As the audience began to settle into their seats in the auditorium at 5300 Main, a row of automatic shades quietly rolled down over the rear windows. Darkness descended, and with it the mood: Smiles were tight, greetings perfunctory.
"I think we're about ready," said moderator Randy Butler, standing on the floor front and center behind two concentric circles of chairs. They were set up for anyone wishing to speak, he explained, and when all were done a new group would come down and take their place. There would be civility and order, he emphasized. But that was a given. To disagree without being disagreeable was a virtue so important it was enshrined in the church rulebook.
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