REFLECTIONS

FAITH REFLECTIONS FROM CMC: Neil Routh, Pastor

2010 Synod Draws Near

The first meeting of Synod will take place on May 1, when delegates gather for a day of preparation and information. The official proceedings on Synod will take place in September at the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, NC.

This will be a historic Synod due to a new format. One way that it will be different is its design. Delegates (including Cathy Saunders, Martha Walker, Roger Kimball and myself) have been divided into four working groups based on the four points of focus found in the Moravian Covenant for Christian Living: 1) The Witness of the Christian Life; 2) The Witness of the Living Church; 3) The Witness of the Christian Citizen; 4) Our Witness in the World.

Each group will work together to build a practical vision for how congregations might set goals in each given area for the next four years. The full body of Synod will be presented with proposals that will become the operational goals in each area for the ministry of the province. This will become the strategy guidelines - which the Provincial Elders will digest into actual, measurable efforts and programs.

The guidelines that Synod passes along to the PEC will become the directives with which the PEC will set provincial priorities and directives, which will be passed along to the Board of Cooperative Ministries and the Regional Conferences of Churches. Throughout the next Synod period (2010-2014) these directives will be carefully measured and monitored for results, which will be reported back to congregations. Based on the results, each part of the new structure will be adjusted or adapted for the most affective outcome.

Please support our delegates, as well as the overall Synod process, with your daily prayers. May God bring a renewal to the whole church through this Synod and the vision God gives our delegates.