By Greg Yee, PacNWC Superintendent
As I reflect on the 133 Annual Meeting of our Covenant Church my mind lingers around four thoughts. First, Caden loves Minneapolis! It was fun for my 13-year old to explore the downtown area with its skyways and decorated public pianos while I was in meetings all week. We made fun memories together on our “guys trip.” I loved reflecting on the deep and rich history of Covenanters in the Twin Cities. If only the Northwest Conference would stop using our name…but we thank them for their wonderful hospitality nonetheless!
A second thought lands around how our leadership is growing/evolving. With the election of John Wenrich (President) and Lance Davis (Develop Leaders/Ordered Ministry) and installation of Superintendents Catherine Gilliard (Central Conference) and Glenn Peterson (Canada Conference), the senior leadership of the denomination (Covenant Office Leadership Team and Council of Superintendents) is strong in its diversity. On the Covenant Office Leadership Team, 8 of the 13 are women and leaders of color and on the Council of Superintendents, 6 of the 11. We should be extremely proud of this. We should be excited about the wonderful gifts God puts in the leadership of the denomination. God’s mosaic is growing. It’s no longer a blurry Polaroid snapshot, but a beautiful, more detailed portrait. I returned home with a deeper sense of God’s hand upon us in our diversity.
Third, there were several moments that concerns around human sexuality arose. I read and heard different perspectives on the leaders that were elected and motions that did not pass. I humbly question how to distinguish between our Covenant commitments to make room for faithful dissent and what comes across as flat-out dissent. I see a difference between disagreeing and being disagreeable. I prayerfully consider when activism crosses the line into divisiveness. I certainly understand that at its core activism is disruptive, but I also believe that we are to be ever more diligent in upholding a spirit of unity which is constantly urged throughout the NT. It was said by multiple people that at the very least our baseline is to continue to grow in understanding and loving LGBTQ people. We can all agree to this. It was also said by multiple people, that we need to check ourselves and not let this one area overshadow the many other areas that affect evangelism and discipleship as connected to God’s justice and righteousness. The church spoke very clearly at this meeting in its ongoing beliefs and commitments to an orthodox view on human sexuality. But make no mistake, we need to continue to work hard at how we best live this out going forward.
Lastly, we used a new individually held electronic devices for voting that greatly improved logistics and speed overall. There was some talk about how this could translate to having multiple settings for the annual meeting to help increase participation and input. There are many hurdles to this, but it does bring up an important point. Too many churches are unable to afford to send delegates. Pastors are also not able to participate in the Ministerium Annual Meeting that is always the Thursday before the ECC Annual Meeting. Our system is currently bent toward mostly the resourced being able to have voice and vote. In all of our diversity, we will need to find new ways of connecting. I suspect that will need a major shift in our thinking and approach to this. Many layers to consider here…
Much to pray about and continue discussing. For now, may God bless the beginning of your summer and may God continue to stretch and grow His Evangelical Covenant Church.
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Phil 1:3-6)
[Click Here] For more info on the Evangelical Covenant Church Annual Meeting including the Delegate Summary and Session Videos.