Reflection: "I got to see the spirit at work through the delegates."

Aloha and Mahalo for allowing me to attend and participate as a voting delegate to Synod 32.

I attended 2 years ago and it was the same but different in many ways. My first synod I was overcome with the representation of all of God’s children in one place. This year it was a joy to see many young adults in attendance as voting, participating delegates. They were active in the study of the resolutions and ready for discussion and the hard work on reviews and preparation of the resolutions to the greater body.

Worship, as with the last synod, was the highlight of each day. The variety of music and dance made for uplifting experiences.

I also was impressed by the resolutions that were presented to the delegates this year. The resolutions dove into many areas where we are in need of moral justice with the faithful leading the way. Many of the resolutions were not easy issues and could have been hot buttons if not for all the work to craft the wording and the background for the resolutions. The speakers, practitioners, and those who experienced the injustice provided meaningful and insightful education to get the teams ready to discuss, modify, or tweak the resolution. This education gave us a grounding so we could make recommendations for the greater body. In these discussions I got to see the spirit at work through the delegates. And lastly the joy of getting to meet many of the delegates from all over the country.

Sue Smith

Hawai‘i Island Association; Church of the Holy Cross Sue is a member of the Justice & Witness Missional Team for the Conference and serves as the secretary of the Hawai‘i Island Association.