1989 I attended the 17th General Synod of the United Church of Christ held in Fort Worth, Texas. I was not a voting delegate. As a youth chaperone with the youth delegation of the Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Christ, I attended. Much of my time was invested in keeping track of the youth in our delegation, ensuring they were safe and present for all plenary sessions and participated fully in the synod youth events.

One of the interesting debates that the youth watched with some enthusiasm was a proposal that the national setting of the church, which had offices in New York City and St. Louis, be consolidated into a single building in Cleveland. The move was seen as a way to bring the national setting closer to the general membership of the church. It was also speculated that the church could attract more diverse leadership in Cleveland because the cost of living was lower than in New York City. It was also argued that owning a building would be a better long-term investment than paying rent in multiple locations. The General Synod approved the move in a series of actions.

In January 1990, the church closed on purchasing the former Ohio Bell building and began renovating and moving its offices into it. As a local church pastor, I was amazed that the phone system worked. In the new building, calling and getting through to various church leaders when I needed their guidance and advice was easy.

Not long after the move to the new offices at 700 Prospect Street in Cleveland, I began to do a fair amount of educational consulting for the denomination. I was a member of a team of educational consultants who were deployed regionally to serve congregations. As a result, I made many trips to Cleveland over the next few decades and learned my way around Cleveland and the nine stories of the UCC national headquarters. I was used to being able to find various national leaders by wandering into their offices and chatting with them as I saw fit.

In addition to the former Ohio Bell building, the church could purchase a lot and construct a hotel adjacent to what we were then calling “Church House.” We stayed in the UCC hotel when we were in town, which was convenient for our work.

The period of owning our church house was a relatively short chapter in our denomination's history. In 2021, the denomination listed the nine-story building for sale and moved its national ministry offices to leased space in the AECOM building at 1300 E. 9th St. Our meetings today and tomorrow will be in those offices.

As one who has many fond memories of the days when our church offices were on Prospect Street, I am a bit of a dinosaur. Some of the younger members of our team don’t have any memories of the old place, and others remember mostly the things about the old building that didn’t work very well. The new offices are modern and have a lot of technology that works well. The meeting room where we will meet has multiple monitors spread around a large conference table so that participants can see not only the others participating in person but also those participating remotely.

When I come to the national setting of the United Church of Christ, I hear some words describing how our church operates these days. Terms like “business-like,” “efficient,” and “downsized” are bandied about. I suppose that all are truer about how we operate as a church these days than we used to. I remember when the United Church of Christ consisted of multiple independent nonprofit corporations, each with its board of directors. The old corporate boards were large, unwieldy, and awkward. Those days are now gone. The executive council of the United Church of Christ has been reformed to be smaller and empowered for more rapid decision-making. The office of the General Minister and President has been strengthened. The experiment of having a collegium of equals at the church's heart has been abandoned and replaced with a strong executive.

I do not frequently hear about theological models when visiting our church's national setting. For example, servant leadership is rarely mentioned, and sacrifice is not a popular term in this church arena. Instead, I hear about boundaries, role definitions, and lines of authority. Church leaders have explained concepts like the chain of command and executive authority to me.

These are not models one observes in the stories of Jesus and the disciples. The rag-tag collection of followers often crossed over boundary lines. Those who had been rich and powerful were usually called up short. People who didn’t follow the protocol become significant characters in the gospel story. Jesus wasn’t businesslike or efficient. He never directed his followers to downsize.

It is not my position to lay out the operating structures of our denomination. There are good reasons why I am not in charge. I am happy to be a church member, passionate about the ministries of children and youth, and enjoy standing with them and watching their faith develop. When I think back to that General Synod in 1989, it is good that I wasn’t asked to serve on any of the committees, write any of the resolutions, or provide the vision to shape the church's future. I was exactly where I belonged, sitting with teens, observing the church in action, getting to know other teens from other parts of the church, and witnessing the church's workings.

That is still where I belong. My role is to be with and advocate for children and youth in our church. I ask for resources for local congregations to strengthen ministries with children and youth. I suggest programs that can be shared within our church. I do not need to be in charge of anything.

I am visiting the church’s national setting for a few days. I’ll do my best to participate in, advocate for, and promote children and youth ministries. Then, I’ll head back home, where I will read stories, add books to the library, and sit with the youth as they observe the church's processes.