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When the government in South Africa announced restrictions on the number of people that could meet in the wake of COVID-19, churches started implementing those measures in order to comply. This happened during the build-up to Easter celebrations. Even over the radio, Christians started to pronounce measures that would address such restrictions during Easter celebrations. Those pronouncements carried with them insinuations on how even the government should not encroach on the churches' mandate to hold these celebrations. As it turned out, the restrictions were short-lived as they were immediately followed by lockdown. The rhetoric of criticising the government's encroachment to the territory that belonged to the church was replaced by silent obedience. Faceless meetings erupted as congregants were organised into virtual groups complete with leaders and followers. At the same time, the criticism that had been placed on congregants who attended church on television ceased as many graduated from that tendency into attending church on their mobile phones. But this came with mixed responses as not all congregants had the necessary internet connectivity. This paper interrogates the tension between obeying the voice of God and the voice of the State. This is looked through two congregations: one in the ultra-urban uMhlanga area in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Province and the other in the town of Empangeni in KwaZulu-Natal. The methodology employed in the paper is ethnography where the two churches are presented in the tradition of ethnographic thick description. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the government in South Africa announced restrictions on the number of people that could meet in the wake of COVID-19, churches started implementing those measures in order to comply. This happened during the build-up to Easter celebrations. Even over the radio, Christians started to pronounce measures that would address such restrictions during Easter celebrations. Those pronouncements carried with them insinuations on how even the government should not encroach on the churches’ mandate to hold these celebrations. As it turned out, the restrictions were short-lived as they were immediately followed by lockdown. The rhetoric of criticising the government’s encroachment to the territory that belonged to the church was replaced by silent obedience. Faceless meetings erupted as congregants were organised into virtual groups complete with leaders and followers. At the same time, the criticism that had been placed on congregants who attended church on television ceased as many graduated from that tendency into attending church on their mobile phones. But this came with mixed responses as not all congregants had the necessary internet connectivity. This paper interrogates the tension between obeying the voice of God and the voice of the State. This is looked through two congregations: one in the ultra-urban uMhlanga area in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Province and the other in the town of Empangeni in KwaZulu-Natal. The methodology employed in the paper is ethnography where the two churches are presented in the tradition of ethnographic thick description.

J.D. Vorster and the Dutch Reformed Church Order of 1962: The Church Order of Dordtrecht adapted to the demands of our day? J.D. (Koot) Vorster, was the moderator of the Dutch Reformed Church (1970–1974) as well as the specialist for the church order of the General Synod (1962–1970), had a strong influence on the content of the first church order of this denomination. He was the chairperson of the commission appointed to prepare the concept of this church order for acceptance by the first General Synod in 1962. This article investigates Vorster’s part in creating this church order. In doing so, the author studied relevant church historical and church political literature. Vorster wished their church order to be a replica, in its own circumstances, of the famous Synod of Dordrecht’s Dutch Church Order in 1618–1619. As far as Vorster was concerned, the Dutch Reformed Church was a Reformed church in the Dutch tradition. The Dutch Reformed Church Order of 1962 showed many signs of the Church Order of Dordtrecht. In articles, Vorster claimed the influence of the Dordtrecht Church Order on the Dutch Reformed Church Order of 1962. However, on certain important issues the Dutch Reformed Church Order had its own way: on the assemblies of the church and in its relation to the state authorities. Vorster not only had a determining influence on the church order, but a proposal of his paved the formal ecclesiastical way for synodical unity in the Dutch Reformed Church in 1962. Vorster was an influential figure in church government. His sharp reactions on things he did not accept as well as his leadership abilities made him a prominent, sometimes controversial, church figure in Southern Africa. Contribution: While accepting the name of In die Skriflig as a norm for the study of church history and church polity, this article investigates the theological tradition in which the first church order of the Dutch Reformed Church as a whole was accepted by its first General Synod in 1962. The church orders accepted by following general synods kept to this line – be it in essence. This article tries to shed some light on this determining factor in the Dutch Reformed Church as well as the role J.D. Vorster played in its establishment. As a background for modern church orders in this church, it partly clears the positions taken up by present day general synods.

J.D. Vorster and the Dutch Reformed Church Order of 1962: The Church Order of Dordtrecht adapted to the demands of our day? J.D. (Koot) Vorster, was the moderator of the Dutch Reformed Church (1970–1974) as well as the specialist for the church order of the General Synod (1962–1970), had a strong influence on the content of the first church order of this denomination. He was the chairperson of the commission appointed to prepare the concept of this church order for acceptance by the first General Synod in 1962. This article investigates Vorster's part in creating this church order. In doing so, the author studied relevant church historical and church political literature. Vorster wished their church order to be a replica, in its own circumstances, of the famous Synod of Dordrecht's Dutch Church Order in 1618–1619. As far as Vorster was concerned, the Dutch Reformed Church was a Reformed church in the Dutch tradition. The Dutch Reformed Church Order of 1962 showed many signs of the Church Order of Dordtrecht. In articles, Vorster claimed the influence of the Dordtrecht Church Order on the Dutch Reformed Church Order of 1962. However, on certain important issues the Dutch Reformed Church Order had its own way: on the assemblies of the church and in its relation to the state authorities. Vorster not only had a determining influence on the church order, but a proposal of his paved the formal ecclesiastical way for synodical unity in the Dutch Reformed Church in 1962. Vorster was an influential figure in church government. His sharp reactions on things he did not accept as well as his leadership abilities made him a prominent, sometimes controversial, church figure in Southern Africa. Contribution: While accepting the name of In die Skriflig as a norm for the study of church history and church polity, this article investigates the theological tradition in which the first church order of the Dutch Reformed Church as a whole was accepted by its first General Synod in 1962. The church orders accepted by following general synods kept to this line – be it in essence. This article tries to shed some light on this determining factor in the Dutch Reformed Church as well as the role J.D. Vorster played in its establishment. As a background for modern church orders in this church, it partly clears the positions taken up by present day general synods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article explores the written evidence for local meetings and meeting places in early medieval León between the tenth and early eleventh centuries. It considers the functions of local meetings, as well as the role they played in the negotiation of social relations within the localities. The analysis of meeting places - among which churches feature prominently in the record - provides further insight into the ways in which links between the localities and the overarching social and political framework developed, and reveals the different forces that could lead to the institutionalization of local meetings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the dangers associated with the church meeting, which is said to be the distinctive gift of Congregationalism to the coming Church. Topics covered include the ideal of the church meeting set out in English Congregationalist church leader R. W. Dale's poetic vision, the attempt to build a church modelled on the early Congregationalists and the experience of seeing a fierce row between three deacons.

The article elaborates on the tasks common to the leaders of church meetings. These include announcing the meeting's agenda with information on issues to be tackled, holding a quorum, and controlling the deliberation in a fair manner. The author also explores the parliamentary principles that a church's members need to observe to have more effective meetings.

The article discusses the history of the Little Muskingum Baptist Church, a Northern Baptist Church in Reno, Ohio. Focus is given to the church's dissolution meeting, held in 1924, of which the meeting minutes are provided. The meeting dealt with the ownership of the church's Communion set, possession of a church lamp, and other church property, such as its Bible and Hymnals.

The article provides different historical recollections of Manchester, Ontario County in New York as site of the organization of Church of Christ and examines them in the context of where the baptisms and April 6, 1830 organizational meeting took place. A draft history was composed in 1839 by church scribe James Mulholland and made a fuller version in the Manuscript History of Joseph Smith, book A-I. Book A-I was initially published in March 1842 as the "History of Joseph Smith" in the "Times and Seasons" newspaper in Nauvoo, Illinois. A sample of publications that mention Manchester as the site for revelations on April 6 and/or the site of the church's organizational site is presented.

The article discusses memories of General Conferences of the U.S. and Canadian churches in the denomination Brethren in Christ Church from several participants, including the retired ministers Paul Sides, Glenn Ginder, and Merle Brubaker. Topics include the pastoral ministry of conference participants, family trips to the conferences, and the interest of youth in procedural voting. Also noted are conferences at Messiah College, growing ethnic diversity in the denomination, and the experiences of U.S. church members at Canadian conferences.

This study demonstrates inherent tensions in the organizational communication practices of churches and links to members' individual and organizational identities. Ethnographic data from a large Baptist church revealed three competing speech codes which comprised the discourse of church meetings: keep the faith (emphasizes R/S values and spiritual disciplines such as prayer), secular thinking (stresses business concerns/trends and lauds codified standards/goals for decision-making), and business as usual (underscores mechanistic routines). This study offers insight into how these codes are negotiated by pastors, staff, and congregational leaders through processes described as code jumping, compartmentalizing, and trumping. Finally, this study advances practical understandings of the role that interaction in formal meetings (i.e., a situated activity) has in shaping the identities of pastors and non-pastors. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Presents the text of the message delivered during the seventh international consultation of united and uniting churches held in Driebergen, Netherlands from September 11, 2002 to September 19, 2002. Theme of the meeting; Central issues of the consultation; Questions and recommendations to specific constituencies.

Discusses the `Epiphany West,' the name given to a conference held annually at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific and sponsored by the seminary's Center for Anglican Learning and Life. Several purposes of the conference; Topic chosen for the conference.

This article poses the question of whether German Protestant Church Meeting and pilgrimage relate to each other and how. Characteristics of pilgrimages as they developed in pre-Reformation times is the longing for an assurance of salvation. Pilgrimages were undertaken as acts of intercession for miraculous help or as expressions of thanks for dangers survived in what seemed to be the almost apocalyptic circumstances of a transitional era in which the threat to human existence was felt to be particularly acute. The German Protestant Church Meeting was called into being in 1949 under the leadership of R. V. Thadden-Trieglaff as a lay movement to provide an opportunity for coming together, gathering strength, encouragement and ecumenical fellowship. There are similarities and differences of structure and/or content between pilgrimages and Church Meetings. One of them is that people who go to Church Meetings or on pilgrimage, leaving their own locality and community, do so to gather new experiences which they do not believe possible in the same way at home. For most participants in Church Meetings and pilgrimages these are connected with a personal religious attitude. At the time they are linked with many of the impart material questions of everyday private and public life.

Presents brief reports as they relate to ecumenical events. Meeting by the Catholic-Orthodox dialogue in France, May 24th, 1996; Inauguration of a foundation in London, England, on June 14th, 1996, to preserve the treasures of Saint Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai; Enthronement of Archbishop Spyridon of America at Holy Trinity Creek Orthodox Cathedral, New York, September 21st, 1996.

Presents the text of the speech given by the Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, chairman of the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, at the sixth World Russian People's Council held in Moscow, Russia on December 13, 2001. Theme of the council; Discussion on Russian civilization.

Presents a report on a story from the book 'Acts' which was presented in 1984 in the first meeting of the standing commission of Faith and Order. Description of the story; Message of god in the story.