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First "Get Acquainted" Unity Breakfast was held on
Saturday, the 25th of March, 2006 at the Fellowship Hall of
Western Hills Church of Christ in Austin, TX. We believe it
was a major success as a first step towards re-establishing
unity among the three branches of the Stone-Campbell Movement
for the Austin area.
All three branches of the movement were represented at this
meeting which included ministers, elders, and members from
these congregations:
| Austin
International Church of Christ |
Lake
Travis Church of Christ, Austin, Tx |
| Bastrop
Church of Christ , Bastrop, Tx |
Lockhart
Church of Christ, Lockhart, Tx |
| Central
Christian Church, (Disciples of Christ) |
Pond
Springs Church of Christ, Austin, Tx |
| Community
Christian Church, Round Rock, Tx |
Southern
Hills Church of Christ, Buda, TX |
| Elgin
Chruch of Christ, Elgin, Tx |
Stockdale
Church of Christ, Stockdale, TX
|
| First
Christian Church, Lockhart, TX
(Disciples of Christ) |
Townwest
Church of Christ, Taylor, Tx |
| First
Christian Church, Smithville, Tx
(Disciples of Christ) |
University
Church of Christ, San Marcos, TX |
| Georgetown
Church of Christ, Georgetown, Tx |
University
Ave Church
of Christ, Austin, TX |
| Holland
Street Church of Christ, San Marcos, Tx |
Westover
Hills Church of Christ, Austin, Tx |
| Hyde
Park Church of Christ, Austin, Tx |
Western
Hills Church of Christ, Austin,
TX |
 The
overall ambience of the gathering from the
outset was that of a family being reunited after years of
separation. Those who were there that morning extended the
right hand of fellowship, without hesitation to all that attended.
George Bomar, minister and elder for the Western Hills Church
of Christ, commented over breakfast that this meeting had
attracted over twice the number of people that attended the
quarterly Area Wide Elder's meeting in Austin.
The meeting started promptly at 9:00am with Randy Frye, Pastor
of First Christian Church in Lockhart, leading the prayer.
Breakfast was prepared and served buffet style. George Bomar
served as moderator and began the program at 9:30. Sensing
the love and acceptance of all in attendance, he "welcomed
all our brothers and sisters in Christ"! George then shared
a poem on Unity written by Nixon Waterman and called the groups
attention to similar upcoming Stone-Campbell heritage events
of interest in the Events Calendar handout.
 George
then asked each person present to introduce themselves, announcing
which congregation they were from, their title, office or
responsibility within the congregation, and how long they
had been a Christian. The youngest Christian experience was
14 years and the oldest was 71 years. The oldest person in
attendance was an elder who was 86 years of age.
B.J. Pierce from Western Hills, the Chairman of the Unity
Committee, next addressed "Why we are here." B.J. shared with
the group his family and spiritual heritage in both the Churches
of Christ and Disciples of Christ. He announced to the attendees
that the intention of this meeting is to start a meaningful,
relevant dialogue here in Austin and Central Texas among the
heirs of the Stone-Campbell Movement on a quarterly basis,
with the next meeting scheduled for June 2006.
Realizing that new ground was being plowed among a historically
divided people, the Unity Committee wanted to make everyone
aware and to assure all in attendance that:
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We are not asking anyone to give up their
doctrinal positions or practices. |
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We are not asking anyone to violate their conscience. |
On the other hand, the attendees were asked to consider the
following as we gather together in the future:
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Fervently and prayerfully consider Jesus'
call for the Unity of his believers in John 17. |
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Support these meetings through their attendance,
with an open mind and an open heart searching for common
ground. |
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Promote this effort with their fellow ministers,
Elders, and interested parties who were not there that
Saturday. |
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Consider taking an active role through the
formation of an Ecumenical committee of all three branches
of the Stone-Campbell Movement in the Austin/Central Texas
area to find common ground
once again. It is anticipated that work toward formation
of this new committee ant the eventual dissolventof the
Western Hills Unity Committee would take place at the
June 2006 meeting. |
 B.J.
ended the presentation by announcing that the total years
of Christian experience among those Elders and Ministers in
attendance amounted to 1, 634 years, and with
that type of experience, isn't it possible to find common
ground?
George ended the meeting with two announcements; that Dr.
Doug Foster from ACU would be in Austin, Saturday evening,
April 22, and that all would be invited to a presentation
at a siteTBD. Next, that a Letter entitled, "Confession
of Sin and Affirmation of Faith: An invitation from the
Stone-Campbell Dialogue", dated june 2000 was
available for review and prayerful consideration. The meeting
ended at 10:20 with over 50 in attendance.
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Western Hills Unity Committee: Chairman:
B.J. Pierce, Mark Babcock, Roger Carey, Mark Davies, Terry
Haecker, Jerry Martin, Shep Strong, and Ken Thorton
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