Members of the Arizona Interfaith Movement gathered on August 29,2024 for one of the most anticipated and well-attended faith forums of the year. It may have been because the RSVP attendees list included football legend Larry Fitzgerald Jr, or because many people sincerely want to learn about the Community of Christ faith. Either way, the event was very well presented and well received.
Eldred Spain, Board President Emeritus of the Arizona Interfaith Movement, began the presentation. Many could feel the gravitas of this man in just his presence but when he spoke, his radiating love for everyone on the planet beamed through the room and into Zoomland for the other observers there who weren’t able to attend in person.
Eldred gave a brief historical background and explained the name change to Community of Christ, then he, Diana Hansen and Sara Tubbesing (current & former AZ Mission Center Presidents) outlined several enduring principles that are the current bedrock of their faith organization. They include the following:
· Worth of All Persons – God views all people as having inestimable and equal worth. We seek to uphold and restore the worth of all people individually and in community, challenging unjust systems that diminish human worth. God wants all people to experience wholeness of body, mind, spirit, and relationships. We join with Jesus Christ in bringing good news to the poor, sick, captive, and oppressed.
· All Are Called – God graciously gives people gifts and opportunities to do good and to share in God’s purposes. Jesus Christ invites people to follow him by becoming disciples who share his life and ministry. Some disciples are called and ordained to particular priesthood responsibilities and ministries for the sake of the community, the congregation, and the world. We respond faithfully, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to our best understanding of God’s call.
· Pursuit of Peace – God wants shalom (justice, reconciliation, well-being, wholeness, and peace) for all of creation. Jesus Christ, the embodiment of God’s shalom (peace), reveals the meaning of God’s peace in all aspects of life. Led by the Holy Spirit, we work with God and others to restore peace (shalom) to creation. We celebrate God’s peace wherever it appears or is being pursued by people of good will. The vision of Zion is to promote God’s reign on Earth, as proclaimed by Jesus Christ, through the leavening influence of just and peaceful communities. We courageously and generously share the peace of Jesus Christ with others.
Other topics on enduring principles included the Sacredness of Creation, making Responsible Choices, the Blessings of Community, Grace and Generosity, Continuing Revelation and Unity in Diversity.
They spoke of their headquarters in Independence, Missouri and the symbolism in the design of the temple there spiraling up – designed as a chrysalis with the idea that we are all being pulled in as knowledge grows, and forever growing out of one room and then building another one as more light is given.
Before the refreshments, the evening ended with a question-and-answer segment by the current director of the Arizona Interfaith Movement, Albert Celoza, Ph.D. He started with a question of his own that was probably on most people’s minds and that is “What was the beginning in terms of the relationship with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?”
Diana answered that in the beginning the two churches were, “one and the same,” and that the faction happened when the saints were driven out of Independence, Missouri. The Community of Christ stems from those who stayed behind and did not follow Brigham Young out West. They waited for Joseph Smith Jr.’s son, who was only a teenager at the time, to be old enough to come lead them, which he later did.
