As noted in a previous post, annual Community of Christ reunions in their earliest incarnations resembled the camp meetings familiar to so many Protestants in the early 19^th century. Indeed, the history of reunions parallels the evolution of the camp meeting among American evangelical Protestants. For instance, early 19^th century Methodist-style camp meetings evolved from tent meetings that varied from place to place to settled meeting grounds where people camped during the summer and engaged in recreation beyond simply prayer and preaching. Communities like Ocean Grove, New Jersey grew out of these Methodist campgrounds—not unlike some Community of Christ reunion grounds like Onset, Massachusetts (founded in the late 1920s) that have people living there year round. Comparisons could go on and on. For instance, recreation at reunions parallels changing attitudes towards sports and leisure among North Americans and Europeans at the turn of the twentieth century.

Yet, comparison of reunion grounds to camp meeting grounds and American recreational practices only gets us so far for understanding this annual Community of Christ ritual. Community of Christ reunions fulfill needs created by classic Community of Christ theology. Reunions in the 19^th century and beyond helped fulfill the desire by Community of Christ members to “gather to Zion”—a project that focused so much early-twentieth and mid-twentieth century church activity. But Zion at reunion grounds was different than the planned communities of the early Latter Day Saints of the 1830s (and the Community of Christ attempts to resurrect centralized communities in the 1920s). Rather than a centralized Zion in Independence, Missouri, Zion was diffused across the landscape of North America, and later in Australia, England, and Tahiti.  It is no coincidence that there are reunion grounds named Tiona Park (Tahitian for Zion) in Australia, Ziontario in Ontario, Canada, and Sionito in Texas. Beyond spatially enacting a gathering to Zion, reunions became a place where people could also experientially encounter “living” in Zion. For instance, I have heard people regularly say that a week at reunion was like spending a week in Zion.  Reunions were a way for Community of Christ people to live in the “already” and “not yet” dimension of being part of Jesus’ kingdom. And they continue to do that. Community of Christ members see these places as sacred spaces, not simply campgrounds. Reunion grounds are embedded in the personal spiritual goegraphy that many Community of Christ members use to navigate their worlds. Any church administrator soon finds this out if they try to sell a reunion ground.

What are your favorite memories of reunions? How do you describe your own experience of at a reunion? Complete the metaphor, “A week at reunion is like . . .”

I reached Kirtland the second day of the reunion and found that I had been elected to preside . . . Some 25 or 30 tents were on the ground just back of the temple, and a great many people had taken rooms in the hotel and private houses. . . . Our meeting passed off very pleasantly and profitably. The meetings were spiritual and the solemn and sacred atmosphere of the temple seemed to influence the minds of those who were present. A great many outsiders were present and there were in all ten baptisms. Some forty or fifty of the Canadian Saints were there and enjoyed themselves immensely.” [Elbert A. Smith, Letter to Joseph Smith, September 7, 1911, Lynn Smiths’ Papers, Elbert and Clara Smith Collection, P78-2, f158, Community of Christ Library-Archives, Independence, Missouri.]

While Kirtland Temple was already hallowed ground for these Community of Christ members, the annual reunions held there added a new dimension to the evolving Community of Christ sense of sacred space. There’s a lot to reflect on here–such as how meeting in particular places can enact our understandings of things sacred. However, such reflection gets way ahead of ourselves. Let’s first think about the specific history of reunions before considering their social, theological, or wider historical relationship to Christianity in the United States America (reflections which I will post in a follow-up entry).

Community of Christ members started reunions in 1883 in response to the desire of many members to meet more than once a year (at the time, what we would call “world conference” met once a year). The first RLDS reunion met in a rural setting near Council Bluffs, Iowa, for a week long gathering. Families slept in tents and cooked for themselves. Firewood was provided along with hay for horses. Preaching and prayer meetings lasted all day, from nine a.m. to nine p.m. Attendance astounded even the most optimistic.  After this first “reunion” experience, church members wanted to meet again the next year. Soon, reunions spread from coast to coast among RLDS members. Early meetings were often referred to as “grove meetings” as well as the more familiar term, “reunion.” (I think the term “grove meetings” refers to the location of the events, not a reference to Joseph Smith’s “First Vision,” though it is tempting to try to make some connection.) Organized at a local level, reunions featured guest ministry provided by missionaries or traveling elders and apostles. By the 1890s, permanent reunion grounds were being bought in places like Maine, California, and Iowa.

If any of this sounds a lot like a nineteenth-century camp meeting familiar to so many Americans, it’s because reunions in many ways form our counterpart to this venerable Evangelical institution. My next post will reflect on the reunion as sacred space and compare it to evangelical camp meetings and later Protestant church camps and communities. For now, though, I’d like feedback on what you have experienced at reunions. What has changed over the years? What differences have you noted from one reunion to the next? Why are reunions important to you?