Synod Meets at Rivermont, Chattanooga

The Synod of Living Waters held its annual meeting January 29 and 30, 2007, at Rivermont Presbyterian Church in Chattanooga, TN. The congregation gave a warm and hospitable welcome to the Synod.

Dan Sansbury, pastor of Rivermont, preached at the opening worship, assisted by Associate pastor Heather Shortlidge. The sermon, titled "Mission-minded People" emphasized the extensive mission involvement at Rivermont such as the construction of Habitat for Humanity homes, housing the homeless or the many overseas mission trips the congregation has taken. The mission is driven by an attitude that the congregation is called to act when they can. And they do act. The message is a timely one for the Synod as we continue to seek to focus on the mission of the church, even in a time when controversy is in our midst.

With that inspiring message, the Synod began its business. Tom Pickering was thanked for his service as Moderator in 2006 and Patrick Smith was installed as the 2007 moderator. Robyn Abel will serve as Vice-Moderator for 2007.

Synod Executive and Treasurer Terry Newland reported that the Synod completed the 2006 budget year in the black. This is the second year in a row for the Synod to finish in the black. The Synod went on to adopt the 2007 budget in the amount of $1,078,674.00

Rev. Bill dePrater, Executive Presbyter of Mississippi Presbytery reported on the ongoing efforts at Hurricane Katrina relief. While much has been accomplished, there are still churches struggling with storm damage and many, many people still living in FEMA trailers. Work trips are continuing to be booked through the summer and any congregation in the Synod can book a trip through the continuing efforts of George and Linda Bates who are heading up the relief efforts for Mississippi Presbytery. Contact them at 228-604-2424.

Following dinner Steve Young, administrator for Living Waters for the World gave a presentation about this important mission of the Synod. His exciting news is that the Living Waters for the World project has won the prestigious Birthday Offering grant from Presbyterian Women for 2007. This gift will amount to close to $250,000 in support of Clean Water U, the in-depth training program of Living Waters for the World.

Newly installed moderator Patrick Smith (right) thanks
outgoing moderator Tom Pickering for his year of service to the Synod.

The morning of the 30th brought an inspiring message from Moderator Patrick Smith about the nature of Presbyterianism; a church dedicated to the nurture of people, a love of preaching and a commitment to service in the world.

Business continued with a prolonged discussion about a motion from the Synod Executive Committee to establish a policy for Special Administrative Reviews. The motion states that the "primary reason for adopting a policy for Special Administrative Review is to ensure that the Synod has the opportunity to respond in a timely fashion to matters requiring such a response.." Such matters might include cases in the Presbytery of Mississippi, the Presbytery of the Mid-South or the matter of Signal Mountain church in East Tennessee Presbytery. The motion passed with a 20-3 vote.

Following this matter a motion was presented that the Synod conduct a Special Administrative Review of the actions of the Presbytery of Mississippi relating to church property issues in accordance with G-9.0408 and G-9.0409. This motion, after much discussion, passed with a vote of 17 in favor and 3 opposed.

These are challenging times for our Church. The Synod conducted its business in a prayerful manner, seeking the common good in service to the God we worship.