One of the most profound comments made regarding the early church came from the lips of a man named Aristides, who was asked by the Emperor Hadrian to spy out those strange “Christians.” Having seen them in action, Aristides returned with these immortal words to the emperor: “Behold! How they love one another.”
As a response to the longing for conversation, we have established blog partners to the bi-monthly Susquehanna LINK and the Annual Conference Session Daily LINK. Articles of every issue will be posted on the blog. After each article there is a COMMENT area for you to express your response to the article or respond to the response of another.
The blogs serve a two-fold purpose: a repository for letters to the editor and a display of comments to individual articles in every issue. The blogs also bring to the fore a rather sobering fact that our conversations are now on public display. And that brings a level of judgement on the part of potential readers across the globe to our display of what we profess as “United” Methodists.
We do not always agree. That is reasonable and can be holy. The serious question is — after our virtual discussions, would Aristides return to Hadrian with the report: “Behold! How they love one another.”?
Our hope is that we will all take to heart the Holy Conferencing Principles found on the blogs under “Guidelines for Dialogue.” Your communications office has introduced a medium that we hope will help us articulate the variety in our positions in a gracious manner, offer a forum for listening to each other and, most importantly, an opportunity to truly hear each other.
The blog will be monitored by the editor of the Susquehanna LINK and the Daily LINK. Anonymous letters, or letters judged to be in conflict with holy conferencing principles, will be respectfully withdrawn.
JW
www.susquehannalink.blogspot.comwww.susumcdailylink.blogspot.com
