2023 District Conference
West Charleston Church of the Brethren
Our 2023 theme is "Grow with a growth that is of God"
“… the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and tendons,
grows with a growth that is from God.” Colossians 2:19
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"I am intrigued by the connection between science and spirituality. In nature we are able to see the Divine. One example out of millions is trees. Trees do not live alone. Although we often think of them as individuals, standing by themselves with roots in the ground and branches in the sky, they need soil and water and air and sunshine.
"At last year’s Conference I introduced my theme for the 2023 Conference. Based on a Nature program I saw on PBS I chose the last section of Colossians 2:19 “… the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and tendons, grows with a growth that is from God.” In that Nature program it was reported, “Ecologists have studied underground networks called mycorrhizae. In these networks, fungal fibers fasten tree roots, one to another, beneath the forest floor. Trees are not lonely at all. They are bound together, deeply. If you were to dig up the earth around a tree, you would find a network of fungal fibers. These fibers are not much to look at: Milk-pale, inky or translucent. But they connect the trees and help them in a number of ways. The fibers carry water, carbon, nitrogen, and biochemical information between trees that are related … between trees of the same species … and even between trees of different species. A community is created in the forest by mycorrhizal networks. In them, a fungus assists the trees by helping to supply their needs, and the trees help the fungus by providing it with sugar.”
"I find that, to say the least, fascinating!
"Now it is true that a fungus is not an attractive image — milk-pale, inky and translucent fibers are kind of gross. But mycorrhizae illustrate how we receive nourishment from Christ and share it with each other. When we remain rooted in Christ, we find that the words of Paul to the Colossians come true: “the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God”
Christians grow when they are rooted in Christ and connected through an ecosystem of communication, nourishment and sacrifice
I invite everyone to the 2023 Southern Ohio District Conference to learn, share and understand how to be Mycorrhizal Christians."
-- Written by 2023 District Moderator, Ty Pyles
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District Conference Purpose
From Southern Ohio/Kentucky District Code of Regulations. District Conference is the annual meeting of the District. It is a mass meeting to which delegates and others interested from the congregations come in business sessions, worship, and fellowship to give implementation to the district purpose. District Conference is the final authority of the District on policy, program, and procedure. District Conference must approve the District Budget, except for the Outdoor Ministries Budget, which is approved by the Board. District Conference must elect Board Members, District Conference Officers, Member of the Program and Arrangements Committee and various representatives to denominational offices. The Program and Arrangements Committee sets the time and place of District Conference at least six months before District Conference.
Each congregation shall have one vote for each delegate attending District Conference. Each congregation with less than 201 members shall be entitled to four delegates. Larger congregations shall have additional delegates based upon current Church of the Brethren practices for allocating additional delegates for Church of the Brethren Annual Conference.[each congregation having more than 200 members may send one additional for each 200 or fraction thereof.] The Pastor and the leader of the governing board shall be delegates because of their office. Additional delegates shall be elected by the congregation for two year terms. A fellowship is entitled to send four voting delegates to District Conference.