Page 3 - Moravian Messenger August 2021

Synod 2020 provided me with my first experience of learning and discussing what keeps the church clock ticking and having a say in how the church will be shaped into the future. I was elected as one of the youth representatives, alongside Sr Alishbha Khan, at the Provincial My Youth Forum held in 2019 which provided me with the groundwork for how proposals and elections are usually held at Synod. This proved useful as there were plenty of proposals and elections carried out over the four days covering a wide range of topics and key positions within the church. Some required little discussion whilst others
sparked interesting debates that helped develop my understanding and perspective on certain topics. One proposal I am looking forward to following and taking part in is the implementation of Project 32, as well as the numerous other proposals focusing on sustainability and tackling climate change.
Of course, this Synod was like no other. Being on Zoom meetings for four days was rather exhausting and whilst the phrase 'you are on mute' ended up commonplace in every session, I think it ran very smoothly thanks to the work of the technical team and the chairing panel. One aspect that I thought benefitted from Synod being held online was the voting system which provided quick choice selection and live tallying of results as they were coming in, something
which I think could be useful if successfully implemented into future in- person synods to reduce the time spent on counting. The biggest aspect to suffer from this online Synod was social interaction, including the evenings in the bar which are said to be one of the highlights of Synod, or so I am told, and were undoubtedly missed by many. However, the evening Zoom sessions organised by Sr Lorraine Shorten were a welcome addition.
Having the opportunity to be a Youth Representative this Synod has been a privilege, it has peaked my interest in learning more about all the different ways in which the church is run as well as inspiring me to become more involved in both congregational and provincial committees.
Br Daniel Newman
Impressions of Synod
from the Youth Representative
87
© Br Michael Newman