Synod Is Staying Flexibleby Jane Hines Since the announcement in 1999 that paradigms were shifting and Synod’s transition committee declared they were thinking “outside the box,” Synod meetings have become a time to assess the status of that situation. Has the Synod of Living Waters climbed back “in the box”? No. At the annual meeting on September 24-25 this year, there were plenty of signs that this synod is alive and well, adapting and adaptable, reformed and reforming. They approved the executive/transition committee’s recommendation to change the time of the annual meeting to January instead of September in order to adapt to budget projections from the presbyteries. They received a current financial statement and the 2000 audit, but deferred the adoption of the 2002 budget until the January 2002 meeting. They welcomed new commissioners and elected new leaders. At the same time they expressed appreciation to those commissioners who are rotating off this year and approved a motion to continue the present transition/executive committee until the January meeting in order to allow them to complete their work in guiding the synod in its transition. New leadership was elected and tribute was paid to those who have already served the Synod and helped to bring it to its present state of health and well-being. Outgoing Moderator Arthur Lodge and Stated Clerk Al Freundt were recognized for their exemplary service. Elder Mamie Jones, commissioner from North Alabama Presbytery, was elected moderator. Kenneth Dick, clergy commissioner from Western Kentucky Presbytery, was elected vice-moderator. Memphis Presbytery Executive Dick Baldwin was elected stated clerk. Using the entire first chapter of Acts as the text for her sermon to the Synod on September 24, Columbia Seminary President Laura Mendenhall said: “The story of the church has always been a story of crisis ... sometimes in the chaos we begin to see the Holy Spirit most clearly ... The Book of Acts is a story of the Holy Spirit at work in the church, and the church is at the heart of the work of the Holy Spirit ... Acts is a story of what happens when the church opens itself to prayer ... through prayer God showed the early Christians something they could not have seen on their own ... There was to be no distinction between Jews and Gentiles ... Women were given leadership in the church ... Neither the stoning of Stephen nor the death of Paul could end the story of God’s Kingdom ... The story continues and the work of the church continues ... There has always been tribulation in the church, but the Kingdom of God still stands ... In such a time as this, let us keep reading God’s word and praying for discernment ... May our witness today be considered Acts of the Apostles.” Perhaps unexpectedly, reports to Synod on September 25 were a high point of the meeting. (While most people wouldn’t even use the words “report” and “high point” in the same sentence, the stories told through reports from mission program grant recipients at this meeting were an exception to the rule.) Pedro Sayago, co-pastor with Peter Vial at Beechmont Presbyterian Church in Louisville, told the story of the development in a changing neighborhood of “a beautiful and vibrant ministry with fourteen different nationalities in church on Sunday.” Sayago described the ministry as “not a salad bar model, but a tossed salad model.” Jud Hendrix made everybody want to be young again in order to be a part of his ministry to young adults in Louisville, “engaging those disconnected from traditional churches.” Covenant Community Church does not have a building; they meet in a church basement, in coffee shops, in bars and homes. “Our liturgy makes us Presbyterian,” he said, adding that it is an amazing time to be with young adults who are asking hard questions and going where the questions are being asked. Louise Shaw, designated pastor at Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Nashville, said half the ceiling came down in their sanctuary, but they just moved into the fellowship hall and kept worshiping, meeting the needs of a changing population, a mixture of young and not young members. “We are very Presbyterian,” she said, “and we will be there in sickness and death and for new members yet to come.” They are demonstrating what it means to be a welcoming church. From all around the Synod, the stories were told. Memphis, North Alabama, eastern Kentucky, all had stories to tell. Chris Jones, commissioner from Sheppards and Lapsley Presbytery, told of a declining church that became a dormitory for disaster response workers following a tornado in Tuscaloosa. “When the rebuilding effort was done,” he said, “the presbytery looked for something else to put there and now a tutoring program for children severely at risk is located in that church building.” Mission program grants are a partnership of the General Assembly, the Synod and the presbyteries. [See the paper edition for the following photos:] Dick Baldwin Kenneth Dick Laura Mendenhall, Worship Leader and The Flag and the Banner in
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