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Published on: 11/28/2006
Last Visited: 11/29/2006
South/Central Indiana District: South/Central Indiana District also has attempted a process of dialogue in response to Manchester Church of the Brethren, an "open and affirming" congregation in North Manchester, Ind., according to executive minister Allen Kahler.
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The advisory council functioned for a year or more, Kahler said, and it attempted to find a way to have conversation between differing groups, helped keep the district board apprised of the situation, and helped care for the situation of conflict while the district board continued to do the regular business of the district.
Then came news of the same-sex covenant ceremony at Manchester in October last year.District leaders met with leaders of the congregation.There followed a series of written communications between the congregation and the district board, and communications from other congregations.A final letter from the district board to the Manchester congregation, sent earlier this year, reportedly was perceived by the district and the congregation in very different ways, according to Kahler: it was perceived by the district board as a statement of last steps in the process Annual Conference has outlined in the event of congregational disagreement, but was perceived by the congregation as a threat.
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