Day One - Let it Shine!

After arriving at the civic center and being greeted by a wide array of visitor and information booths I made my way to the hearing entitled "Understanding Our Church's Wider Mission (OCWM) and Funding of the National Offices. This provided me with information that was new as well as old, but it combined it all into a format that was comprehensible and provided us with ways to relay the information when we returned home to our church and churches in our area. There were many different hearings available to visitors and delegates alike, others included Resolutions related to Immigration, resolution on changing the composition of the General Synod, and General Synod 101: A Crash Course on General Synod. Following the hearings I visited the exhibition center which has a variety of booths set up representing everything from seminaries to our "God is Still Speaking" campaign, and a service that helps pastors relocate from church to church. It's a fascinating display and I was only able to scratch the surface so I hope to have many more opportunities to revisit.

Next, the first plenary began. It began with a celebratory opening, where our general synod 'answer guy' led us through a fascinating timeline that highlighted who the UCC is, where we've been and what we've done over the past 50 years. It was amazing to see. It instilled a sense of pride and focused all of us on doing God's work through our united church.

We also had a dramatic presentation of the more recent history of the UCC where a jaded reporter is assigned to cover the story of the UCC who in his mind is just a church - "where can the story be here?" he asks. While following the comma to Cleveland (our central offices) and to GS25 and finally GS26 he learns that the UCC is so much more than 'just a church'. The story is available in the format of a graphic novel. If you haven't seen it yet I suggest you take the time to pick it up and have a look. It's funny and moving and inspiring all at the same time.

Then we had a lot of business to cover. We had the report of the Credentials Committee, a quorum was declared, they announced the tellers, we adopted the general synod agenda and the standing rules, we designated groups that were granted voice without vote for various reasons. We accepted the report from the executive committee, then the Nominating Committee submitted it's report and we sent it back to the nominating committee because it did not fulfill the requirements previously stipulated. There were no further nominations from the floor. Then the committee of reference gave its report, which was accepted. Then, since there was no new business, the Collegium’s gave their report at which point they presented a letter regarding the war in Iraq. They called "for an end to this war (the war in Iraq), an end to our reliance on violence as the first rather than the last resort, an end to the arrogant unilateralism of preemptive war. There was then a motion made by the Massachusetts Conference that the GS26 add their name in support of the letter. This caused the most discussion of the day. In my opinion the issue was brought up in an underhanded and conniving way. It is made painfully clear that all resolutions that are handled at synod have to be submitted before January and then further issues that cannot be predicted, and are time sensitive, still have to be turned in well before synod. This issue was a complete surprise. As it says in the letter the war has been going on for 5 years so there was no reason that this issue could not have been submitted in the form of a resolution. Despite this fact, the majority voted in favor of supporting the letter. I encourage you to decide for yourself how you feel about the letter. It is posted at http://ga3.org/campaign/iraq_petition, Sign it if you're in support, and speak out if you aren't.

The evening session began with a beautiful and powerful worship service. The Rev. Da Vita McCallister delivered the message. She set the mood by giving us our options. She said that we could show our support and enthusiasm by waving our hands as they do in the deaf community to show applause, by clapping our hands, by saying Amen or Alleluia, or simply by staying silent (since we are in the UCC after all and everyone needs an option that suits them she said). Speaking not only as a reverend but also as the Ally and Advocate for youth and young adults she encouraged everyone in the audience to befriend a youth, don't just talk to them but really get to know them and don't just get to know them, but become their ally and their advocate. She highlighted the importance of youth and young adults to the future of our church. She praised the over 1,00 youth who are giving up a week of their summer camps not to go to soccer camp or football camp, not to be working or hanging out with friends at the pool but to be here to celebrate their church. The turn out is impressive indeed, and as a youth myself I couldn't help but feel empowered by her words. I feel that if everyone had her attitude and her enthusiasm this world would be a much better place.
The plenary began as all sessions will begin with a 'speak out' where people have the opportunity to speak for up to one minute on any issue not related to synod business. Then our honored guests were introduced, we celebrated the life and ministry of Scott Libby, and then we recognized our overseas partners, guests and missionaries. Then we were introduced to our ecumenical delegates and partners. Then there was a high energy celebration of the new churched since the last synod, as well as a fabulous recognition of all the youth that made it to synod this year. There was an informative DVD about UCC and education entitled A Place of Our Own. Then they got us ready for Synod in the City, and then announcements, and then we recessed for the night.

It was a great kick off and our 50th anniversary is in full swing. I encourage all of you to stay tuned online with the live streaming and keep checking the blog and the UCC site to stay informed and join us in the celebration.