Virtual Convening to Elect Officers Approved for Future Synods

Based on experiences from Synod 2022 and 2024 the Council of Delegates of the Christian Reformed Church approved starting Synod 2025 and future synods with a virtual convening to elect officers. A proposal for this change presented at the October 2024 meeting of the Council of Delegates noted “the election of officers two weeks ahead of time allows officers, in conjunction with the Office of General Secretary, to receive training, make decisions—i.e. late communications/agenda items, appoint sergeant-at-arms, minutes review committee, clock/timing of speeches, etc.—and review questions and concerns.”

The early virtual convenings in 2022 and 2024 were approved in order to save as much time as possible for deliberations while synod met in person. The proposal approved by the Council of Delegates for Synod 2025 and following keeps advisory committee meetings in person only.

Doug Fakkema, Classis Pacific Northwest, expressed deep concern for delegates to synod and the amount of work many need to accomplish in advisory committees. “If we are giving our advisory committees that much work that they need to miss three days of meals to get that done, we need to give them more time,” Fakkema said. “We need to do better for our delegates.” General secretary Zachary King appreciated the remark and said staff know it’s something that needs to be addressed “in the way we assign materials and the number of advisory committees we have, to let people be human.” King said, “We know we can’t transact business without being in person, and we’ve seen that the meet-and-greet time online hasn’t been effective.”

The Council approved the prayer and worship theme for Synod 2025, “Journey with Jesus,” based on the Emmaus Road story of Luke 24. It will be familiar to attendees of the CRC’s Gather events, hosted for all classes between April 2024 and spring 2025, which use that text as a central passage to explore renewal in the church—at first not recognizing Jesus at work, but eventually returning to share the good news and becoming filled with the Spirit for kingdom work.

Besides approving the theme, delegates were asked by Thrive to share feedback and observations about synod worship: how frequently synod participants should engage in worship practices, what level of priority staff should give to synod worship, and opinions on what role synod delegates and denominational staff would have—advise, support, facilitate, lead?