Matthew 5:16 

"In the same way let your light shine before others . . ."  

 

From June 21st through June 25th, I was a delegate from Penn Central Conference to the 32nd Annual General Synod of the United Church of Christ in Milwaukee, WI. This is the national meeting of the UCC where over 2,700 delegates and visitors from across the country meet to worship together, fellowship together, and take care of the business of the church. The theme this year was "Shine!". The Three Great Loves campaign , love of neighbor, children, and the environment, was started at General Synod in Baltimore two years ago, and will be continuing. A theme song to this campaign premiered at this year's General Synod and was entitled "I Will Sing Of Your Love, Love, Love". I would like to show how the UCC embodied the Three Great Loves campaign at this year's General Synod.

 

I began on Friday morning by donating blood to help those in need and finding out I'm O+ which is the universal donor. The synod officially began on Friday afternoon with educational intensive meetings. These meetings prepared us for the 19 resolutions on a variety of topics covering all of the three great loves. These resolutions were brought forth by various conferences to be voted on at General Synod. All resolutions passed except one which will be sent to the UCC Board of Directors for review. They included addressing the state of Global Forced Migration, Recognizing Opioid Addiction as a Health Epidemic, Supporting the Green New Deal, and a resolution brought by Penn Central regarding discontinuing use of Plastic Foam (i.e., Styrofoam) to name a few. We then had a multicultural opening worship with speakers in a variety of languages including English, Spanish, and Ho-Chunk which is the language of a Native American people of Wisconsin. This was followed by our first business session welcoming everyone to General Synod.

 

There were various ways in which we embodied love of neighbor be it through fellowship with one another during worship or meal times, workshops, or prayer times in the exhibit hall. I attended a workshop on the hard decisions churches have to make when attendance is failing and the church is no longer meeting their needs. I also attended a rally at the Immigration and Customs enforcement office in Milwaukee. 500-600 people joined with more than 30 religious organizations in support of, Betty Rendon, a Lutheran pastor who was recently deported to Colombia. Rev. Traci Blackmon, Associate General Minister of Justice and Local Church Ministries spoke saying "a little discomfort for us is nothing like what is happening to people who are being caged in this country." There was also a prayer at the end of General Synod for a father and 2 year old who drowned trying to cross the border. I got to know several new friends from the conference who I shared dinner with to discuss these and many other issues facing our church today.

 

There were 169 youth between the ages of 13-18 who attended the Youth at Synod program. I made a one minute speech on behalf of my grandmother and grandfather about how great the youth attendance was. There was a service project at Pathfinders, which is an organization which helps homeless youth and youth in crisis with housing, employment opportunities, and educational support. General synod participants sorted clothing, and created hygiene bags for the youth of Pathfinders. The youth consider three resolutions from General Synod and eloquently spoke on all three. I believe that nurturing the youth of the church embodies our love of children because as they say "They aren't the future of the church, they are the present".

 

We also embodied our love of creation at General Synod. Penn Central Conference brought forth a resolution encouraging all settings of the UCC to avoid the use of plastic foam, more commonly know as Styrofoam. Americans throw away 25 billion Styrofoam cups a year only about 3% of which are recycled and the rest are left in landfills and do not decompose at all. This resolution passed overwhelmingly. We also had resolutions on supporting the Green New Deal and the Carbon Dividend Act. I was also able to take a walk down to Lake Michigan and enjoy the beauty of the water and the nature around me at Lake Shore National Park.

 

We also continued to support the work of the UCC by reelecting Rev. Dr. John Dorhauer as General Minister and President and electing Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson for the position of Associate General Minister of Global Engagement and Co-Executive of Global Ministries. We also heard from great Speakers such as the Rev Amy Butler who invited us to "lift up our eyes" and Matthew Desmond who shared his experiences with the eviction and homelessness crisis in Milwaukee and this country as a whole. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at General Synod and look forward to General Synod 33 in Kansas City, MO in 2021. I feel refreshed to continue working for, the mission of the UCC which is "United in Spirit, inspired by God's grace we welcome all, love all, and seek justice for all."

 

In closing, I challenge this church and all the churches in the UCC to always be conscious to meet people where they are and build up relationships within and outside of the church. I also put out a challenge to our associations and conferences to building up relationships through more social/networking events for both lay people and clergy. I believe that if we do this, we will allow our passion for extravagant welcome to shine throughout our communities and embody our love for neighbor, creation, and children.

 

-Andrew Boyer

Youth Delegate