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Left to right: the Rev. John Thomas, Edith Guffey, the Revs. M. Linda Jaramillo, Jose Malayang and Callie Rogers-Witte receive the greetings of Synod. |
by Rev. Eric S. Anderson
HARTFORD (08/03/2007) -- 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 22-26. 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 nearly 1,100 volunteers made it shine with attention to detail, genuine welcome, and 13,000 dozen cookies.
On Saturday, Synod in the City brought 114 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, and 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.
Moyers’ challenging summons to “drive out the money changers” lifted the near-capacity Civic Center crowd to its feet Saturday morning. With an intensity that may not be familiar to audiences of his PBS programs, 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, 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 judgment. 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 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 cannot 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 Brueggemann, 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 Asylum Hill Congregational Church’s senior minister Gary Miller’s Celebration Jazz Band each added their distinctive sounds to the open concerts in Bushnell Park.
We Offer Our Special Thanks |
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We extend special thanks to the following people and organizations, all of whom helped create a welcoming hospitality for the more than 10,000 visitors who came to Hartford to experience General Synod 26 and the best the city has to offer. Christ Church Cathedral for opening its doors all five days for our use – at no charge! Center Church, UCC for hosting Synod in the City and our 6:30 a.m. CT delegation caucuses. Greater Hartford Convention and Visitors’ Bureau for outstanding and consistent performance for five years in working with us to make this work. City of Hartford and Mayor Eddie Perez for a gleaming downtown, its own generous welcome, and willingness to fl ex with our needs. Hartford Police Department for ensuring our safety and going out of their way to assist us. The restaurateurs of Hartford who opened especially for us on Saturday and Sunday noons and who fed the thousands. These included Agave Grill, EuroCafe, Max Downtown, Mayor Mike’s, Quizno’s Sub, Trumbull Kitchen and Vito’s by the Park. Gov. M. Jodi Rell and the State of CT for her welcome to the delegates and her responsiveness to the need of the Convention and Visitors’ Bureau a year ago when it looked like Synod would have to move out of state. Edith Guffey, our UCC Associate General Minister, for her extraordinary leadership in adapting to radically changed circumstances, in guiding us with a spirit of humor and grace, and in making tough decisions in gentle ways. Our gracious and ever-giving God, whose Holy Spirit pervaded this General Synod and blessed us over and over again. Amen and Amen. |
The UCC’s 50th Birthday Bash closed the day with stories of the denomination’s work since the 1957 union 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 that led to his invention of the laser, and encouraged further work to understand the relationship of science and faith.
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.
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 immediately following each address, bringing tears to the speakers and to many throughout the hall.
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. Crediting the support of her family and the church’s pastor, the Rev. Melinda Keck, 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.”
Redgrave said she admires the UCC “so tremendously. I go online when I’m on tour to see what church I can go to and still get to the matinee… If the UCC ran this country, we’d be OK.”
After the address, the Rev. Davida Foy Crabtree, Connecticut Conference Minister, presented Redgrave with a prayer shawl knitted in a local church of the Conference. Rev. Crabtree presented shawls to many of Synod’s speakers and presenters throughout the five days.
Delegates to General Synod 26 considered 17 proposed resolutions (see related story, page 8), 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.
Worship experiences during General Synod employed a multitude of preachers, musicians, and liturgical dancers; multimedia expressions of faith added their contributions. Th e result was a wealth of spirit among those gathered. UCC national youth ministries minister, Rev. Da Vita McCallister, General Minister and President, Rev. John Thomas, and Near East School of Theology President, Rev. 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 lift ed 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.
