July 10, 2005

Report from the General Synod

By Faune Towery

As some of you may know, I have spent the last two weeks in Atlanta, Georgia taking a history and polity course in correlation with General Synod, the bi-annual national meeting of the United Church of Christ. I had 20 classmates from across the US; six of them were seeking privilege of call in the UCC because they had already been ordained in the Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, or Metropolitan Community Church. It was an exhausting but uplifting week. The rigorous academic demands, compounded with the emotional strain of talking about emotional issues, made for an overwhelming two weeks.

The XXV General Synod discussed more than 21 different resolutions on issues such as "Making Fast Food Fair Food," "A Living Wage for All," creating an alternative path to ordained ministry, divestment of the Middle East, and the widely publicized issue of gay marriage.

But I have a confession. You see, before I had my history and polity course I knew very little about our greater UCC family. I knew that each individual church was autonomous-each church can make decisions for itself, but I had no idea what bound all these different congregations together. I now understand that it is the constitution, consensual standards, and covenant that tie us all together.

OK First, the Constitution. I had read it before-although it is a little dry, it is available online so you can check it out and decide for yourself. This has the official language of how we are all in relationship.

Second-consensual standards. Consensual standards are the agreed upon "rules" or ways of doing things that are generally accepted. The book of Worship (the book that you all signed as a gift for me when I officially ended my service as Minister in Training) is an example of a consensual standard because it is not the required way to do things, it is just the way that most UCC churches have agreed to do things.

Third-covenant. Many of us have heard of covenant-especially in the Bible. God made a covenant to Noah and the people that God would never flood the world again, and then God gave us the rainbow-as a sign of God's covenant with God's people. One of my history and polity professors, Rollin Russell, described in his deep Southern accent, "Covenant is mutual, loving accountability among people who are ALSO in this same mutual, loving accountability with God." We are accountable to each other and to God!

So how does covenant actually work in the UCC? How does covenant help members come to a table and dialogue with each other about really difficult, emotional issues?

I think the answer is covenant. Covenant is the reason why people stay at the table when they are frustrated, angry, or disagree. It would be so easy to get up and leave a discussion when you didn't like something that was said. Just like it would be really easy to storm out of the house each time you had a disagreement with your sibling/spouse/friend/parent. We may want to hide from the other person when we are disagreeing. In today's scripture from the prophet Isaiah, we learned that at times even God wants to hide her face from us because of overwhelming emotion. But thankfully, God never leaves us. And most of us do not leave when we have a disagreement because we are in a covenanted relationships. We love the people that we are in covenant with, just like God loves each of us.

As Christians, we also have the added incentive to keep our covenants because we know that God is present in our covenanted relationships. We have an obligation to the other person AND an obligation to God to keep our covenants. Isaiah states, "For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but [God's] steadfast love shall not depart from you, and [God's] covenant of peace shall not be removed."

The Holy Spirit was present in the covenanted relationships at Synod, especially with regards to the national church's support of marriage between same-sex persons. There were many discussions regarding the Hebrew Testament texts that refer to marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman, or describe homosexuality as an abomination. The Calvin Synod, more commonly known as the Biblical Witness Fellowship, was particularly adamant about the literal interpretations of Biblical texts that condemned homosexuality.

In the first two days of Synod, I was uncertain if the resolution would pass because there was such lively debate about this topic. But an amazing thing happened between Thursday and Monday, July 4th when the vote was taken.

The long-weekend allowed for one on one conversations to happen between individuals in a respectful, honorable manner. People gathered over meals to pray and discuss the issue of same-sex marriage. Same-sex partners and parents gave powerful testimonies regarding the need for the national UCC to affirm their marriage covenant vows. A lesbian mother made an emotional plea as to what she could tell her child if the national church voted not to recognize the love between her daughter's two mommy's?

These conversations were not easy by any means. There were many tears. Some tears of frustration, some tears of sadness, and some tears of hope and joy. We all know that it is hard to listen to someone who has a completely different opinion on something that is very important to you. But these conversations did happen, nevertheless. And I believe that hearts were changed as a results of these dialogues and personal interactions. When the time came for a vote on the floor, more than 80% of the delegates voted to affirm same-sex marriages.

Don't get me wrong-there were some people who were very upset by the decision to affirm same-sex marriage. They thought it was against God's will or against the Bible's teachings. Yet no one left the synod floor when the vote did not go his or her way. Not a single person got up and left the synod floor in response to the vote to affirm gay marriage. I was so moved by this. What a testament to the importance of our covenanted relationships within the United Church of Christ. This was really an awe-inspiring moment-to know that there were differences of opinion but we are all committed to remaining in covenantal relationship to each other so we dialogue with each other. We can agree to disagree and still maintain our relationships with each other.

This is not to say that there will not be repercussions to the decision to support same-sex marriages. Some members and even some churches may decide to leave the UCC or some may stay and not support this decision. For others, it may be difficult to stand by our national church's decision to support same sex marriages. However, I am reminded at this time of what MLK Jr said at the 5th General Synod, in 1967. He declared, "It has always been the responsibility of the church to broaden horizons, challenge the status-quo, and break the mores when necessary...We are called to be thermostats that transform and regulate the temperature of society not thermometers that merely record or register the temperature of majority opinion."

We believe that God is Still Speaking. God is still including all people in divine love, grace and acceptance. Jesus' unconditional love and radical hospitality is present among us today. In speaking of "a new covenant" in today's scripture from Hebrews, Jesus has redefined the covenant to be radically inclusive. Jesus ate with the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the poor, the disenfranchised, the marginalized-making them the focus of his ministry.

So maybe this is just the point. To be in covenant is to be in solidarity--despite the challenges and disagreements that we may have with one another. We must also remember that we are not alone. We have a God in whom we live, and move, and have our very being. God has freely given this gift of love and grace to all of us. God IS still speaking.

Now I invite you to look at the places in your life where covenant has strengthened or sustained your relationships. Where have you made a sacred covenant? Where do you need to make a sacred covenant? Are you honoring the covenants that you have made to your family/friends/partners/co-workers?

My experience at General Synod has really strengthened my covenant with the United Church of Christ. I fully support the mission and the people of our church family. Observing the covenant present within the national church setting has helped me to identify the places that I have covenanted in my personal life.

I now realize that covenant is more than duty, it is a promise to family, community, to God and to yourself. As you leave here today, I invite you to look at the places in your life where you have promised to work things out? Where do you need to dialogue, to disagree and yet to remain connected? Where are your covenants?

Amen.