wfn.org | General Synod begins with sound of water,

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renewal of Baptism
Date: August 7, 1997
Disciples News Service
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact: Clifford L. Willis
Email: CWillis@oc.disciples.org
on the web: http//www.disciples.org

97b-42

     COLUMBUS, Ohio (DNS) -- It started with the
sound of water, the shimmering liquid poured from
a pail. Several pitchers later, the sound had
amplified tenfold to fill the cavernous Greater
Columbus Convention Center where delegates from 39
regional bodies of the United Church of Christ met
July 3-8 for the 21st General Synod. 

     The theme of this General Synod was "For the
Healing of the Nations," and water played a key
role as a symbol for that healing. The healing
motif began from the pouring of the life-giving
fluid by liturgical dancers at the opening to a
symbolic re-baptism of the congregation as ushers
moved down the rows dipping pine branches into
water and cleaving the air with the wet boughs. 

     The Synod's opening preacher, the Rev.
Cynthia L. Hale of Decatur, Ga.,  also evoked
images of water in a spellbinding sermon. "My soul
is thirsty for God," she thundered, her voice
raising and falling like waves in a sea. "God will
not leave God's people thirsty." 

     But in a more playful spirit, Hale, senior
pastor of Ray of Hope Christian Church, reminded
the 1,700 delegates and visitors not "to work so
hard at the business of the church that you forget
the business of the saints."
 
     Life sometimes presents insurmountable
challenges, Hale said. "Ministry challenges suck
us dry. We pour ourselves into the lives of others
and find ourselves empty." At that point "it's
easy to lose our perspective."

     It is then the refreshing presence of Christ
-- like living water -- is available to us.  That
water is "the gift of life bubbling inside us."
And the way to access this living water is to "ask
God to fill you with God's presence."

     She also challenged the congregation to
remember "times of fullness," during life's
difficult moments. "Remember how God blessed you.
Take some  praise breaks.'"

     In addition, she encouraged church members to
remember that dry times last "only for a season.
We're on our way to a place where . . . we'll
never thirst again."

     The healing theme surfaced again July 6
during the 40th anniversary celebration of the
United Church of Christ. One of the dreams was
reconciliation with the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ). 

     In a symbolic gesture to heal disunity of the
body of Christ, ministers of the two churches
embraced, acknowledging a common communion cup and
shared ministry while exchanging the symbols of
the ordained ministry: the stole, chalice and the
Bible. Disciples participants included General
Minister and President Richard L. Hamm and the
Rev. Paul A. Crow Jr., president of the Council on
Christian Unity.

     In an emotional ritual symbolic of their
ordinations, they laid hands on each other's heads
to affirm the "reconciliation" of the ordained
ministry of the two partner churches. "For the
Healing of the Nations," the assembly responded in
song.  

     The ceremony brings to a new level the unique
"ecumenical partnership" shared between the two
churches since 1985. The Disciples of Christ will
complete the reconciliation process when its
General Assembly meets July 25-29 in Denver.

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DISCNEWS - inbox for Disciples News Service, Office of Communication, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), PO Box 1986 Indianapolis, IN 46206, tele. (317) 635-3100, (DISCNEWS@ecunet.org) Wilma Shuffitt, News and Information Assistant; (CWILLIS@oc.disciples.org) Cliff Willis, Director of News and Information; (CMILLER@oc.disciples.org) Executive Director