Recap: General Synod 34 elects new leadership, changes frequency, witnesses justice

The United Church of Christ’s 34th General Synod had it all.

A new leader and a historic vote. A change from biennial to triennial. And giving witness to some of the most urgent issues — trans dignity, reproductive rights, racial justice, creation care and much more — through resolutions, special speakers, prayer and action.

Indianapolis and the Indiana-Kentucky Conference played hosts from June 30-July 4. It was the UCC’s first in-person national gathering since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides the business side of this “family reunion,” delegates and visitors came together to worship, break bread, embrace and shed tears of joy.

Read the full coverage below.

Business highlights

• Karen Georgia Thompson becomes first woman to lead UCC in historic vote

• General Synod frequency to change to every three years as Bylaw changes pass by a single vote

• Following SCOTUS ruling, statement supporting affirmative action endorsed by General Synod

• Envisioning a future from the past, Dorhauer delivers final State of the Church address

• From Synod stage, Dorhauer apologizes to Afro-Christian Convention for ‘rewriting of our history’

Resolutions and results

• Committee 1: Abortion is healthcare, General Synod says

• Committee 2: Delegates vote to pursue reparative acts for Native Boarding Schools

• Committee 3: Synod takes stand for digital justice, calls for increased accessibility

• Committee 4: Synod delegates pass resolution of witness on electrification

• Committee 5: Delegates call on churches to commit to harm reduction advocacy

• Committee 6: ‘Hope is a verb’: Synod calls for turning ‘Guns to Gardens’

• Committee 7: In narrow vote, Synod supports reparation efforts for Hawaiian language revitalization

• Committee 8: Delegates reject resolution on plant-based living

• Committee 9: Synod delegates call for reduction in single-use plastics and overall plastic pollution

• Committee 10: Synod takes stand for public school educators, academic freedom and equity efforts in schools

• Committee 11: Delegates call for study, developing reparations for African Americans

• Committee 12: After debate about wording, Synod declares ‘prolonged solitary confinement’ as torture

• Committee 13: Synod overwhelmingly affirms dignity of trans and nonbinary persons

• Committee 14: Synod delegates call on congregations to declare and create ‘white supremacy free zones’

• New website for UCC resolutions archive launches

Speakers

• Comfort, not keynote: Nadia Bolz-Weber speaks to General Synod about hope amid ‘fear, anxiety, worry and regret’

• Ibram Kendi at General Synod: ‘We cannot face racism with tunnel vision’

• Bryan Stevenson urges luncheon attendees to do justice, get close to those suffering

• Advocates share ways to fight for reproductive rights during town hall at Synod

• Panelists at Synod event celebrate intersectionality, uplift justice work in ‘making all things new’

Public witness

• Prayer walkers bear witness to harmful laws in Indiana and beyond  

• Faith in action: Watch the General Synod 34 prayer walk

• UCC immigration advocates hold welcoming vigil at ICE office during Synod

Worship

• An exuberant opening worship focuses on ‘making all things new’ at General Synod

• Sunday worship at Synod uplifts prophetic visions to resist the status quo, act in love

• In Synod’s finale, closing preacher calls for revolution of interdependence

• ‘Garden of Creation’ found on General Synod stage

• Synod offerings collect thousands to support UCC initiatives

Youth @ Synod

• General Synod youth get their game on

• Youth @ Synod focuses on homelessness

• What brings young people to the UCC?

Other highlights

• Welcome to General Synod 34 notes event’s ‘deep significance’

• ‘People are still dying’: Quilts at Synod honor lives lost to AIDS

• UCC flair begins arriving in Indianapolis with Synod setup

• ‘We are the dawn’: Thompson shares UCC vision in nomination speech

• Synod ‘Meet the Candidate’ gathering draws standing room only crowd

• Trailblazers uplifted by Thompson reflect on her election

• At Synod, colleagues bid farewell to outgoing UCC president

• Afro-Christian tradition helps define UCC, says Delk during Synod luncheon

• ‘No greater evangelist than you’: Nominees needed for General Synod moderators, UCC Board

• Six UCC women honored as ‘Movement Makers’

• General Synod participants assemble thousands of hygiene kits to combat period poverty

• With climate crisis threatening island nations, Pacific Basin Initiative launches at General Synod

• Climate Hope Cards turn General Synod resolutions into action

• Synod participants give blood, give hope

• ABS awards at Synod honor clergy who create ‘ripples of transformation’

• Former church leaders, ecumenical guests, international partners welcomed by General Synod delegates

• Sacred quilts help continue conversations around race at Synod

• Watch: Velda Love invites Church to Join the Movement

• Ecumenical Awards ceremony highlights interconnection, call to mend the world

• New faces added to UCC Board

• General Synod approves budget allocations for next biennium

• Task force making progress toward antiracism roadmap

• Video: Synod furniture will go to refugees after gathering

• For next General Synod, Kansas City will welcome UCC in 2025

• UCC Synod photo gallery