7/5/2023 – by: Shawn Fisher
One in series of posts by Southern New England Conference delegates to the 34th General Synod of the United Church of Christ.
One vote. One. One vote determined the difference between the UCC Synod remaining every two years or moving to every three. Had one person changed their vote to “no”, it would have changed the result.
I’m not saying I’m unhappy with the result. I’m just pointing out the fact that a one vote swing would have changed the result. It was THAT close.
And, we still had a civil discussion.
People were respectful to each other.
Good points were made by both sides.
People respected each other’s words.
Nobody lost their minds when a voting glitch nearly changed the result and led to delays and questions about the system as a fix was implemented.
After the vote, some people were happy, others relieved, still others sad.
Still, I saw no major animosity as we departed the hall that day. I couldn’t tell a meaningful difference in the way people acted towards each other compared to other days.
It isn’t always like that. Actually, it’s rarely like that. The civil debate. The even keeled emotions. The acceptance of the results. Sure there were some inaccurate statements and facts that weren’t right, but it worked. It all worked well.
Some might say that the stakes of the vote may not have been as high as others in the world. That may be true. But this vote mattered to people and we did it right.
That gives me hope. Hope that we can do this disagreement thing, this civil debate thing, well. It gives me hope that maybe we can hold this American democracy thing together. That matters to me. Maybe it matters to you too.
Peace, Shawn
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