Hi,
This is the Rev. Malcolm G. Smith. I will be facilitating the first plenary session at the
General Church Assembly in June 2024.
The focus of this session at the assembly will be going up the mountain, the ascent to connect with the Lord our God, with the worshiping, repenting, reading and praying that it entails. The focus of the second plenary will be the descent down the mountain, the central calling to put our faith into practice and live according to spiritual principles.
In the first plenary I want us to hear from people around the New Church about what connecting to the Lord means to them. That's what this survey is for. It's a long survey. Please only respond to the questions that speak to you. After you fill out the survey, I might contact you to ask you follow up questions or to record a conversation with you. My hope is that the assembly session will be a combination of written responses, recorded video interviews, and people speaking live about what connecting with the Lord means to them.
It can be tricky to talk about our relationship with the Lord with other people. We can feel like we are showing off or like we can't be honest and instead have to provide some version of "the right" answer. I'm hoping that the anonymity of a form will give you the chance to write candidly about the joys and challenges that you've experienced in your relationship with the Lord. If I would like to include something that you've written in the presentation, I'll check with you first and you can let me know whether to put your name on it or share it anonymously.
There are 3 sections to this survey: (1) Intro & Contact Info, (2) General Questions About Connecting With the Lord, (3) Responses to Passages & Doctrinal Concepts. I need some basic info in the first section and then you really can just skim through the other two sections and see what you feel like responding to.
I will only be able to use a small fraction of what I receive. I hope that it will be a useful and enriching process for you to fill out this survey, even if I don't end up quoting any of your responses directly in the presentation.
Thanks for your time!
- Malcolm