On a sultry summer morning, teens gathered in the St. Lucas United Church of Christ parking lot, busily loading up the church van with their backpacks.
They were on mission — literally — preparing to leave their hometown of Sunset Hills, Missouri for Biloxi, Mississippi. There they would work and worship at Back Bay Mission, a UCC ministry that has been serving Gulf Coast communities for more than 90 years.
As the youth and their adult chaperones embarked on their servanthood adventure, another crowd arrived in the same parking lot. They, too, were on a mission — a mission to engage in the wider church by virtually attending the 35th General Synod, which was being held some 250 miles from them in Kansas City, Missouri.
Holding a General Synod watch party not only allowed St. Lucas members to “attend” the national gathering, but deepened their connection to the wider church.
Janet Frumson, a member of St. Lucas UCC, took time out of her schedule to attend the virtual gathering because she “thought it would be a good learning experience.”
Karen Litzsinger came out of curiosity.
“I wanted to see what General Synod was all about,” she said.
With the help of Dan Herron, one of the church’s tech gurus, a viewing screen was set up in the sanctuary, ready to livestream plenaries and worship. The congregation, he said, felt it was important to open the church doors to those interested in the news and votes that took place during the gathering which ran from July 11-15.
“I wanted to hear for myself what was being said at General Synod,” said Bill Brinkhorst.
Together the group listened to the State of the Church address delivered by the General Minister and President Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson from the stage of the Kansas City Convention Center on Friday morning, July 11. They were inspired and hopeful hearing Thompson speak about redefining church vitality beyond numbers. And together they pondered Thompson’s opening questions that asked: Who do people say the UCC is? Who do you say the UCC is? And who should the UCC be in this moment?
Members of St. Lucas UCC gathered in the sanctuary to listen to the Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson, UCC General Minister and President, deliver the State of the Church address on July 11.
The questions achieved for Bo Frumson what he had hoped would happen by watching General Synod virtually on a large screen. He came, after all, to “open my eyes to new things.”
The Synod viewing party was an opportunity to learn about the decisions being made at the national level of the denomination. It was also a moment of deepening the ties that bind local churches to the national offices.
“I came because I wanted to reinforce my belief in the UCC and the wider church,” said Wanda Gillman.
For Kathy Herron, though, attending the St. Lucas General Synod watch was something deeper for her.
“I simply felt the call of the Holy Spirit,” said Herron.
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