the Worimi people, custodians of this land, and acknowledged their deep connection to its sacredness.
The service began in the Green Cathedral, accompanied by the sounds of traditional and contemporary music, including “Great Southland of the Holy Spirit,” “Amazing Grace,” and “Wiyathul.” The gathering embraced the
Through prayer, scripture, and song, attendees reflected on the eighty-four years since the companion Green Cathedral was dedicated December 30, 1940. A directional prayer invited participants to face the four cardinal directions, celebrating the symbols and gifts of the land.
The congregation then walked a worshiper’s path toward the Tiona Chapel, carrying flickering candles as a symbol of light and hope. Along the way, a smoking
Photo from the Australia Mission Centre
ceremony performed by an indigenous elder offered blessings and purification, creating a meaningful bridge between past and present.
A song, “We Come to Holy Ground,” was written for the occasion by Leanne Johnson. Lyrics can be viewed at CofChrist .com.au/s/We-Come-To-Holy-Ground-Tiona-Chapel-Dedication.pdf
Members from her Port Macquarie Ladies Choir accompanied Leanne and Fiona Wallis, along with Ross Judd on guitar. They sang verses in the Green Cathedral and later in the chapel.
Worshipers arriving at the chapel were greeted by music and a display of images showcasing Tiona’s rich history. The service continued with the rousing hymn, “Great and Marvelous Are Thy Works,” prayers, and scripture readings, each emphasizing this new space’s purpose to serve as a haven for worship, reflection, and community.
Stassi Cramm, prophet-president designate, offered remarks and a dedication prayer. She blessed the chapel, dedicating it as a place where love, peace, and community will flourish for generations.
To read the full statement by Cramm, visit CofChrist.com .au/s/2024-12-30-Statement-and-Prayer-of-Dedication-for-the -Tiona-Chapel.pdf
After more music, the evening ended with an ice cream supper.
Photos by Julian Archer and Anne Bonnefin
EMPOWERING CHURCH LEADERS
Transformative training in Chingola, Zambia
From February 2–14, 2025, church leaders and financial officers gathered in Chingola, Zambia, for a dynamic leadership training focused on financial management, bookkeeping, and church history.
EQUIPPING FINANCIAL OFFICERS
Bishop Steve C. Kellogg led financial-management sessions, providing essential skills in bookkeeping and hands-on spreadsheet training, which significantly enhanced church finances. A highlight was the hands-on spreadsheet training, which significantly enhanced and significantly improved computer literacy among participants.
Bishops Baka Ble and Chizaso Chunga actively engaged in the training, earning deep appreciation.
EXPLORING CHURCH HISTORY
Apostle Lachlan Mackay guided participants through the church’s rich history, addressing leadership transitions, perseverance, polygamy, and historical challenges. Personal testimonies enriched the learning experience.
MUSIC, WORSHIP, AND SPIRITUAL GROWTH
Apostle-designate Joey Williams led music ministry sessions and basic computer training. Morning devotions, led by various mission centers, fostered spiritual unity,
while vibrant Sunday worship services created an atmosphere of praise and thanksgiving.
A TESTAMENT TO GENEROSITY AND UNITY
Thanks to the extravagant generosity of the World Church, leaders from diverse backgrounds participated in this bilingual (English and French) training.
On behalf of Bunda [Chibwe, apostle] and myself, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to all who made this mission possible. May the knowledge gained continue to bless and uplift the church worldwide!
Apostle Catherine Mambwe
Come and Play! Intergenerational reunions build
relationships and community.
By Kevin White, Seventy
Personal experiences with God at reunions were deep and formative for many of us. We take our kids and grandkids to reunion hoping that they, also, meet and connect to the Living Christ in profound and lasting ways.
Because the Living Christ is, indeed, Christ-in-us, it is good to remember that the reunion experience is not just one we provide for our youth; it’s one we share with them.
My most vivid childhood reunion memories don’t involve other kids, but adults who took time to interact with me. I remember when my Uncle Glen took me jogging and needed to shorten the stride of his 6-foot, 4-inch frame to match my seven-year-old legs. Another time, Jim Wiltse, a national champion horseshoe thrower, taught me the right way to toss shoes after catching me throwing them like hand grenades.
Those men intentionally chose to engage with my childhood self in ways that were not convenient for them but were priceless and unforgettable for me.
Those were moments wrapped in unconditional love given as a gift to one who had nothing to offer in return. Those small acts had a profound impact on my faith and capacity to believe in a God who loves me that way, as well. Many other people offered the same gift as I grew up. They’re the reason I find myself inescapably linked to Community of Christ now. They were simple expressions of the Living Christ.
When Lori and I directed family camp, the first thing we did was set goals and objectives. The idea of building community was primary, and we recognized that “community” meant the relationship of all campers together, regardless of age. We also realized that if we separated into age groups too frequently, we would risk having multiple camps running parallel, rather than a singular, unified family camp.
Mexico-Texas Reunion
Children’s class held on the front porch of the church.
We started looking for ways to help campers interact with whom they otherwise might not engage. This meant planning intentional and guided intergenerational interactions.
One evening I came to the worship service and realized the Spirit had moved. The senior- and junior-high youth were spaced out through the first two rows. All the smaller children were on their laps or tucked beside them. That became the norm, year after year. I watched some of those children grow and become caregivers to other children in turn.
I also believe that our efforts to create a truly intergenerational camp is why the number of campers increased from eighty-seven to 221 in a matter of five years.
If you have an opportunity to help plan or attend a reunion this year, I offer these few suggestions to help make intergenerational interaction a natural and blessed part of the experience.
A scheduled intergenerational gathering makes it easy for people of all ages to interact. It could include planned activities like team challenges, orienteering, crafting, or building birdhouses or bird feeders. A family with two or three children will love you teaming up with their kids. Working together on a project naturally builds trust and encourages conversations.
Our intergenerational gathering was called Family Activity for the first couple of years until we realized that the kids didn’t care which adult was working with them.
If there are no planned intergenerational gatherings, there most certainly will be “down time,” when not much is going on. Think about your gifts, talents, and interests. Could you offer to teach a class on something? Wood craft, wood carving, painting, fly tying, crocheting, fishing, chess, checkers, or metal detecting all could catch the interest of some kids—and adults.
Before you know it, you’ll have an intergenerational group of friends visiting and enjoying one another’s company. You don’t have to be a professional; you just have to share a bit of yourself.
Recreation is an obvious time for intergenerational interaction. Intergenerational play may be a more important spiritual practice than worship. God already knows you love God, but kids are much less certain how you feel about them. Freeing yourself to play means letting go of any and all selfimportance or image, so you can be fully human, fully yourself, as a gift of presence in building community.
Play creates unfettered connection between people of all ages as nothing else can. I watched a conservative high priest become his three granddaughters’ greatest hero during a clothing-change relay race as he donned a wig, a hat, two dresses, a sweater, a bikini, and a bra! He raced through the maze like it was nothing!
Children never tire of playing with adults; they do tire of having adults say “no” when asked. I have been known to play “get an adult” as the first game at recreation, promising ice cream to every kid who succeeded.
Kickball, Wiffle Ball, 9-square, corn hole, and horseshoes are examples of low-impact games almost anyone can join. There are dozens of different relay races that can be fun for all ages. Water games may require you to change clothes afterward, but they’re a favorite for most kids.
Cheering and encouraging one another in play is great for building relationships. If there is a reason you cannot play, then take a lawn chair and cheer from the sidelines. Just be present. If all else fails, squirt random kids unexpectedly with a squirt gun and see what develops!
Every reunion has times when everyone is in the same place at the same time. Mealtime is the most obvious. This is an easy opportunity to create intergenerational interaction. Simply sit at a table with a group of kids or a young family and strike up a conversation while you eat. Focus on the kids in particular. Ask and remember their names. Ask what things they like and see what they can teach you about them. Use open-ended questions that encourage explanations.
Cleanup and other service work is another excellent time for kids to tell you about themselves. Kids love to work
New England Mission Center
with adults who will engage with them and express appreciation for their contribution. Get to know the kids you work with. Call them by name and greet them at other activities or in passing.
It’s true that approaching young people to initiate meaningful connections can be difficult and awkward. People fear rejection and don’t always feel like they have something to offer kids. It can feel like they live in a different world, but that’s also what can make it so fulfilling. Children have interests in and know a lot about things that adults don’t.
The irony is that when you build a friendship with a youth, both your worlds expand. Both of you feel more valued. Both of you feel more like you belong.
Worship is a corporate act that should involve the whole community. It’s a perfect time to let kids know they are valued and belong. Adding a children’s focus moment isn’t sufficient. We can craft the whole worship with the whole intergenerational community in mind. So most of the service somehow should be expressed in a way that kids can understand…and grown-ups will pick it up better, too! Here are a few ways to do it:
• Living scripture: Dress and act out a scripture story.
• P rayer: Offer an opportunity to provide guidance about prayer.
• Singing: solo or ensemble.
• Receiving Disciples’ Generous Response: Use buckets, baskets, nets, etc.
• A nimated video scriptures: They bring stories alive.
• A nimated video sing-along: Some include movement.
Erie Beach Runion
• P uppet show: Kids can help produce them, too!
• Acting in a skit: Consider what the lesson can look like when lived.
• I nstrumental music: Remember, it’s a gift, not a performance.
• Reading: Try scripture, poetry, books.
• C horal reading.
• Sharing: Their testimonies are important.
• P icture books.
• Craft as part of worship.
• Cooperative activity as part of worship.
There is no need to hold a separate worship service for kids if they are integrated fully into the corporate worship. This kind of intergenerational experience provides an opportunity for all members to participate and contribute to building community. If there is preaching, remind the speaker ahead of time to consider the kids while preparing. Sit with kids during worship. I’ve been known to initiate tic-tac-toe, drawing pictures, or playing connect-a-dot with a kid while listening to a sermon.
Andrea was a kid I played and worked with at family camp. When she was old enough, she became a lifeguard specifically to help me at the waterfront. I took the back seat and asked her to be head lifeguard. I don’t know the full impact of our friendship, but she’s grown up now, and I will get to perform her wedding this summer. So, yeah, I’ve been blessed by the relationship, as well.
I’ve had the honor of watching Allison grow year after year at family camp. When she decided to be baptized, she wanted to do it in the pond in our backyard, 140 miles north of her home, with a group of kids and adults with whom she felt in community. It was beautiful.
This year, commit to attend reunion differently. Go prepared to intentionally become friends with some kids. Learn names, sing songs, play games. Sit in the shade with ice cream and try to find words for the taste. Be brave and let yourself be blessed by the excitement and vitality of the children as you gather them in.
The whole idea of reunion is an exercise in gathering as Christ-centered community. We don’t gather simply to relax or escape the pressures of everyday life. We gather for the express purpose of creating a community that values every member, one that abides in sharing the unconditional love of God.
We gather to discover the Christ in new friends of all ages. This kind of community doesn’t just happen. It is the result of small intentions stacked one upon the other like a child’s building blocks.
Come and play!
Brush Creek Reunion
History That Rhymes
Trip to Italy highlights bond between faith communities.
By Barb Walden, executive director, Community of Christ Historic Sites Foundation and Michael Wright, copresident, Western Europe Mission Centre
Photo by Michael Wright
JOHN AVONDET
John Avondet, the first Italian missionary of the Reorganization, was born among the Waldensian Valleys of the Piedmont region in 1828 at a time of great change in Italy. Born as a Waldensian, a primitivist and dissenting faith tradition, Avondet found that his faith journey with the Waldensian community prepared him for the Restoration and his own personal journey from the Italian Dolomites to the Wasatch Mountains of the American West, to the prairies of Nebraska, and back to his native Italy as the Reorganization’s first Italian missionary.
Avondet and his wife, Marie DeFoury, eventually settled in Nebraska, where they were buried. For more about Avondet’s historic journey as a missionary for the Reorganization, check Michael Wright’s online lecture recording on the life and legacy of Avondet at www .HistoricSitesFoundation.org/church-history-lectures.
It was a cool October morning in Italy as our group gathered in a hotel conference room in Rome. Looking around, we saw a blend of old friends, new faces, and those familiar from online programs and the pages of the Herald. We had traveled long distances through crowded airports and long flights. Yet, one thing united us: the excitement of beginning this pilgrimage together.
John Avondet, a nineteenth-century RLDS missionary, inspired our journey. A young seeker from the mountains of northern Italy, he bravely followed the Spirit’s call, stepping beyond the safety of his homeland across oceans and prairies to an unfamiliar land. It was in the USA
that he became acquainted with Joseph Smith III and the Reorganization. Following the same Spirit that led him away, Avondet eventually returned to Italy as a missionary, bringing the message of Christ and embodying the mission of our faith community in a foreign, yet familiar, land.
Last October, forty-three travelers from North America retraced Avondet’s footsteps, seeking to learn from his journey and legacy. Our pilgrimage began in Rome, the seat of the Roman Catholic church, and concluded in Torre Pellice, the headquarters of the Waldensian Church at the foot of the mountains Avondet once called home. It was a life-changing experience—one that wove the past and present through the Holy Spirit.
I took [you] from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant; I have chosen you and not cast you off…”
—Isaiah 41:9 NRSVue
We anticipated that our journey through Christian history would be transformative, but we hadn’t expected to witness church history unfolding before us. The more we
Our community of pilgrims (page 34) from the USA and Canada stood in front of the Waldensian Temple in Torre Pellice, Italy, following the Sunday-morning shared worship service.
Photos by (top right) Barb Walden and (above, middle) Norma Elgan. Image of John Avondet from Community of Christ Archives.
Michael Wright (top, left) gave Pastor Michel Charbonnier a Community of Christ Sings hymnal. The group of travelers learn that Charbonnier collects hymnals. Barb Walden and Michael Wright (above, front) shared a few words during the worship while Pastor Michel Charbonnier shared in worship from the pulpit.
History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.
—Mark Twain
learned about Avondet, the more we recognized a modern parallel: our friend and brother, Michael Wright. Like Avondet, Michael was a young seeker who departed the safety of his homeland in the USA, crossing oceans and distant lands. Through the gift of faith he discovered a new home and calling in Italy.
In 1872, Avondet was commissioned as a minister in Italy and throughout Europe. During our trip’s opening Communion service, Susan Naylor, World Church secretary, stood to speak about Avondet’s life and legacy—its historical significance and its relevance to Community of Christ today. She highlighted Joseph Smith III’s 1872 letter, which certified and empowered Avondet as a minister. Then she paused, turned to Wright, and presented him with a modern-day letter from the First Presidency—one that echoed Avondet’s own commissioning.
Wright’s letter formally recognized him as a representative of Community of Christ in Italy and included his long-awaited priesthood card—a moment that affirmed years of ministry in this sacred place. “It was an electric moment in time connecting those first missionary efforts in Italy to current-day expressions of the gospel story shared most relevantly by Michael and his friends,” Naylor said.
The room was filled with emotion as we witnessed the Holy Spirit moving across time and space. Church history wasn’t just something to study—it was something we were living! This profound experience set the tone for the rest of our journey as we explored sites of Christian history and saints who have informed our own faith community in Rome, Subiaco, Tivoli, Assisi, Florence, Pisa, and more.
Our final day together brought us to Torre Pellice, a small, historic village in the Waldensian Valleys that Avondet once called home. As headquarters of the Waldensian Church, this village holds deep significance in the history of faith and perseverance.
To our joy, Avondet’s former faith community welcomed us with open arms, inviting us to share in a special weekend festival, celebrating the end of summer during the 850th anniversary of the Waldensian movement.
Not only did we participate in worship, seated in the historic wooden pews of the Waldensian temple, but the Waldensian pastor, Michel Charbonnier, extended a remarkable invitation. He asked our group to share in a ministry of music—a fitting request, as our travels had turned us into an impromptu choir.
Within the sanctuary’s sacred walls, we sang the Taizé
hymn, “Ubi Caritas,” its simple, prayerful melody echoing through the space.
But the hospitality did not end there. In an extraordinary act of ecumenical friendship, the Waldensians invited our leaders to share from their historic pulpit. It was a powerful reminder that Christ’s message transcends borders, languages, and traditions. Norma Elgan best captured the spirit of that moment:
When I entered the Waldensian temple, I felt “at home.” Throughout our travels, we had visited grand cathedrals and ancient basilicas—stunning, but distant. Yet here, I felt the Spirit of God. I was home, and I could truly worship.
Though our worship service ended at noon, our experience with the Waldensian community continued. We explored the village marketplace, sampled unique gelato flavors, and toured the faith community’s history museum, gaining a deeper understanding of its arduous journey as a faith community.
Pastor Charbonnier met with us again for a private discussion, sharing the mission and history of his church— one marked by grace, hospitality, and perseverance.
Photo by Barb Walden
Taking our seats inside the sanctuary of the Waldensian Temple.
As a gesture of gratitude, we presented the Waldensian community with a signed copy of Community of Christ Sings and offered one final ministry of music in the temple. The hymn we chose reflected our pilgrimage and the stories of Avondet and our new Waldensian friends:
Now in this moment, now in this day, God is creating and leading the way; life is behind us, life is before; we write the story not heard before.
—“Now in This Moment,”
Richard and Barbara Howard, CCS 96
That evening, we stayed in the Waldensian guesthouse, where we gathered for a final dinner and our closing worship service. We reflected on our two movements being bound by a shared commitment to Christ’s mission. Both the Waldensians and Community of Christ share histories shaped by courage, reform, and a deep call to justice.
Though our traditions emerged in different times and places, we are united by a faith that values scripture, community, the pursuit of peace, and acting prophetically.
As we returned home in late October, the spirit of
Pastor Michel Charbonnier took questions from the Community of Christ group during a private visit.
our journey did not end. Several tour guests recreated the worship service from Torre Pellice in their home congregations in California and Missouri. Wright continued sharing our experience in an online lecture, ensuring that the ministry we encountered in Italy would reach even farther.
Mark Twain once said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” Our pilgrimage through Italy connected us to the past and present in ways we never expected. While we did not literally relive John Avondet’s nineteenthcentury mission experience, we walked in the echoes of his faith, discovering that the same Spirit that guided him continues to move among us today.
Across generations, traditions, and landscapes, we found that God’s call to community, mission, and reconciliation is a melody that never fades—it simply takes on new verses in each time and place. Although the Spirit swelled as we sang the rhyming lyrics of beloved hymns throughout our Italian adventure, “God [was certainly] creating and leading the way,” as “we [were] writing the story not heard before,”—yet it was a story that sounded very familiar!
Photos by (left) Barb Walden and (right) Michael Wright
The Waldensian Temple at Torre Pellice, Italy.
‘Our
Our Companion, Our All’ Hymn tradition graces World Conferences.
By Jane M. Gardner, presiding evangelist , and Richard Clothier, Lamoni, Iowa, USA
Photo
In recent memory, during the opening weekend of the World Conferences, the hymn, “Redeemer of Israel,” has been sung with fervor and enthusiasm. We turn to Richard Clothier, a leading author on the Restoration heritage of hymns, for some historical notes.
When we sing “Redeemer of Israel” at World Conference, we will be singing one of the best-loved hymns of the church. But did you know that it was also one of the earliest hymns ever published by the infant organization? In fact, it appeared nearly four years before Emma Smith’s first hymnal came off the press in Kirtland. It is an interesting story.
An early convert who had had some experience in journalism, William Wines Phelps was recruited to travel to Independence and set up a printing press in the newly designated place for Zion. One of the tasks Phelps was asked to undertake was to “correct” the hymns Emma had been selecting, obviously meant to alter the texts as needed to fit with current beliefs of the church. Phelps proved himself to be good at this, and in fact, out of Emma’s final product, nearly half of the 90 hymns were either written or adapted by Phelps.
Once he was in Independence, Phelps set up a print shop on South Liberty Street and began publishing a periodical called The Evening and the Morning Star. In addition to articles of current interests to the church, the back page of each issue contained several hymn texts. The very first issue, in June of 1832, included an extensive revision of a text by Joseph Swain, published in England in 1791. Swain’s original text began,
“O thou in whose presence my soul takes delight, On whom in affliction I call, My comfort by day and my song in the night, My hope, my salvation, my all.”
In Phelps’s hands, a robust new hymn emerged, beginning with the words, “Redeemer of Israel, our only delight, on whom for a blessing we call.” It likened the trials of the early Saints to the tribulation of the children of Israel, and affirmed that “the kingdom is ours, and the hour of redemption is near”! More tribulation was in store for the faithful, however, and on July 20, 1833, a violent mob destroyed Phelps’s press and scattered the type in the street, effectively ending this particular chapter of the work in Independence.
This ongoing Herald series explores the history and context of hymns from Community of Christ Sings. These words and melodies connect us to one another and to our identity. Is there a hymn you would like to know more about? Let us know at Herald @CofChrist.org.
Although music was not included in our hymnals until 1889, the tune known as “Davis” has always been used with this text. [For] one of our most beloved hymns, Roy Cheville has called “Redeemer of Israel,” “the song of the Saints.”
We are grateful to Richard Clothier for this hymn story. We continue to resonate with the message of the text and the energy of the tune. To make it more accessible, the text has been translated into Spanish and French, serving in the core repertoire of Community of Christ Sings. The Spanish translation was provided by Vernon L. Peterson, and the French translation was by Winifred Sarre—Community of Christ ministers who gifted the church with many translations.
It is amazing to think that our reflection on a hymn in each issue of the current Herald, continues a tradition that began in 1832. As we gather in 2025, let us join with Restoration voices throughout the years: “…our King, our Companion, our All.”
BIRTHDAYS
• Dorothy “Dottie” Burnham of the Applewood Congregation in Colorado, USA, celebrated her ninetieth birthday March 14.
• Evelyn Blair of the McDermott Congregation in Ohio, USA, congregation celebrated her ninety-third birthday March 11.
• Gloria Giles of the Mission Road Congregation in Prairie Village, Kansas, USA, celebrated her ninety-eighth birthday January 7.
• Daniel Arthur “Art” Burnham of the Applewood Congregation in Colorado, USA, celebrated his ninety-second birthday October 1.
ANNIVERSARIES
• Gene and Doris Beach of the Grayling Congregation in Michigan, USA, celebrated their sixty-fifth anniversary January 23.
• Bob and Fay Beers of the Bradenton/Sarasota Congregation in Florida, USA, celebrated their seventieth anniversary March 12.
• A rthur and Dorothy Burnham of the Applewood Congregation in Colorado, USA, celebrated their seventy-first anniversary November 22.
To submit a birthday or anniversary to “Milestones,” send it to Herald@CofChrist.org . Please include a contact name and telephone number. Milestones does not publish advance notices of events.
DEAR READERS:
Disciples and seekers need to read/hear/see how Christ’s mission is being made real in people’s lives through the ministry of you and your congregation. These stories are a source of ideas, inspiration, and motivation to disciples and priesthood in all types of communities.
Will you please take a moment to share at least one story that illustrates one or more of our Mission Initiatives or Enduring Principles? Stories can be brief or long (about 200–1,000 words). If possible, pair your stories with photos (one megabyte or larger).
Send stories and questions to Herald@CofChrist.org so we can consider them for Herald magazine, stories on www.CofChrist.org, the Daily Bread blog, and more. Thank you for living Christ’s mission and for sharing stories to inspire others.
In Christ’s peace, Jenn Killpack, director of Communications
Mission Initiatives
Invite People to Christ Christ’s mission of evangelism
Abolish Poverty, End Suffering Christ’s mission of compassion
Pursue Peace on Earth
Christ’s mission of justice and peace
Develop Disciples to Serve equip individuals for Christ’s mission
Experience Congregations in Mission equip congregations for Christ’s mission
Enduring Principles
Grace and Generosity
Blessings of Community
All Are Called Worth of All Persons
Responsible Choices
Unity in Diversity
Sacredness of Creation
Continuing Revelation
Pursuit of Peace
Submitting to the Herald
PRINT AND ELECTRONIC SPECIFICATIONS
Submission policy: All stories—invited and unsolicited—will be edited for clarity, conciseness, accuracy, and other qualities. Because of deadlines and capacity, contributors typically will not be involved in the editorial process. Publication dates for specific articles may change based on organizational priorities. We prefer that copy be submitted electronically in Microsoft Word.
Photos and visuals are best submitted as jpg attachments. Scanned images need to be 300 dots per inch (dpi) or higher, or one megabyte or larger. Photos need to be taken by a digital camera with at least fourmegapixel capacity, though larger is better. Please check your email to make sure the settings are not automatically compressing the photos. Prints and slides are acceptable. Include the photographer’s name.
News items, features, and testimonies related to individuals, congregations, and groups whose activities express mission are welcome. Submissions may range from 1,000–6,000 characters with spaces. Accompanying photographs usually are essential.
Milestones highlight significant events, people, and groups. In general, sacraments are not published because of the volume performed. Notices of major awards, priesthood emeritus status, anniversaries of sixty or more years, and birthdays of ninety or more years may be submitted, but photos will not run. Death notices will not be published. Release: By submitting written, graphic, or photographic materials to the Herald, the submitter consents and authorizes the Herald and Community of Christ to copyright, use, and reproduce the submission (written, photographic, illustrative, electronic, and/ or digital image), and circulate and use the same for any and all official resources, uses, or purposes including but not limited to print, film, or electronic media, and reproduction or digital representation of every description on the Internet/World Wide Web. Consideration hereby is waived in perpetuity, and no further claim of any nature whatsoever may be made by the submitter. The submitter retains the right to reproduce his or her submission. Please submit news and feature items to Herald@CofChrist.org or mail to: Herald, 1001 W. Walnut St., Independence, MO 64050.
THEY WILL KNOW WE ARE CHRISTIANS BY OUR LOVE
By Becky Savage, Pharr, Texas, USA
The instruction to love one another is the primary commandment in the Gospel of John. The writer heightens the importance of the command by placing it at the end of Jesus’ ministry.
Jesus embodied God’s love throughout his ministry. Jesus knows of his approaching death. He urgently needs the disciples to understand they are expected to show the same mutual loving relationships in their lives and ministry. Jesus modeled the type of love he expects of them when he washed the disciples’ feet. Humble, servant ministry glorifies God’s loving relationship with all people.
Jesus does not lessen the call to love one’s neighbors; he expands on it. Jesus expects the disciples’ love for one another to equal the loving relationship between God and Jesus. He tells the disciples how to measure their success. People will recognize Jesus’ disciples by the way they are in loving relationship with one another.
While loving one’s neighbors is important, it is essential to love one’s companions. This may seem a simple distinction; however, loving people we know well can be difficult. Neighbors are more distant than friends, colleagues, church members, or family. It is often more difficult to love the ones we know well. We know them at their best and at their worst. We know their faults and their giftedness.
The commandment to love one another has implications for us as disciples and for our church community. Imagine if we could genuinely live this love commandment. Invite People to
Christ could happen as people see our loving relationships with one another. People might want to know more about this group of people who serve with gracious servant ministries. Our mission statement would be obvious in how we live daily. We would proclaim Jesus Christ through our loving relationships with one another and with those we meet. Our communities would be full of joy, hope, love, and peace.
—Sermon and Class Helps Year C: New Testament, with focus on the Gospel according to Luke, Herald Publishing House, 2015
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