When I found out from Kimberly Whitney that I would be attending the United Church of Christ's General Synod in Hartford, Conn., I was both excited and nervous. Here I was, Tony McMahon, a novice as green as they come when it came to understanding this newly acquired affiliation to the UCC, and I was not only going to go to General Synod (the 50th anniversary celebration as well), but — What? I would be helping to plan it?! I think I might have had a seizure.

In the subsequent weeks leading up to the big day (well, actually, week), I joined Meredith Jackson, DaVita McCallister, LiErin Probasco, and numerous others via conference call 2-3 times a week. There were ups and downs in planning — roadblocks, rescheduling of the itinerary, and all the other baggage that goes along with planning for thousands. Oh, and have I mentioned that I had no idea what exactly happened at this event that I was helping to plan?

Of course it wasn't that bad, and I loved every minute of it. I was, after all, receiving a crash course in church organization. And though I learned an enormous amount in the weeks before Synod, the actual experience would change my life.

Aside from a few minor snags (some housing/registration issues with the youth and the various other chaos that is natural for an event of such size), the event was nothing shy of astounding. Synod officially began June 22, and the first major event was the Opening Celebration, held in the Colosseum of the Convention Center. Commemorating the 50 years of achievement in the UCC, a sort of jazz musical featuring a detective investigating the church helped set the mood of importance surrounding this General Synod. Although I haven't been to any other General Synods, it seemed pretty clear to me that although business would still be conducted in plenary, the fellowship of the UCC members and the celebration of its 50th birthday would take center stage — and that was perfectly fine with me.

Due to my involvement in scheduling events for Young Adults throughout the week, I was only able to attend the plenary session on the 26th. In all honesty, I was reluctant to go — I was starting to get quite used to all the celebrating, and now I had to go talk about resolutions? I was surprised at how interesting it was. Meredith Jackson had been telling me all week at how plenary was her favorite part of Synod, and after seeing delegates debate and discuss the resolutions (sometimes almost painstakingly so), I could clearly understand where she was coming from.

On Saturday the thousands of UCCers were unleashed into Hartford to enjoy Synod in the City. This unique and quite massive program provided numerous ways for one to enjoy themselves. There was a little bit of everything: speakers like our keynote and Emmy-winning Bill Moyers, workshops on LGBT Biblical Defense, choirs, musicians, and much, much more. Not to mention that during the entire week there were oodles of booths to visit in the Convention Center. Oh, and also add into the mix the numerous Young Adult and Youth after-hours events guaranteed to invigorate and suck out all remaining energy that might be left from a nice long day.

As for my best memory, that would have to go to the Young Adult "Guerilla Worship Service." During an interesting Theology on Tap event on Saturday night, Brian Guffey spoke with me on the need for the Young Adults to band together and throw their own worship service on Sunday before the General Body's. A small band assembled and pulled through the night to throw it all together the next morning. It has acted as a motivator for me to encourage Young Adult involvement and leadership in the UCC.

Hartford- check.
Grand Rapids- here I come.
Oh, and "Let it Shine!"

Tony McMahon is in his first year on the STEP Leadership Team. A native of Wauseon, Ohio, he will be a junior at Heidelberg College in the fall.