Synod Reflections from the K-O Delegation

Kansas-Oklahoma Conference

United Church of Christ

This Is Our Moment - UCC General Synod 2013

United Church of Christ to become first U.S. denomination to move toward divestment from fossil fuel companies.

Click here to

Immigration Rally

Marriage Equality Rally

David Orr, well-known author, professor, and environmental advocate, speaks to General Synod on the need to continue environmental activism.



Rev. Quinn Caldwell

Rev. Martin Copenhaver Sermon on Sunday, June 30, 2013

Rev. Dr. Jo Hudson July 2, 2013

REFLECTIONS ON

GENERAL SYNOD 29

Reflections of Synod

by Mark Van Dorn

In-Coming President of

K-O Conference Council

I grew up in the era of the Mama's and the Papa's and their "California Dreamin" and the Beach Boys and their "Surfin'Safari" and "California Girls". Between these youthful fantasies and my inquiring mind, I had a preconceived notion of California and its people.

I must say that those expectations were met and exceeded; the weather couldn't have been better, the people more friendly, and the atmosphere more enjoyable. The California Girls and Boys were plenty fine too! Except for the ever present curiosity about what an earthquake might feel like, I must say the California welcome I enjoyed, from beginning to end, was wonderful.

I also came to Synod with my church as the baseline of my United Church of Christ experience. Being new to the church and denomination (I am only 5 years involved) my beloved Church of the Open Arms has served as my window into our community of faith. I was not prepared for the worship experiences. The first night I sat there in tears, tears of joy mind you, at what our church was and how it was making me feel. It wasn't better than my Sunday mornings, just different. After I settled in to the rhythm, I realized how misplaced my wonder and surprise were. After all, we are the church of inclusion and extravagance! Why can't that be in worship and style and music and community and not just welcome? The enormity of the lesson for me, my faith walk and indeed my heart was earthshaking; I didn't need an earthquake - the Holy Spirit had taken care of that.

The business of the Synod was powerful too. The resolution on divesting from fossil fuel companies and the discussion around that was sincere, educated and deliberate. These people were working hard to make a difference. The work that our church...OUR CHURCH... did with the Hershey's Companies on sustainable and ethical cocoa gathering for their Bliss line of chocolates is amazing and something we should all be proud of. It took over 7 years of education, reasonable talks, and gentle prodding. I learned when you are on the right side of an issue, you will eventually win. The truth, in fact, does set you free. The day of the vote, we became the first mainline church to vote to begin the process of divesting our investments from fossil fuel companies. The Rev. Desmond Tutu left Nelson Mandela's bedside to come out and tweet us congratulations on our decision. Amazing !

I was part of the committee that held hearings on the resolution to stand in the way of the eroding of Women's Rights. I was awe struck at the passion, care and Christ likeness of those who spoke not just for the "hot button" women's issue but for the EQUALITY of women and men and that when equality truly occurs those hot button issues will cease to be.

The passion for just, fair, reasonable, and loving immigration reform was palatable. My dear friends, Rev. Josh Longbottom, Lizette Merchan Pinilla and Rev. Matt Perkins all participated in a march through Long Beach to bring awareness to the issue. The evening news that night said there hadn't been that much passion and activism in Long Beach in years.

And finally, for me at least, the question of Marriage Equality and our churches long standing belief that it is God's intention that all His children shall be free and equal. I was standing in the middle of Oklahoma City's Will Rogers World Airport leaving for California when the DOMA ruling came down from SCOTUS. When I heard it, I forgot where I was and jumped for joy and yelled with happiness. Well that must have been quite a sight; I am sure, as I do not appear to be a jumper or a screamer! Then, if that wasn't enough, I started to cry, really to bawl. I was so overcome with joy that I lost control of my emotions. There was no one to hug. My partner of 28 years was not there and I truly felt like I was a little Blue man in the middle of a very Red airport with no one willing to share my joy. So then, to come to California, to be a part of a church that won that day just like I had, and to participate in a rally for Marriage Equality at the very time that a California judge threw out Prop 8 and Californian's were once again allowed to marry whomever they loved, to witness the first ever wedding much less same sex wedding at a Synod, to simply be able to claim this community as mine and to know that I am loved, respected, and cared for as a gay man in love with the person God created for me to spend eternity with was just overwhelming.

Synod 29 was an experience I will never again know. Even if I travel to other synods, which I plan to do, nothing will ever compare to my first one. I saw the Holy Spirit at work, I saw people's lives changed, I saw people be in community even when they disagreed, I saw serious minds and hearts working on serious problems, and I saw myself transformed as God's Vision was shared. We can be very proud of whom we are. And we need to be ever vigilant as we move in extravagance and inclusion sharing the love of Jesus.

Thank you for the opportunity you gave me to serve. God's not done yet!

The Whole World was Watching

by Rev. Joshua Longbottom

Despite being involved in the UCC all through high school, college, seminary and now, as a pastor of seven plus years, I have never been to a full Synod before. This time I was honored to be invited as a delegate of the K-O Conference.

The pace of Synod is break-neck. The decisions we make are very important. The per-diem we receive, almost adequate! I can't wait to do it again in two-years!

This year we debated a resolution to divest from fossil fuel companies. I was impressed by the collegial behavior of constituents on both sides of the issue. In the end, what was passed was less than what I hoped for but enough to make the statement we need.

I am proud of our church.

I am proud of our democratic polity.

I am proud of the decisions that we reach together.

And I could not have been more proud than when I heard that two hours after we passed a resolution moving us toward divestment, Desmond Tutu had tweeted back to the Synod his support for our actions.

All of the delegates heard this news while we were still sitting in the very meeting where we took this action. It really felt like the whole world was watching!

A view from the Pillion

by Elaine Epps:

It is for real! Climate change is here as carbon in the atmosphere climbs at a rapid rate. Dr. David W. Orr had a dynamic message for everyone to heed. 1896 it was 290 parts per million and the present level is 400+ parts per million.

So it is time to do more walking, use less electricity. Time to support other energy sources: wind, sun, water. The goal of the United Church of Christ will be "net zero" by 2030. We need to be serious about this and encourage others.

A General Synod Junkie

by Gordon Epps:

As a visitor to Synod, I appreciated the great work both before Synod and during of our Conference leader, Edith Guffey. There were two things besides Kaitlyn Lemley and Elaine Epps that I looked forward to at General Synod 29.

One was the exhibit hall were the various vendors were giving out dark chocolate.

The other was the theological reflections with Rev. Quinn Caldwell and Rev. Nokoshina Brock which they gave near the close of each plenary session.

It was one of those I don't want to miss events for me. Being a General Synod junkie I look forward to Cleveland in 2015.

Bless your hearts,

Gordon

Transformative

by Rev. Matt Perkins

There are very few events that make a significant change in a person's life. I experienced one such event at The 29^th General Synod of The United Church of Christ this last week in Long Beach, California. To say that it was amazing would be foolish. To say that it was "great" would not work, either. Even the best of writers could not describe it adequately.

For me, my best attempt would be that Synod was "transformative," and even that is a poor job.

I guess I had best begin with the events of the week. First, the best part of the week was worshipping with 4000 of my closest friends. All of those gathered were UCC, and we sang, danced, and prayed our time away. We heard great preachers like The Rev. Dr. Jo Hudson, Pastor Julian Deshazier, and The Rev. Martin Copenhaver. Our music was rap, rock, folk and classical. Our worship included stunning dances from Samoa, and prayer and movement from California. We celebrated the ministry of Rev. Bill Johnson, the first openly gay pastor in the UCC, ordained in 1972.

The action we took on issues was profound and powerful. We became the first denomination to encourage divestment in fossil fuel companies. We called for a repudiation of The Doctrine of Discovery, and we declared our support for comprehensive immigration reform. I even took part in a rally and march for immigration reform! We wrestled with issues of seminary debt, and redrawing of Conference boundaries. We came out against mountaintop coal removal and called for a stop to bullying.

I feel called to respond to these issues. This fall, each of the resolutions will be covered in special sessions of Circle of Hope. I know our denomination, The United Church of Christ, will to lead on an amazing range of issues.

Yours in Christ,

The United Church of Christ is stepping up efforts to ensure that there is a welcoming UCC community of faith, accessible to all, no matter where you live, no matter where you are on life's journey.

To reach that ambitious goal, the denomination is launched a $1-million-dollar capital campaign at General Synod at Testimony!, an afternoon gala in support of the UCC's New & Renewing Church Fund.

A Visitor's Reflections on General Synod 29

by Dennis Ureche

St. Peter's UCC

Inman, Kansas

General Synod 29 was my fourth Synod as a visitor (I have yet to be a delegate). Even though I have been to three previous Synods I was still amazed at the diversity that can be found within the UCC. I lost track of how many different languages that I heard during worship services, plenary sessions and just in general around the convention center. I was reminded of what was experienced by those present at the founding of the church on Pentecost. This diversity that we have in the UCC is something that the vast majority of our members are not exposed to in our local churches. I am hoping that for General Synod 30 that I can get a few more of our members to attend so they can see what I mean when I talk about the great diversity we have in the UCC.

I know that we were asked to keep our reflections to a short paragraph; however, I want to share with all of you my favorite part of General Synod 29. My favorite part was seeing friends and people I know and don't see except for events like Synod. They all asked me what I was doing and where I was at and it was AWESOME to be able to tell them that I am serving a church (St. Peter's in Inman) that I love

and a church that loves me as well. I have never been in a place in my life before where I could truly tell people that God had called me to this place. I give thanks for that every day and it was AWESOME to be able to share that with others.

Edith, thanks for asking me to share a bit about my experience at General Synod and thank you as well for making me feel a part of the KO Conference delegation even as a visitor.

First Time Visitor

by Shannon Gorres

I attended General Synod 29 as a first time visitor. One of the most powerful experiences for me was worshipping with 3,000 people who, despite differences in ethnicity, class, and even theology, found ways to praise the Spirit together. The Rev. Neichelle R. Guidry Jones' preaching was especially moving as she emphatically reminded us that in times of doubt and stress, "The Spirit's got you covered!"

Dr. David Orr's talk on Climate Destabilization has been rattling around in my head, and now I'm contemplating how our churches should not just be "greening" but also preparing to support each other from increasing natural disasters.

Mostly, I became more and more excited to graduate seminary in a year and serve our communities of faith!

Worship is always AWESOME

By Nancy A. LeDuc

My favorite part of any large gathering of God's children is the worship time. The sounds of thousands singing praises and praying to God is so spiritually fulfilling for me.

This Synod gathering was no exception. Each Worship service was filled with music, interpretive dancing, prayers and great speakers. I can't pick a favorite, they were all inspiring.

Here is a link to the videos of each session. It is worth taking the time to watch them. I have watched Rev. Dr. Jo Hudson's sermon from the closing service on Tuesday, 3 times since returning and I get something more out of it every time.

29th General Synod ~ Long Beach, California, 2013

by Rev. Lizette Merchán Pinilla

"Make the invisible visible and give voice to the voiceless"

http://www.ucc.org/news/maria-hinojosa-urges-synod.html

We, the people from the local church, from our association, from our conference, and from all of our 38 conferences across the United States and Puerto Rico had the chance once again to gather and be the church of the 21st century. Although I am originally from Colombia, you know - South America.

It all starts with a small group of people called the church - an inspired UCC church just like yours or mine, that has a strong desire to advocate for a God-giving cause close to its heart to raise its voice, put in print, and then forward that to the 29th General Synod to be voted on by all of those conference delegates.

From there -- we -the people of the church have the autonomy to implement one or all. The opportunity and the challenge -that is -- is just about to start --for justice for all...There are obviously more steps to the process than these mentioned, but you get the gist of it.

The UCC General Synod experience was a concept totally unbeknownst to me. My journey started more than a decade ago when I joined a local UCC church, learning what it was like to be UCC ... responding to the call and taking action to be part of the change I want to see in our world.

I am humbled and challenged, both at the same time, by the witness my church has brought to my attention in learning what justice for all really means. The journey lies ahead of each one of us: to make the invisible visible.

From the witness of Adrian and Kaitlyn reminding us that none of our ancestors were ever lost (thank you both) ... to the place of women in society, to the environment, to the violence in countries both near and from ours, to supporting our UCC seminarians, to you and me ... the incredible journey continues.

The big screen in the center shows Adrian Maxey speaking in his native tongue and Kaitlyn Lemley interpreting in English during the debate to repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery

So, please take a few minutes to read each one of our resolutions and see where your voice needs to be heard and for it to take action locally, globally within yourself. See yourself making the invisible opportunities become visible, tangible steps toward justice, and make it happen for all.

http://www.ucc.org/synod/resolutions/