General Synod 35 opens to visitors as well as delegates

A steady stream of attendees visited the registration tables at General Synod 35 on opening day. Many of them walked away with a white badge signaling they were visitors—non-voting attendees—to the assembly.

“We have 1,869 registrations as of this morning,” said Shameerah Lemon, General Synod Registrar as she attended to walk-up registrants. “740 of them are voting delegates, and 1,129 are visitors.”

Lemon added that she expects many more walk-in registrations over the course of the five-day gathering, all of whom will not have voting privileges.

Visting General Synod is an eagerly anticipated ritual for some, and a thrilling first-time experience for others.

The Rev. Wendy Holland, an ordained Disciples of Christ minister with UCC ministerial standing from Pismo Beach, Calif., is one of those first-time attendees. She is eager to see the Synod process unfold.

“I am excited just seeing the ethics and clarity of what’s happening in the UCC,” Holland said. “We are fearlessly active and advocating right now in so many areas.”

Holland said that as a pastor of a “fairly purple” church, with traditional roots but more diverse in recent years, she wants to bring back the experience to her Plymouth Congregational Church in Paso Robles. She hopes the connection between her local church and the United Church of Christ will continue to grow.

Visiting means connection as well for Harlette Smith Washington, who is staffing the Chicago Theological Seminary booth this year. She has been a voting delegate “two or three times,” and says this is her eighth General Synod.

“[The registration cost and travel expense] is worth it to me because this is one of the few times I get to see friends I’ve made over the years. This is where we meet up every two years because [my friends] are from all over,” she said.

Smith Washington added that her gray hair is a sign that “I am a seasoned visitor here. I want people over the age of 65 to understand that retirement is not sitting on the front porch and rocking in the chair.” She believes that attending Synod is a witness that elder voices “still need to be heard…from those of us who are the roots, the foundation of the denomination.”

Visitors include those who have been leaders in different settings of the UCC. The Rev. J.R. Finney, of Birmingham, Alabama. says he has “been a member a relatively short time, after our church became a United Church of Christ congregation in 2014.” Finney served on the board of the Southeast Conference, and later as Moderator for four years. The voting doesn’t matter to him as much as simply being present.

“I continue to come to Synod because I really enjoy being here and experiencing workshops and exhibits, Finney said. He also had a deeper purpose in mind.

“I do want to see us continue to be a voice for the marginalized, the ostracized, and the disenfranchised, and those who have been left out. If we ever need a prophetic voice, it’s in this current situation,” he said.

Finney also has something he wants to bring back to his congregation. “I am most excited about worship. I love the General Synod worship because I see things I’m not used to, and I will steal them—I mean, ecclesiastically appropriate them, back home,” he said.

Registration for General Synod visitors will continue online and on-site through Monday, July 14 at 7 p.m. The Community Worship service welcomes visitors from the surrounding area free of charge and takes place Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Kansas City Convention Center, with UCC General Minister and President, Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson as the day’s preacher.

Matt McCaffrey is a reporter for the GS35 Newsroom. Additional reporting by Brooke Canada, social media specialist.

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