Good questions posed. I served as a delegate for Classis GLA the past two synods. What I realized more than ever is how ethnic participation at synod depends on what happens at the classical level and in particular what happens at the one meeting where delegates are elected. A couple of times this meeting has snuck up on us. We go around the room and ask "who is available to go to synod?" At that point you don't vote for somebody who's not there. It may be at that particular meeting some of the ethnic elders or pastors are not present or maybe the ones that are there are not available to go. You end up voting for who is left, usually some of the more regular and involved people at classis. I know each classis is different, but in ours there is not a long line of folks anxiously waiting to go to synod.
If this is an issue for us, one of the most diverse classis in the denomination, I imagine for others it's even more of a challenge. It takes work. To prevent the haphazard election by default we have tried a couple of things. First, prior to the meeting the clerk asks everyone if they are willing and available for synod. All available names are printed out. That way, if for some reason you are not at the meeting you can still get elected. Then before the election the classis is reminded that since we are one of the more diverse classis we should send a diverse delegation. This does help the voting process but it requires intentionality.
I am not the stated clerk, but I wonder if folks from 2850 are on the phone with the clerks reminding them of how important having a good process leading up to the election is. Even the simple reminder before the vote plays a role.
Posted in: People of Color in Leadership Positions
Good questions posed. I served as a delegate for Classis GLA the past two synods. What I realized more than ever is how ethnic participation at synod depends on what happens at the classical level and in particular what happens at the one meeting where delegates are elected. A couple of times this meeting has snuck up on us. We go around the room and ask "who is available to go to synod?" At that point you don't vote for somebody who's not there. It may be at that particular meeting some of the ethnic elders or pastors are not present or maybe the ones that are there are not available to go. You end up voting for who is left, usually some of the more regular and involved people at classis. I know each classis is different, but in ours there is not a long line of folks anxiously waiting to go to synod.
If this is an issue for us, one of the most diverse classis in the denomination, I imagine for others it's even more of a challenge. It takes work. To prevent the haphazard election by default we have tried a couple of things. First, prior to the meeting the clerk asks everyone if they are willing and available for synod. All available names are printed out. That way, if for some reason you are not at the meeting you can still get elected. Then before the election the classis is reminded that since we are one of the more diverse classis we should send a diverse delegation. This does help the voting process but it requires intentionality.
I am not the stated clerk, but I wonder if folks from 2850 are on the phone with the clerks reminding them of how important having a good process leading up to the election is. Even the simple reminder before the vote plays a role.