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Report from the 24th
General Synod of the United Church of Christ
Gracie Allen once said, “Never put a period where God put a comma.”
From this came the idea for the Synod logo, an artist’s rendition of a
“comma” that depicted God’s compassionate care for humanity and the world.
The Synod theme was “God is still speaking.” |
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| The United Church of Christ meets bi-annually, meeting
2003
in July at the Minneapolis convention center. There were 600 delegates
(elected by conferences), and over 2000 visitors, including the two of us.
There was a rich diversity in attendees with much warmth and friendliness
among us all. Carla Grundy said that she and Chris always attend the
Synods, because coming to them reminds them of why they are in the UCC. We
also saw Peter Lucky, our former associate minister, and enjoyed several
conversations with him. |
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The worship services were wonderful, pulling on the
best people and ideas throughout the UCC. We had a rich variety in
music, including classical and traditional, contemporary, spiritual,
Hawaiian, etc. Carolyn enjoyed singing in the Synod choir. And of course,
we had outstanding preachers. The Synod keynote speaker was Naim Ateek, a
Christian Palestinian and founder and President of the Sabeel Ecumenical
Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem, which works for peace and justice
for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. |
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The Synod passed over 25 resolutions. The
resolutions all went first to a committee hearing where anyone, including
visitors, was able to speak on the topic of the resolution. The committee
then thoughtfully and thoroughly discussed the resolution, and voted to
recommend approval, approval with modification, or that it be not
approved. Both of us were impressed with the quality and integrity of the
committee process. Since the committees were very balanced, in almost all
instances, the full Synod went along with the committee recommendation. |
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| In addition to our resolution on
Alternative Voice to Christian
Zionism, there were a number of other resolutions that covered a range of issues:
budget and by-laws, a new alliance with a liberal group of Baptist
churches, positions on globalization, as well as our church’s resolution
on An Alternative Voice to Christian Zionism, etc. In one resolution, the
Synod urged the Boy Scouts of America to change their policy banning gay
youth form membership. The delegates adopted a resolution affirming a
partnership in mission and ministry with the 60,000 member Alliance of
Baptists. Three congregations in Georgia and Virginia are now affiliated
with both the Alliance and the UCC, and others are expected to apply for
dual affiliation in the future. The Synod gave overwhelming approval to a
pronouncement calling for a more just, humane direction to worldwide
economics. The pronouncement acknowledges that the debate around the world
is not about whether globalization should take place, but how it will
happen. Economic globalization could work for good or ill. It could
benefit all people or just a few. Members of the Synod passed a resolution
of support to transgender persons, calling for an end to violence and
re-affirming their role in church and society. Another resolution had to
do with organ donation, encouraging UCC members to become organ, tissue,
blood and bone marrow donors as an expression of Christian ministry,
generosity, stewardship and love. And there was a resolution on
anti-racism and drugs. This resolution urged the federal government to
shift emphasis from law enforcement to a policy that treats drug use as a
health problem, to eliminate racial disparities in drug laws, and to
increase the accessibility and affordability of drug treatment. If you
would like to see all of the resolutions that were presented, along with
the ultimate action, go to the UCC web site. |
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There were some “issues” with which the Synod wrestled.
One was the national budget “crises,” due to a drop in pledges by the
local churches to Our Churches Wider Mission (OCWM). One of the suggested
measures to reduce expenses was to change from a two year cycle for the
Synod to a four year cycle. However the full Synod voted to stay on a two
year cycle, feeling that the communication was essential to the nature of
the UCC. There were also several proposed resolutions sponsored by some
conservative groups in the UCC. The result of these resolutions would have
been to roll back some of the previous stances taken by the UCC, and these
resolutions were defeated. Other resolutions were “tabled.” |
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In addition to the business sessions, there were
other activities. One afternoon was devoted to going into the
Minneapolis community and working on community projects. Another
afternoon was devoted to workshops covering such diverse topics as land
mines, evangelism, the midlife spiritual journey, eco-justice, and human
sexuality education in the faith community! And of course, as with any
large convention, there were many exhibits on ministries, seminaries, and
useful resources for churches. |
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Overall, being a part of the Synod was a wonderful experience, and we would
recommend that any serious UCC’er consider going to the next Synod to be held in
Atlanta, Georgia, in 2005!
Gene & Carolyn Wollaston
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