Riding the rollercoaster
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at 12:54AM I started my previous blog by saying "tonight was the night," but actually it was quite a DAY.
The General Synod will be meeting next year after all, the Belhar confession was approved and commended to classes. The denomination was told to address First Nations/Native American relationships, further dialogue concerning homosexuality was commended, worship was affirmed, provisions were made for a worship task force, a survey concerning baptism, studies were commended to us concerning baptism, and a baptism task force was created.
We also commemorated John Calvin's 500th Anniversary with "Jean" himself. Dr. Bruggink was celebrated for his work on the RCA historical series and a new book was released in his honor.
These are just the few things I remember... Busy day!
In the midst of all of this business, there seemed to be a very positive spirit among the delegation by the end of the day. The morning was very intense... Once we moved through that it was as though the heart lightened and by the end of the evening it seemed as though we were all smiling... it could have just been me (and for good reason!), but it seemed as though the rest of synod smiled too.
As you read the difficult stories online, remember the relationships that are being built and know that the tone of laughter at times rings out. People are becoming closer friends and developing new friendships... people are sharing from their hearts. We sing, we read scriptures, we pray, we are united as a body experiencing this together.
Remember the things that we blog about are often the things that bothered us the most or about which we are most passionate.... there are tons and tons of areas of celebration and praise that we are also celebrating. This helps those of us who are present to put some things in contexts and I simply say it to simply note this dimension of the experience for those who are not present. The essence of a synod is more than we can share with you through our blogs, next year you will have to join in :).
Reader Comments (1)
Dear Sherri,
Thanks for your time and conversation in General Synod.
May i make one question concerning the continuing dialogue concerning homosexuality? My wife and i are eyewitnesses to those who no longer fall to the temptation of same-sex relationships (ex-gays if you will) but this possibility of transformation was not included in our Classis Dialogue. Can you suggest how this could be a beneficial component of the continuing dialogue?