General Synod
I
have been chosen as a delegate for the Illinois Conference at General Synod
this summer. My inner church geek is squealing. I won’t have to spend five days
glued to my computer watching the live stream and missing some of the important
action. I get to actually be there and experience the powerful speakers and be
moved by the worship services. I get to connect with old friends from other
conferences and meet new people. But the part I am truly excited about is
getting my inner church geek on by arguing and debating church resolutions. I
know, who wouldn’t want to sit through the longest church annual meeting, ever.
The
last time I went to General Synod I was a teenager. It was a very big year in
the United Church of Christ. I was excited to be arguing for Peace. It was the
year the church debated and passed the resolution declaring us a Just Peace
church. I have to tell you I was very disappointed, because I wanted a
resolution that would allow us to be conscientious objectors, instead we got a
compromised resolution that said we’re for peace, but sometimes a war is just
and we need to fight it. For my teenage self (lets face it, my adult self as
well), this was very disappointing. At the time I was scared of the rhetoric
flying around where our President often spoke of nuking the Soviet Union and funneling
weapons to so many Central America countries. I wanted to be proud to be part of a Peace
church like the Mennonites, but that isn’t what I got. I instead learned about
compromise and the art of losing graciously.
The
United Church of Christ voted to be Open and Affirming, we as a national body
decided that God’s love is big, bigger than we like to think. God doesn’t
discriminate against LGBT people and neither does the church. So I want you to
think about that, when I was a teenager, I learned God’s love includes
everyone. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t know LGBT people as pastor’s,
leaders, and friends. And even though the local church could not adopt this
policy for themselves, my beloved church, the United Church of Christ was the
first to say truly, all are welcome. That same year they voted to have a
resolution about the inclusion of people with disabilities, to make our church
accessible to all. Which included the same pastors, one from here in Illinois
who fought for the American with Disabilities Act to be passed in the US
congress and signed into law by President Bush. We continued this theme of
welcome to speak out for Pacific Islanders, for homeless youth, for sanctuary
for refugees from Central America and South Africa, for human rights violations
in Romania and Czechoslovakia.
We
also talked about toxic waste and the way it is located in poor and minority
communities. We worried about farm workers and began a grape boycott. We
worried about the Family farms that were going under. We started a partnership
with the Disciples of Christ. We joined on to an Ecumenical statement on
Communion and Baptism. We worried about the attacks on Reproductive Health Care
facilities. We worked on moving the National Offices from New York. We worked
on divesting funds from South Africa in protest against apartheid. The
Christmas Fund became an All Church Offering. There was so much that happened
that year, I barely scratched the surface.
So,
I am excited to go this year and get my inner church geek on. Although none of
the resolutions this year compare to 1985. I will have to study and research
issues of private prisons, on ecumenical partnerships with the Iglesia
Evangelica Unida of Puerto Rico, Our Commitment to Interreligious relations, of
forced global migration, of the use of Styrofoam, about a listening campaign
for future church action, on energy innovation, denouncing acts of violence and
hatred, creating a mental health network, creating a Latinx ministries, supporting
survivors of rape and incest, on nuclear war, how to make our language match
our beliefs, on climate justice, on following Jesus, protecting immigrant
children, on opioid addiction, on creating a new conference.
I
left the one I have to work on for last, because only a church geek can
appreciate it. Ok, I wish I had gotten one of the exciting resolutions that fit
with my theology and stirs my heart. Nope, I got placed on the resolution
committee about the local church’s role in our denomination and the covenantal
relationship to the larger church. I haven’t researched it yet or figured out
what the questions they are trying to solve is. I will struggle with what they
are saying and work to make two resolutions into one and then figure out if I
agree or disagree with the intent.
I ask you to pray for me and my beloved United
Church of Christ, to help us speak with passion and integrity, to reflect on
where we come from and the people and churches we represent, and to discern the
movement of the Holy Spirit and God’s will for us.
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