Dear Church Family,

Last week I experienced one of the most profound and unexpectedly joyful experiences I have ever had in ministry. In February, Shenandoah Presbytery elected me to serve as commissioner to the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic for the next two years. Our first meeting was last Thursday-Saturday, and as I said, it was very different from what I expected.

I’m embarrassed to tell you that I had expected a boring couple of days full of rubber-stamp meetings. I encountered something far different. The meeting began with each commissioner serving on one of five committees. Committees considered their business Thursday afternoon and evening. On Friday morning, we met in plenary to vote on considerations before the Synod.

Friday afternoon and evening was spent hearing nine separate presentations; three sets of three TED-style talks on racism and reconciliation, immigrant ministry, and young adult ministry.

Shenandoah Presbytery and her churches are fairly insulated from many of these concerns. In fact, as we started, I thought maybe the only topic I need to focus on was young adult ministry. I was wrong. Our synod includes the cities of Baltimore, DC, and Charlotte. In these places, there has been violence, protest and unrest over the issues we talked about, but we often don’t have to deal with in a significant manner. This was eye-opening and even refreshing!

I know many of us don’t like dealing with issues that make us uncomfortable, but the world we live in is changing, and the Church must respond if the Church is to have a future.

I am proud to be part of a Synod willing to have the hard conversations, that we would learn to live into the discomfort of these issues and what they mean for the Church!

Blessings,

Pastor John