Written by Joanne Griffith Domingue June 22, 2007
Bonnie Burdot's wide smile welcomed General Synod visitors and delegates as they arrived at the Hartford Civic Center on Friday morning. So did her shirt.
A golden sun shines from behind the UCC logo on Burdot's blue polo shirt: "General Synod 26: Let it Shine." On the back it reads, "Volunteers, We make it shine."
And they do.
Burdot, co-chair of hospitality for Synod with Bridget Hughes, ordered 1,075 shirts. They needed every one.
On Friday morning they had 1,070 volunteers. "And people are still coming and wanting to volunteer," said Burdot, 60, a minister in Southbury, Conn.
Some may wear their heart on their sleeve. But many UCC Synod folks wear their hearts on their shirts.
Ty Davis, 47, from Nashville, Tenn., sports his church logo, Holy Trinity Community Church UCC, on the front of his sleeveless terra cotta-colored T-shirt. On the back, the message: "Will God judge me for loving or judge you for hating?"
Davis traveled to Hartford for his first Synod with fellow parishioner, Kathy Lips, 52. They both said they appreciate being here for the chance to "meet like minds from different regions," Lips said.
Lisa Strueh, 17, drove to Synod from Indiana in a van with a delegation of nine. She couldn't stop smiling, outside the entrance to the Civic Center. It's her first Synod and she's excited. Her yellow T-shirt, from the 2005 annual meeting of the Indiana-Kentucky Conference, says it all: "No longer strangers."
Steve Bretthauer, 35, a chaperone for the youth from the Indiana-Kentucky Conference, sported an orange T-shirt, with large letters and arrows on the front: "Ask me, any question." On the back it reads, "Then shall thy light break forth."
This is Bretthauer's third Synod and he loves coming. "I'm happy to be part of the big push to get youth and young adults to Synod," he said, which he feels has been very successful.
Anthony Sickelka, 18, is also part of the youth delegation from the Indiana-Kentucky Conference. His navy-blue T-shirt featured a picture of a scone.
"Scone on?" read the T-shirt. "Not much," Anthony said. "What's 'scone on' with you?"