Think about your church.
Think it is representative of the United Church of Christ?
Think again!
No matter how diverse your congregation – racially, theologically, politically, socially, gender- and sexual orientation- or age-wise, or any other way – it is unlikely it is as diverse as the UCC as a whole. And this beautiful “vast array” [Genesis 2:1, NIV] is never more apparent than at General Synod.
The theme of GS28 is “Imagine What’s Possible.” It will be a time for me to stretch my mind, heart and soul from thinking about what is to imagining what is possible for my local church, the UCC and the world.
Won’t you join me?
Day 2: Big/Small
General Synod is big/ immense/ vast/ grand. It is church super-sized: a big cavernous meeting space with a big stage, and big screens which make the speakers bigger-than-life.
And this big cavern is filled with countless (i.e., in the thousands!) people, lay and clergy, who have in common their faith in God, their call to serve Christ, their dedication to the United Church of Christ, and their willingness to spend five days over the Fourth of July in the heat and humidity of Tampa (OK, there is A/C indoors) being part of something that is bigger – way bigger – than the local church.
And the challenge I feel today is imagining how I might take this big-scale experience and replicate it in the small church I serve – that everyone there (big and small) might have the same sense of faith, calling, dedication, and willingness to serve.
Day 3: Tech/Touch
General Synod affords clergy and lay people from United Church of Christ congregations across the country the opportunity to come together face-to-face – what a concept in our high-tech world of cyber relationships!
Yesterday (Saturday) I attended a workshop on using technology in a church setting. The leader’s premise was that the message does not change, only the way it is communicated. Therefore, in the 21st century, Facebook and Twitter can be effective ways to spread the Good News of Gospel. Indeed, they are the best (perhaps only?) ways to reach the younger generation, which considers email impossibly old-fashioned. I see this in my 14-year-old son who doesn’t have an email address and wouldn’t dream of actually calling a person – including his own mother -- on the phone; he uses his cell strictly for texting.
Then this morning I participated in a committee meeting in which we debated the possibility of holding General Synod less frequently – every three to four years rather than biennially. There are solid pragmatic reasons to consider this proposal – costs are rising exponentially; from a purely financial perspective, a triennial or quadrennial Synod makes sense. One former Conference Minister noted that most delegates are age 50+ -- the last generation that thinks the only way to communicate is face-to-face.
But what is lost when face-to-face communications are replaced by technology? In the 80s, John Naisbitt came out with a book entitled Megatrends in which he noted (even back then) that we can become too high tech at the expense of “high touch” aspects of life such as hope, love, forgiveness, and spiritually.
Yes, there is much we can do technologically. And yet… and yet… tactile communication still has a place in human relationships and also in UCC conventions, where community, collegiality, connectionality and a sense of family are treasured.
Ours is an incarnational faith. Gathering together in person is the very essence of church. Indeed, it is a long and cherished tradition of our congregational polity that we are gathered by the Holy Spirit in order to be guided by the Holy Spirit. Can such God-guided discernment take place electronically? I think not.
Day 4: Abstract/Reality
It is the Fourth of July, Independence Day. And while many Americans are celebrating our nation’s democracy by enjoying such traditions as fireworks and barbecues, today I join almost a thousand other GS delegates in participating in a democratic process.
Democracy in the abstract is exhilarating – freedom is a gift; the right to vote cherished; the ability to worship and speak and live as we so choose beloved aspects of our country.
But today, the democratic process has, in the reality, been…. tedious and tiring; the debate sometimes contentious and uncomfortable; the amendments and appeals and procedures sometimes confusing. Such is the hard work of a democratic system.
And in an ironic twist on this Fourth of July, our electronic voting system has encountered a number of glitches. (Back to holding up our delegate cards.)
While our country is built on a democratic framework, I would not call the UCC a “democracy.” Indeed, as I say at the beginning of every congregational meeting at the local church I serve, we are to vote – gathered and guided by the Holy Spirit – not our will, but what we discern to be God’s will.
In the votes Synod takes tonight and tomorrow, may the Holy Spirit who has gathered us continue to guide us in our work, our discernment, and our decision-making.
