“What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.” So says Juliet in the poem written by Shakespeare.
Is synod also sweet no matter what we name it? At Synod 2000 some delegates published “Sin, Nod, Snooze 2000 – The Unofficial Snooze Orifice of One Weak Synod.” Among the gems of wisdom published was this: “a member of the advisory committee to review the one-weak synod, implied, if we allot 12 days, we take 12 days. If we allot one day, we take one day.”
In a video posted last night, some young adults from Sunrise Community CRC in Austin, Texas reviewed a number of matters to be discussed by Synod 2011 and came up with this profound question: “Why is synod spelled with a “Y?” Perhaps the 2000 publication can assist. Is it because we want to avoid the impression that synod is either a sleepy way to sin? Or to avoid the impression that it’s an odd way to sin? Or is there another reason? As you listen to these young people, perhaps you can formulate an answer to their haunting question: “Why is synod spelled with a “Y?” Sweet!!
Comments
It shouldn't be a 'y', it should be a 'u'. It's a Greek word and there's not even a 'y' in the Greek alphabet. Chew on THAT!
Is it just me, or is that a song that REALLY stays with you? Well done, Sunrise team!
It REALLY REALLY stays with you. :D Fun video folks!
Greek συνοδος, meaning "assembly". The Greek letter upsilon (Υ, υ) is transliterated as a Y in english, as it is a direct ancestor from that Greek letter. Mystery solved.
[quote=FideAlone1561]
The Greek letter upsilon (Υ, υ) is transliterated as a Y in english,
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I just think it's hupocritical to transliterate most of the Greek letters into their sound equivalent in English, but not upsilon. It gives me hupertension just thinking about it.
True, but since when has English been known for being a terribly consistent language?
Syn - od
n.
1. A council or an assembly of church officials or churches; an ecclesiastical council. 2. A council or an assembly.[Middle English, from Latin synodus, from Greek sunodos, meeting, assembly : sun-, syn- + hodos, way, course.]
Of course...if we continue to "dummy" down every word in our spoken language, it will take away from the art of language; if we continue to seek the "lowest common denominator" in our communication skills something is going to be lost.
Perhaps no one cares.
Don't get me wrong, I am all for making our spoken exchange understandable for clarity's sake...it's just you loose some of the beauty of the spoken and written word. Interestingly the recent reemergence of an interest in the "king's English" as used in the King James Bible.
Be it as it may- GOOD JOB Sunrise Community! Synod always delivers some unique humor to us each year, and you have a good, NO GREAT start on it:-)
Connoisseurs of synod-related humor should also be sure to check out "A Poet's View of Synod 2010" by Rod Hugen.
So we've established that the years 2000, 2010 and now 2011 are all good vintages when it comes to synod humor. But I bet there were others...anyone?
Don't try the 2009 vintage. From first-hand experience, I can say that stuff will make you sick.
I love it y'all.
...So are these young adults actually interested in synod now, or does synod remain kind of hokey or irrelevant for them, as if it's something only for the "old guard" of the church? Just curious. I DO think it's a fun video and very well done. Stan
I believe this was done as part of a contest to create interest in synod among young people. Perhaps someone ought to sponsor a contest to create similar interest among the "old guard." Lately, we've been moving synod a bit --Dordt College, Trinity College, Redeemer College, etc.--so it's not merely a "Grand Rapids thing." It's a good thing to move it even though it's more expensive than having it in Grand Rapids because it does give people in other places opportunities to attend if they wish. I've been to synods in all three places and only a handful of folks attend. So...young guard or old guard, there's not a whole lot of interest in this gathering.
Ugh. I was at the 2009 Synod and was one of the first norovirus casualties. I'm still trying to figure out which one of our deliberations might have unleashed the plague.
That is so good!!
Now if we'll just direct that creative energy into worship... God is pouring out the gifts in the creative sphere for His glory, for 24/7 worship... Ex. 31:3,6 I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of "crafts" to make artistic works... I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the gifted artisans. So, let's get this God given creativity being used for His Kingdom... I senses that there are many more in the 15-30ish age group that are chomping at the bit to used their gifts in a meaningful Kingdom way. This is a good start...
Actually, I think that this video IS worship. I see this group using their talents and abilities and creativity to do something that is delightful. I think this video enhnaced God's kingdom in wonderful ways.
Let me be more specific then, Jesus exalting, Lifting up His Name type worship... Everything has the potential to be worship...but some directs our focus upward to Jesus more than others.. and of course what's "entertainment" for one is worship for the next...
Bev, you'll be encouraged to know that these young adults DO pour this creativity & passion into worship. I'm 26 and the other three people who made the video are all 20 years old. They are THE leaders of our worship at Sunrise. Chris is our Creative Arts Director and Roman & Ashley (the two stars of this video) are our two worship leaders.
Its my distinct privelege to have been blessed with such powerful young staff members. Leading a young staff can be challenging at times and must be done with careful consideration, but the pure capacity for creative excellence amongst young leaders, if harnessed correctly, is an amazing thing!
That is encouraging... so I will encourage (and challenge) you back... I look forward to singing their next song in our church worship service =)!!
I recently suggested to the synod "contest" initiators, that maybe we could challenge our members to compose and write a worship song and the top ones would be published in the next song book, and also maybe be invited (with costs covered) to the next worship symposium to lead "their" song during worship.
I did not mean to sound critical, but only to encourage (and/or challenge) us all to keep moving to higher levels of worship, where Jesus is lifted up continually... "harp and bowl" worship (harp = music and bowl = prayers) based on Rev. 5:8. There are times the Holy Spirt "downloads" new songs as the worship team (not at our church, but at the local prayer center with diverse denominations) is singing... but these are usually in times of continual worship of 2 or more hours... when we have worshipped a straight 24/7 , we have had amazing testimonies of breakthrough...
I know God has a sense of humor and can use any song, Christian or secular to "speak" to someone's heart, so I do not want to limit Him by defining what's worship, because what is worship for one, isn't necessarily the case for the next depending on a multitude of reasons... One funny example of this in my life, was a few months ago, I was at a Hillsong United concert and before the concert they had misc. songs playing, and one was "All you need is love"... this struck me as funny (and the LORD emphasizing love to me), because our pastor had just emphasized the importance of love, with the point of without love, everything is a waste and fruitless...
So I am praying for the release of many new songs from your area, and our denomination... I see it as an untapped oil well, with rich "oil" that will flow forth via the Holy Spirit (I'm sure you know oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit)... You mention harnessing it correctly... with the Holy Spirit as your Guide and counselor, you can't go wrong... so keep listening to Him, and again, excited for what God is doing and going to do with this generation and looking forward to those new songs...
with all the talk of diversity and unity at Synod, here are two beautiful expressions that I would love to see happen at some level in our denomination... I'm praying into what that will look like, and waiting for God's leading to move forward in our community with this...but in the meantime enjoy, and be inspired!!
http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=FB1B9CNU this one is by a Baptist group in Houston, so " neighbors" to the Sunrise church... ...beautiful Easter dance with 2000 believers in downtown Houston... I think I cried the first dozen times I watched it..
http://ericwhitacre.com/the-virtual-choir
cool virtual choir with 2000 "videos" from around the world
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