1. This year's Annual Conference theme, "Together: Exercise Daily in God" was taken from 1 Timothy 4:6-8 in The Message, and proved to be a good emphasis for spiritual encouragement.
2. There was a light agenda of business. The Standing Committee did not need all the scheduled time to conclude its work.
3. "Doing Church Business" was the major query. It called for a major overhaul of how Annual Conference does its decision making. There were nearly two dozen recommendations. The delegates found the paper overwhelming and referred the report to a Feasibility Committee which will report at Annual Conference in 2007. The report called for Annual Conference to be lengthened, and for delegates to spend considerable time in small group discernment.
4. We should not forget that the "Doing Church Business" query arose out of concern from the 2002 Annual Conference, which passed the statement opposing the ordaining of non-celibate homosexuals. This was too decisive a decision for some to accept, and so there is a call to do church business differently.
5. For nearly thirty years the issue of homosexuality has plagued the Church of the Brethren. Fortunately, all of the official statements on this subject at Annual Conference have come out with relatively good biblical positions.
6. A group of pro-gay people put on an unofficial demonstration in the Exhibit Hall one day. A few people carrying a Brethren Mennonite Council (BMC) banner walked slowly through the display area. Several dozen people joined in and walked along creating some unnecessary congestion.
7. BRF does not agree with this kind of stunt-making performance. We do not use these methods. When we have disagreements with the Church we use the method of sound biblical research and display these studies in easy-to-read pamphlets.
8. Attendance at Annual Conference continues to dwindle.This year's total attendance was slightly under 3,000 and official delegate registration did not quite reach 800. This likely reflects a continual denomination membership decline plus the lack of significant business in recent years.
9. The BRF-sponsored events were blessed by strong attendance. For many Conference goers it seems like an "oasis in the desert" to come and be blessed by Brethren who seek to believe and practice the Bible message just as it reads.
10. Ron Beachley, this year's Moderator, had a gentle and caring way of leading the business, and he preached a sound, biblical Moderator's address.
11. Next year's Annual Conference is scheduled to be held June 30-July 4 at Cleveland, Ohio.