Brother G sent two emails to Elder Ramirez on behalf of the Group on Friday, May 8, 2009. The first contained the Group’s questions regarding the proposed meeting on May 19 and the second explained the major issues the Group took with the minutes Elder Ramirez had prepared of the previous meeting. Our corrected minutes were attached to the second message. The two messages and the attached minutes had a common problem—all three used the word “plaintive” where “plaintiff” should have been used. Brother G noticed this mistake after sending the messages, corrected it, and resent the second message and attached minutes on Monday, May 11. In doing so he hoped to avoid a repetition of the earlier situation in which Elder Ramirez chose to repeat our words with spelling errors intact until we made a point of correcting them. Unfortunately, when he asked Elder Ramirez to ignore the message with the wrong word he mistakenly referred to it as the first message he had sent on May 8, which caused some confusion later on as to which message was to be ignored.
Included below are the first message sent on May 8 and the corrected version of the second message which was sent on May 11. Because of their length the Group’s version of the previous meeting’s minutes will be included in the next chapter of the Epic.
“Dear Jorge:
“Your phone call caught me off guard when you proposed a May 19, 2009 meeting. We all had agreed that the next step would be the Conference Executive Committee Meeting. It was equally surprising to the members of the Takoma Park Church Plaintive Leadership members.
“You stated that it was necessary for members of both sides of the issues plus Elder Miller and two members of the Conference Executive Committee to be present. You had also suggested that procedure would be the topic of discussion. Why the presence of two members of the Executive Committee? They know nothing of our presentation and perhaps nothing of Pastor DeSilva’s as well. Thus to review the information from both sides for the edification of the two Executive members while the other members of the Executive Committee are not present is puzzling, being the objective of the meeting on the 19th is one of procedure. We sincerely question the need to have an additional meeting before our appearance on the May 28th Executive Meeting. We, therefore, request a detailed agenda for the May 19th meeting and also request why two Executive Committee members are to be present.
“Our group is requesting that all future communications be written and not oral between us to avoid any future misunderstanding. Also, I, as the liaison between you and members of the Takoma Park Plaintive Leadership members, will better convey your thoughts accurately than I otherwise could do orally.
“Sincerely,
“[Brother G]”
“Dear Jorge,
“On Friday I sent you an email regarding the corrected Minutes. Please disregard that email and its attachments. I am now sending you a CORRECTED copy. Please disregard the first letter sent to you dated May 8.
“Attached are the corrected minutes.
“There are several items which we have corrected in harmony with what took place. There are at least two instances where we wish to clarify our standing as the plaintiff part of the Takoma Park leadership. It is not Pastor DeSilva and Takoma Park Leadership vs 'a small group.' Please note that personnel from the Takoma Park Church Leadership and other general members are both members of what we are designating 'plaintiff leadership' vs 'defendant leadership.' For example: [Brother G] is part of Takoma Park Church Leadership. In reality the entire church is divided. It is not a small group vs church leadership. Today most of the membership no longer attends.
“The other notable item to which we take exception is found in the last two paragraphs of the minutes stating that there was an agreement that the final resolution in this matter is with the Conference Executive Committee. This is incorrect. I had stated that the Union would then become involved, if this issue were not resolved. My comment was based on remarks made by Elder Miller in a letter dated June 17, 2008 to [Elder B] that if we were not satisfied, this issue would go on to the Union. Please see Elder Miller’s attached letter.
“In the corrected minutes attached file I have underlined words to be added and used strikethrough for words to be removed.
“Sincerely,
“[Brother G]”
Next: Minutes, Version 2
Religious
Monday, February 15, 2010
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1 comment:
So how is TP fairing? Has the church divided or split yet? Has Pastor DeSilva managed to ruin the church to such a point it must be sold for parts and sent to the scrap heap?
You have gone to great lengths to prove your points. I suspect hours and hours have gone into studying the manual, taking notes at meetings, and then dialoguing about them on your various "epics". You have dissected every letter sent from the conference, looking for points of contention that you can base your arguments on. And you have an answer for everything, including when you are attacked for being in the wrong position, which you declare to be right.
How much time do you folks spend in prayer, Bible study, evangelism and support of your Pastor? Do you spend the same amount of time, or more, than you do on your blog? Or is it less?
I believe it's less. Why? Because as 1 John 3 (the entire chapter) points out, to love your brother and sister as Christ loves you is to be as God desires. It's the true test of a disciple, a true test of those who claim to be Christians. I haven't seen love in any of these entries. I have seen dissension, finger pointing, legalistic attitudes, and be-damned attitudes to those you disagree with.
Is everyone in the right? No. Has Pastor DeSilva made mistakes? Has the conference at times made mistakes? Most likely yes. But love is the rule of the day, the mark of a Christian, and the hallmark of any church that claims to serve God. If you truly spent more time in God's Word, and in prayer, than you did on this blog, I suspect the blog would cease to exist.
Why?
Because love would work things out and look for the best in every situation. Love for your brother would allow you to patiently talk behind the scenes rather than seeking to place DeSilva, and the Conference officials in a bad light. Love is patient, kind, humble, gentle and long-suffering. Something this blog is not. Which speaks volumes about the writer, whether you intended it to or not.
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