The synod of the Evangelical Lutheran church was held in East London at St. Crucis in October 2023. The pastors met earlier in the week and were joined by congregants from all the ELCSA Cape Churches on the 12th of October. The synod which started on the 12th with supper and a service ended on the 14th, with supper and a service and joyful conversations about the good synod we had.
Theme for the synod this year was El Roi, God Sees, from Genesis 16 where God sees Hagar in her need. This theme was present throughout synod as we heard many good stories and reports of how congregations have experienced God’s blessing, God’s seeing them where they are.
I’ll remember this as a synod where we did not have to quarrel over finances and budgets but could celebrate that it is going well in our church. At the previous synod some congregations were struggling with finances, but all these congregations could show positive financial statements at this year’s synod. The youth also played a prominent role in synod this year, reporting about what they have learned from the South African Council of Churches and from each other as youth leaders in various churches. Many churches are struggling with a lack of youth, but what we heard in the report is that there is hope and possibility. By working together, the Church can support each other and build a youth community which can stand together and become the future leaders we need.
Earlier this year, a survey was sent out to gather information on where we are as congregations. At synod we received the feedback from this survey together with the report, summarizing what we learned. In the report, we see that the topic of youth comes up prominently, but that it is not a lost cause. There is hope for youth, as many report good things about youth in their congregations and also good opportunities to work together with youth in their congregations and communities. It was also uplifting to hear about the large variety of gifts that were present in our congregations, from music and artistic gifts, to counseling and technical gifts, to community building, financial management, to intercession and prayer, among others, were all listed as things that we as congregations have to share. The pastors of the congregations will take back these reports to their churches to help them learn from what we, as a church, have learned.
The difficult topic of communication came up prominently again. Unfortunately, the Western Cape circuit is known for having Silo syndrome. Synod agreed
to take up this challenge and work to improve communication between congregations, Circuit Councils West and East, Church Council and our communities.
Lastly, I believe that all who attended synod went home with a joyful heart, positive about the future of our church and also a kilogram or two extras as the food that we were served was of the highest quality. A personal thanks to the St. Crucis team for the lovely table decorations and delicious food and the synod delegates for their positive attitudes and uplifting stories.
Our next synod will be in Cape Town, St. Martini in 2025 and I’m sure it’ll be another good and uplifting meeting, building on the work done in East London
