”"Now is not the time to close yourself off and decide to look back instead of looking forward; we don’t have that choice, brothers and sisters. This is our time, friends; let’s do it well! I believe it is the time to together decide that we can optimize the RCA’s sustained spiritual and organizational health through moving into the suggested directions of the restructuring team."
—Rev. Judy NelsonGeneral Synod president
As a church assembly, General Synod is organized around the Reformed understanding that God’s will is revealed in community, and that together, the delegation seeks to discern the mind of Christ. Ministry leaders from across the U.S. and Canada, as well as two from Chile, gathered for a week of discernment, decision making, worship, and fellowship. Synod was held at the Westin La Paloma in Tucson, Arizona, from June 13-18, 2024.
While holding General Synod at a hotel does have a higher cost than holding it at one of the RCA’s colleges, synod was held at a hotel out of consideration for the delegates’ well-being and ability to do their work well. In 2021, delegates found the hotel setting positively contributed to their ability to do their work and that there was a healthier tenor of discussion, even with significant decisions like the Vision 2020 recommendations at hand.
General Synod acknowledged its presence on indigenous ancestral lands and territories; in particular, Tucson is home to the Tohono, O’odham, and the Yaqui.
Restructuring team’s work celebrated for guiding the denomination forward
The 2024 General Synod centered largely around the work of the restructuring team. After two years of discerning a denominational structure that would best serve the RCA, the restructuring team brought ten recommendations forward. Each was geared toward sustaining spiritual and organizational health, now and in the future.
On Friday evening, delegates affirmed the work of the restructuring team by passing five recommendations with overwhelming majorities, including condensing classes and regional synods to middle assemblies, moving toward holding General Synod in-person every three years, and resizing the delegation to General Synod. Read the full outcomes of Friday’s discussions. Recommendations with changes to the Book of Church Order will still require two-thirds approval by RCA classes, and ratification by General Synod 2025.
The spirit of change continued on Saturday morning as several more restructuring recommendations were presented, with the majority being approved. From exploring equitable ordination and reception processes to gifted elders being permitted to serve as church supervisors, General Synod expressed a high level of unity over many of the decisions made. Read the full outcomes of Saturday’s decisions.
General Synod expressed great appreciation and support for the hard work of the restructuring team, closing out their report with enthusiastic applause and a standing ovation from the delegation.
Several recommendations require additional work from commissions before decisions can be made at future General Synods. The synod did not approve the recommendation to cap covenant shares at 2 percent, and it modified the recommendation to change the membership size and budget of the commissions.
At a Glance:
Restructuring Decisions at General Synod 2024
Approved
- Condense regional synods and classes into a single assembly*
- Update the name of the merged assembly: middle assembly*
- Ensure equity in the new judicial bodies
- Hold General Synod in-person every three years
- Resize the delegation of General Synod
- Experiment with a consensus model for decision making
- Adjust the approval process for changes to the Book of Church Order
- Pursue an equitable and just ordination and reception process (amended)
- Adjust the commissions’ sizes and requirements (amended)
- Allow gifted elders to serve as church supervisors* (amended)
Rejected
- Deacons will not serve as voting delegates to middle assemblies
- No 2 percent cap on General Synod covenant shares
For an in-depth overview of the synod proceedings, read part 1 and part 2.
* denotes a constitutional change, which now needs approval by two-thirds of classes, then ratification by General Synod 2025. The other approved recommendations were assigned to various commissions or boards, who will bring suggested changes to General Synod 2025 and 2026.
”“This was my sixth RCA General Synod. … How moving it has been to experience such a dramatic shift in tone that I have witnessed as you have found a place of respectful discernment to determine how the Spirit continues to move in the life of the RCA.”
—Mark Pettisecumenical delegate from the United Church of Christ
Joshua Scheid and Sarah Palsma elected
Delegates elected Rev. Joshua Scheid as the next General Synod president, and Rev. Sarah Palsma as the next vice president. Scheid is pastor of Massapequa Reformed Church on Long Island, New York. Palsma is co-pastor of New Hope Church in Powell, Ohio. They were installed at General Synod closing worship and will serve over the coming year.
”“For way too long, we in the Reformed Church in America have been divided, and it’s time, RCA, to start living in a manner worthy of the calling that we have received from the Lord. Let us become the church God wants us to be. We are Reformed and always reforming.”
—Rev. Eddy Alemángeneral secretary
A Revelation 7:9 church
The RCA’s commitment to a multicultural, multiracial future freed from racism was woven throughout the synod, with many references to the biblical imagery of Revelation 7:9, which describes all tribes, tongues, peoples, and nations gathered around God’s throne in worship.
Each morning, one of the RCA’s four racial and ethnic councils ushered delegates into worship. From gospel choirs to prayers and songs spoken and sung in multiple languages, the diverse tapestry of the RCA was highlighted.
The synod participated in extensive discussion on race and privilege. Delegates began the synod with a two-hour antiracism training, and later voted to require RCA commissions to undergo antiracism training every two years. The synod also spent hours discussing, and adopting, recommendations designed to bring more equity to church governance and to align the Book of Church Order with the RCA’s antiracism policy. Learn about the changes that were adopted and will next go to classes for approval. The changes were initiated by the African American Black Council.
Task force to study international church planting
A task force will be formed to study the opportunities and implications of having RCA churches beyond North America. Several groups within the RCA structure have expressed a need for clarification on how to incorporate the influx of new churches from outside the U.S. and Canada—and possibly more to come—with equity, justice, and good order into the RCA. The taskforce will include members from several commissions, RCA Global Mission staff, church multiplication staff, and classes who are currently in relationship with churches beyond North America. A preliminary report is due to General Synod 2025, with further recommendations regarding church multiplication outside North America expected in 2026.
General Synod also:
- Celebrated 27 churches that officially organized or joined the RCA in the last year
- Concluded a year of celebrations commemorating five decades of women’s ordination as elders, deacons, and ministers in the RCA
- Honored retired ministers and missionaries
- Set a 2.5 percent rate for covenant shares, and approved a retained Global Mission Partner-in-Mission share rate of $6,900
- Commended the ongoing work of the U.S. and Canadian governments toward a permanent ceasefire in Gaza
- Collected offerings for the RCA chaplains conference and RCA mission partners in the Netherlands; if you’d like to contribute to the General Synod offering, visit the offering page
- Denied the Regional Synod of Canada’s overture to be its own denomination, but encouraged Canadian classes and congregations to maintain open dialogue about their particular needs and whether continued collaboration might be possible in the developing restructuring process
Tools and resources for ministry
- From Thursday’s antiracism training, a curated list of books and podcasts to grow in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Watch the antiracism training, or get additional resources for dismantling racism
- “Building Brave Spaces Together: A Short Bibliography to Guide Christian Discernment”
- “On the Rafters of the Cathedral of Love,” a paper about the theological framework of RCA structures
- Missionaries and chaplains recorded videos for the synod to provide scriptural grounding for the work of discernment
- Spiritual Discernment Toolkit: How to hear from God
- Retiree chaplains in the RCA
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