SYNOD OF THE PACIFIC (PCUSA)

REPORT OF THE SYNOD EXECUTIVE

ROB BRINK

May 11, 2006

The act today of calling the eighty ninth meeting of the Synod of the Pacific to order, represents the beginning of the last Synod meeting for several of you who are completing your terms as Synod Commissioners.  For some of you, today represents the completion of six years as a Synod Commissioner.  For others, it means you have completed a three year term, or an unexpired term, and have decided that God is calling you to some new and different opportunity.  No matter what the circumstance, it is a day to express our profound appreciation for your service to the Synod of the Pacific.  As volunteers, you have donated your time, talent and creativity to the support of ministry in this region of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.  And for that gift of time and energy which you have so graciously given, we offer each of you our heartfelt thanks.

Like a painter restoring a piece of art, the Synod has undergone significant changes and improvements under your leadership.  In heeding our affirmation of the church reformed and always reforming, we have, in consultation with our presbyteries, continued our efforts to discern God’s will for the Synod, implementing refinements to our structure and processes.  As your journey serving as a Synod Commissioner comes to an end, I felt it would be appropriate and enlightening to take a look back over the past six years at some of the changes and accomplishments you have helped the Synod achieve.

Mission Finance Committee

2001

• Utilized loan survey information received from 225 churches in an effort to improve the Loan Service.

• Expanded the Synod Investment Policy to include Highmark Capital Management as another investment vehicle which helped increase interest revenue significantly.

2002

• Renewed and maintained a $5MM line of credit with Union Bank.

• Established a Reserves Policy for the Synod to help ensure sound financial management.

• Approved updated programming of custom software for all synod services (programming is scheduled for completion in 2006).

• Established subcommittees with authority to act on synod loan/investment interest rates and vote on loan approvals between Synod meetings.  This has greatly increased efficiency in the central office and for the churches, and has helped us maintain very competitive interest rates.

• Approved guidelines for Payroll processing fees charged to churches/presbyteries.

• Revised our loan policy to ensure that all loans over $200,000 made by the Synod are secured by a deed of trust.  Since implementing this policy, we have reduced the amount of unsecured loans from over $15 million in 2002 to $321,000 today.

• Established a policy that we will not loan more than 15% of available resources (investment deposits) to any one borrower, thereby limiting potential risk.

• Updated all loan application forms to be more user friendly while still providing needed borrower information to assist in effective loan underwriting.

• Completed a major revision and upgrade of our Loan Guidelines.

• Expanded the types of investments available to our depositors with higher yields by adding six month, one year, and three year Mission Development Certificates (MDC).

2003

• Implemented a policy to ensure that paid leave (vacation) accruals for synod staff were being tracked and reported monthly.

• Amended the Synod Block Grant distribution process to include a 13th check whereby, if 100% of basic mission support is not received, a portion of the block grant will be held back, thus reducing the exposure of Synod Reserves to balance Block Grants already disbursed.

• Implemented a creative process for the Loan Service by clarifying the types of mission giving considered, and giving borrowers discounts on their interest rates in relation to their mission giving.  This process eliminated the previous method of denying loans to churches with low mission giving.

• Set up designated reserve accounts for payroll contingencies and for Health & Benefits Service needs, which further helped in managing our finances in a more fiscally responsible manner.

• Improved Loan underwriting and loan payment receipts by beginning a process of requiring linked investment accounts for loans with potential risk or poor loan payment history.

2004

• Transferred $1,000,000 of Synod reserves into a Balanced Growth Fund with New Covenant Funds of the PC (U.S.A.) which helped to further diversify our investments.

• Created a policy regarding outstanding Capital Advances made in the 1950s – 1970s.  With the help of committee members, outstanding Capital Advances have been reduced from $642,000 to $155,000.

• Added Volunteer Accident Insurance to the Synod so that our commissioners are covered.

• Distributed a Request for Proposal amongst several CPA firms and selected a new CPA firm for annual financial audits.

2005

• Increased the outstanding loan balance portfolio from $26.7 million to $35.5 million.

• Added a two year Mission Development Certificate to our Investment Service.

• Revised the guidelines for Equity Share loans to Synod Elected from $75,000 to $250,000.

• Increased mileage reimbursement for volunteers/commissioners from 14 cents to 22 cents per mile.

• Worked with the auditors to clarify Synod Financial Statements and reporting of Advisory funds and temporarily restricted net assets.

2006

• Disbursed $32,900,000 in loan funds to 105 different borrowers since 2003.

• Increased deposits in our Investment service from 368 accounts totaling $31,000,000 as of Dec. 31, 2000, to 560 accounts totaling more than $40,000,000 as of Mar. 31, 2006.

• Developed annual Synod budgets totaling more than $4,000,000 each.

• Received an “Unqualified Opinion” (the highest rating attainable) from our auditors regarding our financial statements in each of the last 6 years.

• Revised the J. M. Muzzy Loan Fund guidelines to include insurance and equity share loans to churches.

Mission Partnership Committee

2001

• Redesigned and improved the format and contents of the Synod’s website.

• Organized and facilitated an Interim Pastor’s training event.

2002

• Received $34,500 in Racial Ethnic Ministry grants for the Synod Mission Partnership.

• Organized and facilitated the first Synod Sexual Misconduct Prevention Training Event.

• In consultation with the Mission Finance Committee, established a new fund to assist in covering costs of the Racial Ethnic Advanced Pastoral Skills (REAPS) seminars.

2003

• Appointed a Mission Statement Task Force to review and revise the Synod’s Mission Statement.  In February 2006, the Task Force presented a new revised Mission Statement to the Synod for approval.

• Produced and distributed first Synod-wide Mission Giving Instruction Binder to interpret mission giving; how mission is pledged, how it is received and the distribution process.

2004

• Planned and facilitated a Sexual Misconduct Prevention Training Refresher Course for clergy.

2005

• Adopted a new Committee Job Description.

• Revised the Hilda V. Thompson Medical Ministry Grant application and guidelines.

• Organized and facilitated a Synod wide COM/CPM Consultation.

• Established a Mission Interpretation Task Force. Their first task was to design a new Synod logo which was presented and approved at the February 2006 Synod Meeting.

• Established a fund to Support Presbyteries and Other Constituent Organizations. Disbursed a gift to Zephyr Point for the Tallac Center - $2,500, and gave $5,000 to the victims of hurricane Katrina and Rita.

2006

• Established an “Emergent Needs” fund. Thus far, $15,000 has been granted to Redwoods Presbytery for the Imani Fellowship, Vallejo, CA.

• Reviewed and approved $163,310 in Hilda V. Thompson Medical Ministry Fund Grants over the past six years. 

• Produced an article annually for publication in the Mission Yearbook of Prayer regarding the make-up and work of the Synod.

• Hosted an annual Mission Partnership Funding Consultation, and continue to work on improving it as well as the partnership process.

• Provided $600,000 to $800,000 of excess operating revenue over expenses annually to the Mission Partnership table.

• Awarded a grant in the amount of $5,000 to support the 2006 Western Regional Transformation Experience.

• From 2000 through 2006, applied for and received G.A. Unassigned Restricted Funds (submitted to G.A. $1,508,959, received $457,626 for our Synod and Presbyteries).

Mission Personnel Committee

2001

• Approved making part-time SRMA Associate Executives part of the Synod payroll service.

• Revised our Sexual Misconduct Prevention Policy.

• Developed a new Compensation Plan.

• Developed a new job description format.

• Approved a new performance evaluation process and form.

• Developed a new Exit Interview Policy and form.

• Began utilizing the Newport Consulting Group to establish appropriate salary ranges for all Synod staff positions.

• Made the Chairs of Presbytery/Mission Unit Personnel Committees Ex-Officio members of the committee with voice but not vote.

2002

• Implemented a $300 Continuing Education Benefit for Appointed Staff.

• Began the practice of assigning Associate Synod Executives and Presbytery Executives as “Resource Persons” (on a rotating basis) to Synod committees.

• Developed a Compensation Philosophy.

2003

• Approved a revised Staffing Structure for the Snake River Mission Area.

• Approved having one Associate Synod Executive help staff the committee.

• Implemented an Agreement for Executive and Administrative Services to establish the relationship between the Synod and those presbyteries participating in the Synod’s Personnel Service.  The “Agreement” went into effect January 1, 2004.

• Added a Long Term Disability benefit for staff not in the Board of Pensions benefit plan.

2004

• Increased the maximum staff auto loan from $20,000 to $25,000 with a maximum term of six years.

• Approved an additional benefit authorizing the closing of Synod and Presbytery/Mission Unit offices in our Personnel Service from Dec. 26 through Dec. 30.

2005

• Used an alternative method for determining individual compensation in 2006 that addressed justice issues.

• Approved a recommendation to hire a personnel consultant to audit the Synod’s Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual, and to audit our personnel records.

• Revised the Paid Leave Benefit Days accrual policy providing a cap on PLBD accruals at 20 days in an effort to reduce the Synod’s financial liability.

• Implemented the use of “time sheets” by Synod staff to comply with labor laws.

• Approved a new Leave of Absence policy.

2006

• Completed the transition of Redwoods Presbytery into the Synod’s Personnel Service.

• Received the audit performed by Personnel Perspective of the personnel policies and record keeping and voted to implement most of the recommendations.

• Adopted the paper entitled “Summary of the Role of Presbytery/Mission Unit Personnel Committees” which outlines the role of presbytery personnel committees whose presbytery participates in the Synod’s Personnel Service.

• Approved revisions to the Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual in each of the last 5 years to ensure compliance with federal and state labor laws and to incorporate input from the presbyteries.

Other

• Revised the Synod By-Laws including a restructure of its membership.  Under consideration is a change from a Coordinating Committee to a Synod Council, and commissioner terms from three years to two years.

• Took action to make the Covenant Presbyterian Insurance Corporation a separate entity from the Synod.

• Committee on Representation planned exciting Mission Tours and brought people from various ministries within the Synod to meet and share their stories with commissioners.

• Relocated the Synod Central Office to a new location.

• Approved 7 exceptional candidates for Ministry within the Synod.

• Celebrated the completion of the Talac Center at our Zephyr Point Camp and Conference Center.

• Celebrated the retirement and service of several Elected and Appointed Staff, and celebrated the calling and/or hiring of a number of new Elected and Appointed Staff.

This list of accomplishments is long and impressive.  I am sure when you heard some of these; your mind flashed back to a committee meeting where the nuts and bolts of the matter were discussed and then approved for recommendation to the Synod.  I hope you feel a sense of pride in the part you personally played in making the Synod the ministry supporting governing body it is today.  So as you begin your last Synod meeting, it seems appropriate to recite these words from Mathew 25:23 (NIV), “Well done good and faithful servant.”

Thank you Synod Commissioners one and all.

SYNOD OF THE PACIFIC (PCUSA)

REPORT OF THE SYNOD EXECUTIVE

ROB BRINK

February 12, 2005

Most of us at one time or another has sat in front of several hundred pieces to a puzzle recently extricated from their quiet comfortable box.  As you sit and stare at the mound of multi-colored quizzically shaped pieces, it seems like the task, if not insurmountable, will test your every emotion and put the left side of your brain into hyper-mode.  It may even cause you to vociferate an expletive or two out of frustration.  The lessons we learn from this entertaining task can be quite numerous and insightful.  Bringing the puzzle to its final form and revealing its projected beauty and purpose is going to take time no matter how strong the effort or how enthusiastic your will.  Patience, trust, perseverance, and possibly even consulting with a friend will help you achieve your ultimate goal, each piece in its place revealing their collective theme.

Now, at first glance you may not have noticed, but there exists a great similarity between assembling a puzzle, and ordering the life of a middle governing body in the PCUSA, then expressing that life in the form of a “mission statement.”  An initial observation reveals all these pieces to consider.  A virtual potpourri of entities, ministries, polity principles, corporate confessions, people and committees that must be analyzed, changed, and implemented in order to achieve an effective “right-with-God” organization.  To accomplish this rather significant feat requires patience, trust, perseverance, and consultation.  This puzzle that depicts living a corporate Christian life requires more than just you or me – individual -- independent.  The creator of this puzzle demands that we be in community with others and that we demonstrate real love toward them.  This is not going to be an easily constructed puzzle, but rather one that requires sacrifice and obedience beyond human ideology.

In order for this puzzle to depict the role and purpose of the governing body in a way that declares God’s will, it will require discussion, discernment, and prayer.  A consultative community effort will be needed to find the core essence for its reason to exist.  The following questions raised by theologian and author Marcus Borg, can provide thought provoking dialogue that may help us to understand the true meaning of this puzzle: “What is the ‘heart’ of Christianity?  What is most central to Christianity and to being Christian? And what is it about Christianity that reaches at our heart level—at a level of ourselves deeper than the intellect?”    Unfortunately, there are no simple answers to these questions that all Christians can agree on.  As Borg points out, issues like ordination of women, gays and lesbians, and Christian exclusivisim, have deeply divided Christians about the heart of Christianity.  But we who believe in Christ are one body.  In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Chapter 3, verses 2 through 6, he writes “—for surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given me for you, and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation…  In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit:  that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”  It is in this Christian community of one body that we breathe life into our role of piecing together this puzzle.  And, in so doing, we show the world that Jesus Christ is the “heart” of God.

I share these thoughts with you as the Mission Statement Task Force enters into its next phase of taking all of the input from our presbyteries, synod commissioners, and governing body staff, and begins to incorporate this input into words that will lead to a new mission statement.  There is still hard work to be done and much prayer will be needed to accomplish the task.

In addition, the Mission Partnership Funds Task Force is planning an extra day for our April consultation prior to the process of determining Block Grants.  Representatives from the Bread of Life ministry will lead us in a process of contemplative dialogue.  It is our hope that this will help us to better understand how our eleven presbyteries and the synod can form a more meaningful partnership during challenging times.

Please be in prayer for all those involved in these processes that we hope will lead to a better, more effective synod.  And together, maybe, just maybe, we will construct a puzzle that bears a large red flaming heart with the image of Christ at its center embracing this delicate terrestrial ball we all live on.

Other Current Events

Gary Torrens, Middle Governing Bodies Coordinator for GAC and OGA called me recently and asked to meet with our Executive Forum.  Gary is setting up meetings with all Synod Executive Forums to engage in dialogue about the challenges currently facing our presbyteries.  The following is an excerpt from Gary’s comments:

“The bottom line of the letter is a request that I be invited by your Executive Colloquium to have a conversation on the expectations and focus of presbyteries in today’s church.  There are lots of ways to present the “issue” that I have been hearing about.  One way to describe it is to say that the ongoing expectations of presbyteries (which were set in part, by the creation of regional synods in the 1969-73 time frame) have become more complicated.  Pressures from judicial cases, ordination conflict, congregations seeking to leave the PCUSA (and many others) have increased the pressure on presbyteries.  Meanwhile, the resources of the presbyteries have decreased.  Now 42% of our presbyteries have less than 10,000 (members) and financial pressures escalate everywhere no matter the size of the presbytery.  I am seeking a conversation about how your executives see it, where they live, and to begin to explore what avenues are available to meet these challenges.”

Our Executive Forum hopes to meet with Gary by no later than June 30 of this year.  I will keep you informed as information and ideas develop around this matter.

A Synod Executive recently shared a story with the Synod Executive Forum that he had heard about an affinity group within the PCUSA that may be considering an overture to GA in the near future that would significantly change our current structure.  It seems this group may suggest that the PCUSA change to a two-synod structure.  Both synods would be under the umbrella of the PCUSA.  One of the synods would be made up of churches and presbyteries that would keep the current Book of Order Section G-6.0106 (b), the so called fidelity and chastity language, in its polity, while the other synod would consist of those churches and presbyteries who would remove this section from their polity and ordination requirements.  I have no idea when, or even if, such an overture like this may come before GA.  However, I think it is important for all of us to be aware of events and discussions that are happening around our church, and begin thinking and talking with our fellow Presbyterians as to how we feel about these ideas. 

SYNOD OF THE PACIFIC (PCUSA)

REPORT OF THE SYNOD EXECUTIVE

ROB BRINK

October 9, 2004

When I think about all that is happening in the church today, I can’t help but think of the words “Dark Territory”.  Now, I know that sounds like the title to a Stephen King novel, but it is actually the title of a Stephen Segal movie.  The movie is about terrorists who take control of a train from which they plan to use sophisticated computer technology to communicate with our Star War’s defense systems.  Their objective is to launch an attack against strategic targets in the U.S.  There is a point in this operation when the train enters a long mountain tunnel, and there is no ability for the United States to communicate with the terrorists.  As a result, there is great uncertainty experienced by all.  It is this time when the train is in the tunnel and out of contact with negotiators that the metaphoric term “Dark Territory” refers.  Keep in mind the movie was made prior to 9-11, so the title words have much more serious implications to us today then the Hollywood fantasy that conceived them.

Now please don’t misunderstand me.  I do not think of “Dark Territory” in terms of the church as a time of hopelessness, fear, and the total inability to communicate.  Rather, I think it aptly describes the uncertain times in which we find ourselves as we endeavor to discern God’s will for us as members of the PCUSA.  Many of the challenges we face today have been around the church for a long time.  Methods employed by our brothers and sisters in Christ in the past have not been successful in resolving some of these issues.  As a result, we must learn new skills in an effort to find new and better ways to be in community; to be in mission, to be in service to our Lord.

The work currently being done by members of the Synod’s Mission Statement Task Force is critical to the life of the Synod in helping it discover how to best assist our presbyteries and congregations in their ministry.  In his book Sacred Hoops:  Spiritual Lessons Of A Hardwood Warrior, coach Phil Jackson writes, “Like life, basketball is messy and unpredictable.  The trick is to experience each moment with a clear mind and open heart.”  He talks about the importance of players learning to trust one another.  Just as it is important in establishing a successful basketball team, teamwork, community, compassion and trust are important principles to the members and staff of the Synod and our presbyteries.  Jackson goes on to say, “Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to give up the ‘me’ for the ‘we’.”  As the Task Force continues its work, it will be important for all of us to have open minds, and demonstrate a willingness to listen to one another.

It is also very important for us to be in prayer at this time.  We need God in our Mission Statement review process.  After all, are we not trying to be faithful to God’s command to go and serve, spreading the Good News to all who have ears to hear?  We will discover that there will be many ideas suggested for the Synod to consider for its Mission Statement.  How will we know which ones God would have us utilize?  In his book, The Teachings of Don Juan, Carlos Castaneda writes, “Look at every path closely and deliberately.  Try it as many times as you think necessary.  Then ask yourself, and yourself alone the question, does this path have a heart?  If it does, the path is good.  If it doesn’t, it is of no use.  It is only with the heart that one can see rightly.  What is essential is invisible to the eye.”  I suggest that we must look at proposed language and ideas for the Mission Statement in the same way.  Does it have a heart?  It is said that compassion is where a clear mind and open heart intersect with Christianity.  We must ask the question, is there compassion, community and trust in the words before us?  Is our approach to our work selfless?  Does it empower all of the community of believers in this Synod?

In this process of communicating our ideas, we are dependent on God and one another.  The Lakota Sioux do not believe that they are a separate entity, isolated from the rest of the universe.  In The Sacred Pipe, Black Elk wrote “Peace…comes within the souls of men when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the Universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that this center is really everywhere.  It is within each of us.”

As we journey together over the ensuing weeks and months working to develop a new and better Mission Statement that will guide the Synod in its ministry, I pray we will remember the wisdom of Black Elk’s words and recognize that God is indeed within each of us.  And therefore, may we call on God frequently to give us guidance, and help us to keep an open heart.

SYNOD OF THE PACIFIC (PCUSA)

REPORT OF THE SYNOD EXECUTIVE

ROB BRINK

May 7, 2004

In case you haven’t realized it, you are a very busy group of Synod Commissioners.  There are many issues and ideas before this body that need your attention, your energy, and your creativity.  There are ideas and issues being discussed in the meetings of the various Synod committees.  We have task forces looking at our Synod Mission Statement; another reviewing our style of coming together as partners in mission to share resources; and another looking at the office location needs for Synod staff in Petaluma.

This is an exciting time, and I hope you are sensing that!  We are in a multi-faceted process of rediscovering God’s will for the Synod of the Pacific.  We will be looking at changing and adapting to the needs of a new generation of people seeking a fulfilling spiritual experience.  As Alan Roxburgh, author and consultant on how to develop new leadership skills in times of discontinuous change, recently shared with our Synod and Presbytery staff at the annual Synod wide staff gathering, it doesn’t mean the Synod should throw out everything it is doing and start all over.  You keep what is working and needed, and you look at how you can and should adapt to the changes that are taking place in your governing body, the denomination, and society in general.  How does this Synod, along with our Presbyteries and Congregations, learn the skills necessary to be effective disciples of Jesus Christ in a society that is ripe with chaos, and where many people no longer believe that church leaders understand their spiritual needs and desires?  We must evaluate and adapt our systems and structures to the new needs and demands of society, and we must educate ourselves and develop new leadership skills to effectively provide the support to those who will gather and work together to fulfill those commands Christ gave us.  

At the national level of our denomination, Stated Clerk, Cliff Kirkpatrick, has identified as one of the top ten issues coming before the 2004 General Assembly, the final report on Middle Governing Body Relations.  After consulting with almost all of the Synods and many of the Presbyteries over the past three years, “the Office of the General Assembly will be bringing a report on how to strengthen partnership between our governing bodies.”  It is clear that partnership is an important element in the fabric of Christian community.  As we consult with our presbyteries over the next several months as part of our Mission Statement review, we will hear ideas on how to improve partnership amongst the Synod and Presbyteries.  It is exciting to contemplate what new and different possibilities we will discover during this process that will enable the Synod to better serve our Christian brothers and sisters in this region.

Therefore, we must all welcome new ideas; embrace change as an ally; and support our partners in their mission and ministry.  We must strive to be constructive, not destructive; positive, not negative; good listeners, rather than zealous expounders assuming we have all the answers; flexible, not rigid; and most of all loving and carrying for one another, not hurtful or insensitive.  In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, chapter 6, verse 7, he writes, “…you reap whatever you sow.  So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.”  So then, let us, the members of the Synod of the Pacific sow seeds of partnership and support for one another, so by our deeds, we may reap the benefit of eternal life from the Spirit.

I hope each of you is filled with excitement about the future, and the possibilities it holds for this Synod.   

SYNOD OF THE PACIFIC (PCUSA)

REPORT OF THE SYNOD EXECUTIVE

ROB BRINK

February 12, 2004

As we gather together this week to focus on the responsibilities of this Synod, there are a couple of Synod task forces working on assignments given to them by you last October.  One task force is consulting and planning for the up coming April Mission Partnership Funds Consultation, while the other is beginning a review of our current mission statement.  It is our responsibility as synod commissioners, synod staff, presbytery staff, ex-officio and co-opted members, guests, and Christian sisters and brothers, to assist and support the members of these task forces in their work.

We can help by praying that the Holy Spirit will fill our hearts and minds, so we may be open to God’s guidance in our relationships with our presbytery/mission unit partners in the Synod.  It is important for all of the partners to believe in, and be committed to this partnership. We are not called to function in isolation from one another, but as a community of believers supporting each other so the Good News of Christ as Lord and Savior, the forgiveness of sins through faith and repentance, and the gift of eternal life, can be made known through us to all persons in our region, and throughout the world.  Jesus calls us to be a community of believers, diverse in nature and theology, but one in faith and love of the Lord. “I am the vine, you are the branches.  Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.”  As partners, we must be in prayer with, and for, one another.

Next, we can make decisions in a way that benefits all of the partners.  It is no secret that financial challenges are facing every governing body in this denomination.  Not one of us is alone in having to make difficult decisions regarding our budgets.  We are all analyzing budget line items and cutting back, or in some cases, eliminating items altogether.  The danger in all of this is that, if we are not in communication with God and our Synod partners during this process, we could begin to focus inward on ourselves, which would be contrary to being in community, as Jesus has called us to be.  To avoid this pitfall, we must communicate openly and honestly with each other.  We must care about each partner and their mission and ministry.  We must ask ourselves if the guidance we are giving to our governing bodies, and the decisions we are making in them, are guided by God, or by our humanness.  We must never forget that we have a strong and wonderful heritage of being a connectional church.

Each of us has a responsibility to effectively interpret the work of the other partners to our own governing body.  Partnership is based on trust, and trust must be earned.  How?  Through our personal words and actions, showing that we are focusing outward toward God and what God calls us to be as a community of believers in partnership with one another; and not inward on only the needs of ourselves and our own governing body.  The love of God cannot be constrained by human beings.  God cares about every person, and has mercy on us all.  Jesus said, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”  It is far easier to show mercy, if we focus outward to the needs of all God’s children.  Therefore, we need to welcome reports at our presbytery/mission unit and Synod meetings that interpret the work of all the partners.  We must openly and honestly answer questions about the work and decisions of each of the partners in a way that demonstrates our support for each other.  It is then that we can begin to show our trust of the partnership, and the partners.  It is through these actions that the partnership becomes effective; and that God’s will is done.

During the rest of today and in your meetings tomorrow, I hope you will take time to think and talk about how the Synod of the Pacific can be an effective instrument in God’s Holy plan.  What does it mean to be in partnership in this Synod?  What personal and corporate responsibilities are required of us?  Are the decisions we are about to make benefiting the partnership?  I pray that they will, and that God’s face will smile on us because of our work this week, and in the days and years ahead.