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Phil Porter and Valerie Tutson emcee Synod's opening night. |
HARTFORD (07/02/2007) -- The twenty-sixth General Synod of the United Church of Christ celebrated the denomination's fifty years of ministry in the US and around the world in Hartford June 22 through 26. A galaxy of speakers and performers shone indeed: delivering insight, inspiration, and encouragement to an estimated 10,000 delegates and visitors. The Connecticut Conference's 1,000 volunteers made it shine with attention to detail, genuine welcome, and 13,000 dozen cookies.
Synod in the City brought one hundred and fourteen speakers, performers, and workshop sessions to downtown Hartford. Though many had UCC connections, the denomination's ecumenical character showed in the range of backgrounds among the presenters. Hartford's Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Peter A. Rosazza, Rabbi Naamah Kelman, Islamic Society of North America President Ingrid Mattson, the Presbyterian Church in Korea's Chung Hyun Kyung were among a long list of notables from other faith traditions. Journalist Bill Moyers and Harvard Divinity School theologian Peter Gomes both joked at the UCC's bravery in inviting Baptists -- though Moyers is a member of a UCC congregation himself.
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| Moyers |
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| Obama |
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| Esquivia |
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| Thomas |
Moyers' challenging summons to "Drive out the money changers" lifted lifted the near-capacity Civic Center crowd to its feet on Saturday morning. With an intensity that may not be familiar to audiences of his documentaries, Moyers described the threat to American democracy posed by the increasing gulf between wealth and poverty in this country, and the efforts underway to further extend the power of the privileged. Turning to Matthew's account of Jesus' actions in the Jerusalem temple, casting out the money changers, Moyers declared:
"The indignant Jesus who drove the money changers from the temple has been hijacked, and turned from the friend of the dispossessed into a guardian of privilege, a militarist, a hedonist, a lobbyist... sent prowling the halls of Congress in Guccis seeking tax breaks and loopholes for the powerful, costly new weapons systems and punitive public policies for people without political power.
"But to see whose side God is on, just go to the record. It's the widow and the orphan, the stranger and the poor who are blessed in the eyes of God. It is kindness and mercy that prove the power of faith, and it's justice that measures the worth of the state, not empire. Kings are held accountable for how the poor fare under their reign; Presidents, too. Prophets speak to the gap between rich and poor as a reason for God's judgement. Poverty and justice are religious issues, and Jesus moves among the disinherited.
"This is the Jesus who drove the money changers out of the temple of Jerusalem, and it is this Jesus called back to duty who will drive the money changers out of the temples of democracy."
Later in the day, US Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) told the story of how he came to his Christian faith at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, guided by the pastor, the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright. Obama called for a "politics of conscience:" a conscience that would not rest while 37 million Americans are forgotten in their poverty, while 45 million Americans do not have health insurance, while genocide continues in Darfur, while the nation tolerates torture at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere, while the war continues in Iraq, and while immigration needs reform.
Other speakers during the day included theologians Walter Brueggmann, Peter Gomes, and Susan Thistlethwaite; writers and journalists Elaine Brown, John Hockenberry, Kevin Phillips, Leonard Pitts, Jr., and Marilynne Robinson; Steeplejacking authors Sheldon Culver and John Dorhauer; Colombian peace activist Ricardo Esquivia; Olympic gold medalist Billy Mills; and performers Rachel Barton Pine, Phil Porter, Valerie Tutson, Drew Willard, the Children's Orchestra Society, and the Voices of the Pacific Samoan Choir. The First Congregational Church of Southington's Branches contemporary worship band and Gary Miller's Celebration Jazz Band each added their distinctive sounds to the open concerts in Bushnell Park.
The UCC's 50th Birthday Bash closed the day with stories of the denomination's work since the 1957 merger of the four predecessor traditions. Valerie Tutson dramatically told the story of how UCC communications director C. Everett Parker confronted racist and illegal news coverage in the 1960s that deprived southern audiences of information about the civil rights movement. Nobel and Templeton Prize winner Charles Towne, a UCC layman, described the inspirational moment which led to his invention of the laser, and encouraged further work to understand the relationship of science and faith.
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| Dancer spins within laser lights |
A laser light show in Towne's honor celebrated the historic commitments of the United Church of Christ. As a dancer whirled amidst the green beams flashing above the stage, key phrases, written in with laser pinpoints, glowed on the screen:
Synod youth presented a "time capsule," to be captured on video and preserved for the 100th anniversary Synod in 2057. With Scriptural quotes, living sculpture, movement, and personal testimony, they described what it is to be a young person in the UCC of 2007, and offered their prayers for the UCC fifty years to come.
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| Edelman |
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| Medema |
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| Redgrave |
As Synod delegates turned to business on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, they also heard two more major addresses. Both featured musical responses from celebrated singer Ken Medema, who improvised original songs following each address, bringing tears to the speakers and to all present.
Children's Defense Fund President and Founder Marian Wright Edelman delivered a stern, impassioned call for the nation to commit itself to the care of its children. She urged the assembly specifically to advocate for full health care coverage of every child in America. "I cannot bear the fact," she mourned, "that there are children who are dying and suffering every day because this country, unlike every other industrialized nation, does not provide them with the basic health care."
Actress Lynn Redgrave, a member of the First Congregational Church UCC of Kent, Connecticut, offered the moving story of her struggle with breast cancer, and the support she found as, at the same time, she entered that community of faith. With the support of the church's pastor, the Rev. Melinda Keck, and her family, she describes the year of treatment as "one of the greatest years of my life. The people I have met -- getting to know Melinda; the members of the club we didn't want to join, the cancer survivor club."
Delegates to General Synod 26 considered 17 proposed resolutions, and took action to approve the United Church of Christ's 2008-2009 budgets. In addition, the assembly voted to add the signature of General Synod to the Collegium of Officer's Pastoral Letter calling for the end of the war in Iraq shortly after it was presented on Friday, June 22.
Synod Actions Breakdown |
Their actions included approval of a resolution on climate change urging all segements of the UCC to address global warming in their decisions and investments; a pledge to renew the denominations' covenent with rural churches; a resolution reaffirming the commitment to covenantal relationships; a call for a more human US immigration policy that would end migrant deaths; and several resolutions on specific labor or justice concerns.
General Synod formally voted to take no action on resolutions that would have reversed the 2005 vote to advocate for marriage rights regardless of gender. The delegates also referred resolutions on the composition of General Synod and on studying the Israeli/Palestinian conflict to the Executive Council for further study.
Worship experiences during General Synod employed a multitude of preachers, musicians, and liturgical dancers; multimedia expressions of faith added their contributions. The result was a wealth of spirit among those gathered. UCC national youth ministries minister Da Vita McCallister, General Minister and President John Thomas, and Near East School of Theology President Mary Mikhael each brought a distinctive and challenging word in their sermons. A small liturgical dance troupe of young people enacted some of the Biblical stories with grace. Musical styles included jazz, traditional Samoan, praise music, classical European, a tremendous choir, and the remarkable improvisational abilities of Ken Medema.
At Synod's closing service, youth stewards and conference ministers offered worshipers anointing with oil throughout the coliseum. As they sang the closing hymn, they lifted hundreds of lights into the air, waving them in semi-circles of color around the Civic Center oval. In a tangible way, echoing the metaphors of the previous days, Synod let its light shine.
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| Lights shine in the Civic Center |
