A Bold Call – General Synod 35 Wrap-Up - Holy Covenant UCC in Charlotte, NC

Jul 18, 2025

A Bold Call – General Synod 35 Wrap-Up

A colorful stage backdrop reads “Follow the Light to Kansas City” with a lit candle replacing the “I” in “City,” set against a vibrant skyline and blooming floral decorations in the foreground.

A Bold Call – General Synod 35 Wrap-Up

Holy Covenant joins with the wider United Church of Christ to speak justice, love fiercely, and resist the powers of empire

📍 Kansas City welcomes the United Church of Christ to General Synod 35 – over the river and into the deep.

From July 11–15, General Synod 35 gathered in Kansas City, MO—a national convocation of sacred imagination, prophetic truth-telling, and bold discipleship.
Delegates, pastors, youth, and advocates—including our own Pastor Chris—answered the call to listen deeply, act courageously, and proclaim this year’s theme:

“Love Is Greater Than Fear.”

In a world shadowed by fear and domination, this theme rang out like a beacon—reminding us, as both prophets and Jedi declare, that the light is always stronger than the darkness.

🌟 Synod Highlights

✔️ Declared Christian Nationalism a threat to democracy and the Gospel
✔️ Affirmed and defended the rights of transgender youth and their families
✔️ Re-committed the UCC to Palestinian solidarity and economic justice
✔️ Called for reparations work grounded in climate and racial justice
✔️ Honored the leadership of Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson and welcomed new denominational leaders

📖 At Synod 35, delegates lifted up the UCC’s Banned Books Project—because words, like justice, cannot be silenced.

📸 Photos, videos, and full resolution texts are available at:
👉 ucc.org/synod

🕊 Why It Matters

At Holy Covenant, our witness is not passive—it is active, embodied, and bold.
General Synod reminds us that we are part of a larger movement—one that resists the pull of empire and fear, and dares instead to walk the path of justice, mercy, and collective liberation.

Like a faithful remnant in a galaxy longing for peace, the United Church of Christ continues to rise—saying “yes” to the light, and “no” to every system that dehumanizes.

✊ Love is greater than fear—inside the walls of worship, and out in the streets where faith becomes action.

Worshippers gathered in a large hall during the closing of General Synod 35, hands raised in prayer and praise.

🕯️ With hearts full of justice and voices lifted in song, Synod 35 came to a close in sacred celebration.

May the Spirit be with you. And also… the courage to resist, the wisdom to discern, and the hope that outlasts every empire.

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