“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, Glory to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”  ~  Ephesians 3: 20-21

As I grew up in the United Church of Christ, I attended General Synod a couple of times. Now having attended General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the two gathering are alike in some ways, and vastly different in others.

I went, assuming I would know a few of the people, but was amazed to find that I knew many people. Some of them I had met through the UCC! It was great catching up with people I hadn’t seen in years, as well as meeting new friends, that I look forward to catching up with in the future.

For the Christian Church (DOC), it is truly an assembly of the church—any pastor with standing in the DOC has a vote, and at this Assembly, every church has 2 voting delegates. (More if your have larger churches—but I still am unsure of what that “larger church” means.) We will circle around to this.

In the UCC, voting delegates are chosen by the Conferences, limiting the number of people who can vote, and meaning not every pastor, nor every church, has representation. In the Tri-Conference, there were 22 Iowa, 11 Nebraska, and 7 South Dakota delegates!

The other big difference, is that in the DOC, the resolutions are handed out before to every church, so that the delegates and pastors have time to go through them and understand them. In the UCC, the delegates are split up, each taking only one resolution, then once at General Synod, they meet and deliberate over the resolution. Then they take any recommended revisions to the person/group who wrote it, make the changes, and then it is taken to the wider body, where the voting members can vote on it. (Confusing, right?)

I do not have all of the background yet from General Synod, but understand there were some very heated discussions. I expected all of the resolutions that were presented prior to General Assembly to pass, which they did. Then we were given 3 “Emergency Resolutions” on Monday evening to be voted for on Tuesday.

An emergency resolution is one that was not able to meet the 180 prior to presentation deadline. I have no background on when these were written, and was unable to read them before they were presented. These three caused a little more passion than the rest, but in the end, all passed.

Now, my job (and Jim and Sharon’s jobs) are to bring these back to you and help you understand them. One of the things I haven’t been very good at in my ministry is helping you have a connection to our wider church, so that is something I am going to work on, starting now!

I have been trying to figure out how to share all of the “business” that happened with the resolutions without overwhelming you, because even I got overwhelmed! I am going to do a BRIEF summery, and if you are interested in hearing more, or if this Pondering is confusing to you, please reach out to me, (or Jim or Sharon) and we can help clarify.

Resolutions #1—Ratify Actions of the General Board (restructure General Board numbers and length of terms) PASS

#2—Commitment to Thursdays in Black Campaign: A Global Movement for A World Without Gender-Based Violence (By World Council of Churches to wear black on Thursdays to remind us that we need to take action against gender based violence when we witness it.) PASS

#3– Resolution Concerning Disability Justice and Inclusion in all Ministries within the Christian Church (Call for all churches to create ministries, missions, and buildings that are accessible to all, regardless of disability.) PASS

#4—Opposing Project 2025 and Other Policies That are Inconsistent With Our Commitment to Justice, Mercy, and Compassion for our Neighbor (encourages members and churches to read to understand Project 2025, figure out where it is inconsistent with Christian values (especially DOC values) get involved with justice organizations, putting their faith into action.) PASS

#5– Proposed Resolution to Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Disciples Peace Fellowship and inviting Regions and Congregations to Recommit to the Work of Peace and Justice (Exactly what it says!) PASS

#6—Amendments to The Design (DOC Constitution) (Further explanation in the September newsletter) PASS

#7—Calling the Church to Affirm the Sovereignty and Self-Determination of Our Canadian Siblings (In response to hateful rhetoric toward Canada and its citizens—that we recognize they are their own country with their own ideals.) PASS

#8—Changes to Special Rules of Procedure for the General Assembly (To align with changes of The Design) PASS

Emergency #1—An Emergency Resolution Concerning the Moral Crisis of Federal Budget Priorities in the 2025 Reconciliation Bill (Passionate discussion) PASS

#2—Responding to the US Federal Government’s Attack on Immigrants, Migrants, and Refugees (VERY passionate discussion—additional time added) PASS

#3—Affirmation of the World Council of Churches call to “End Apartheid, Occupation, and Impunity in Palestine and Israel,” and of solidarity with Palestinian people as we struggle for an end to genocide (VERY PASSIONATE discussion—from both sides.) PASS

As I said before, I do not have the emergency resolutions, and were not able to read through them prior to voting, but I honestly believe that at the core of all of these resolutions is this: to remind us that our call is to love our neighbor, fight for justice, and remember that God is our center. So simple on paper, and so difficult to live out. Please take a moment to pray for all of these things, and all of us, as we continue to live into God’s call.

Always Peace,   Pastor Heidi