This is the first of what will be daily (at least) blogs leading up to and during the General Synod of the United Church of Christ in Tampa, FL July 1-5. 

Time to go home.  Overall, this was a good meeting.  The attendance was a little low for a conference meeting, but that’s typical for meetings in Eastern Virginia.  I am more encouraged than I’ve been in a decade that ECOTs are welcome, wanted, and heard.

Eleven of us gathered at Roger Brown’s Sports Bar and Restaurant to reconnect to FWC friends and talk about how the meeting is going.  All but one of us were from Western NC Association churches, but it was good to reconnect with Charles Chappell. 
My role was to remind the group of what FWC is [...]

Friday morning
               Dr. Greg Carey, NT Professor at Lancaster Theological Seminary, spoke from Galatians 2 about the controversy in Galatians 2.  Most memorable quote:  “In an age before antibiotics, Gentile men were not very eager to undergo circumcision.” 

Thursday afternoon and evening
The first hour of business in a setting like this is usually not all that exciting.  Approval of the agenda.  Standing rules. Financial report. Nominating committee report.  Actually, the less exciting it is, the better the leadership feels about its preparation and the state of the organization.