Outreach and Mission Celebrated
at Annual Synod Meeting

by Jane Hines

The Synod of Living Waters Annual Meeting was held this year in Trussville, Alabama, at Grace Presbyterian Church, in a building so new that it still smelled new.

In addition to being greeted by the new smell, commissioners were met at the door by a pleasant gentleman who knew where everything was and was a great communicator. The bulletin cover identified the church as a place for “ministry with grace”, and it seemed to be that kind of place. Minister Chris Jones preached an interesting sermon at opening worship on Monday, January 30. Administrative Assistant Debbie Hamrick, a former page editor for the VOICE, helped with plans and arrangements in a manner rivaling the superior management talents of the Synod’s own Administrative Assistant Emily Dunbar. It was a good place to have what turned out to be a very good meeting.

Synod executive Terry Newland presents a plaque commemorating
Ruth Collins's year as Moderator of the Synod.

Even the budget report was interesting. For the first time in the memory of anyone present, there was actually a surplus at the end of 2005. The Synod adopted a budget for 2006 of $1,080,841.

Highlights of the meeting included an exciting video presentation from Steve Young, who was officially named full time administrator for the Living Waters for the World project. Commissioners heard an actual audio clip of a LWW story broadcast on National Public Radio and got splendid news about how the number of installations has increased with the training of volunteers at Clean Water U.

Synod Stated Clerk Charles Van Devender, at right, installed Moderator
Tom Pickering, center, and Vice Moderator Patrick Smith, at left.

George Bates, moderator of the administrative commission for hurricane recovery for Mississippi Presbytery and also PDA’s disaster recovery coordinator for the presbytery, reported on the tremendous response from Presbyterian church volunteers to the disastrous situation created by Hurricane Katrina on the Mississippi coast. Another impressive response was recorded right there in the Synod meeting, when a motion was made and passed unanimously to use the Synod’s $22,500 budget surplus from 2005 to aid this work in Mississippi Presbytery.

The next Synod meeting was set for January 29-30, 2007. Several invitations to host the next Synod meeting were issued right then and there, another first. Since they usually have to beg someone to host synod meetings, the executive committee will make a decision later on which invitation to accept.

Bill Williams, elder commissioner from Mid-South Presbytery and chair of the LWW committee, had this observation about another interesting part of the meeting:

When the synod's new moderator, the Rev. Tom Pickering, preached at the annual synod meeting, he could well have been taking his theme from three representatives of the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico attending the meeting as fraternal delegates.

Pickering, pastor of Cordova Presbyterian Church near Memphis, talked about church growth. The Mexican ministers reported on growth in their church.

From left to right, Edwin Tun, Miguel Sansores and Amos Cahuich.

The Rev. Edwin Tun, president of the Synod of the (Yucatan) Peninsula and pastor of Prince of Peace Presbyterian Church in Merida, Mexico, reported that his synod in the year 2000 adopted a goal of doubling church membership in the next 20 years. So far, the church is on track to meet that goal.

Tun was accompanied by the Rev. Miguel Sansores, synod vice president, and the Rev. Amos Cahuich, former synod treasurer who in October became president of the synod-operated St. Paul Seminary in Merida. Cahuich also spoke at our synod's meeting, detailing plans for growth and the need for financial resources to support expansion.

Copies of PowerPoint computer presentations by the two are available at the synod office in Franklin.

The Synod of Living Waters and the Synod of the Peninsula have a covenant relationship, and they regularly exchange visiting delegations at each synod's annual meeting.