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UCC Synod in the City
UCC General Synod
Hartford, Connecticut
June 23, 2007
Photos from Mark Tuttle
The UCC General Synod
and UCC Synod in the City
were held in the Hartford Civic Center just four blocks from the Connecticut
River and lots of beautiful running trails. The General Synod attracted
8,000 people, and the Synod in the City drew 15,000. The Synod in the City
was a special celebration of the UCC's 50th Anniversary. The main events
were literally held in a basketball arena with rear-projection screens
everywhere to make it easy for those of us in the back to see. In fact, at
the back of the arena the screens were arranged in a U shape, so if you examine
the pictures below, you can see the front of the screen near the camera and the
back of the screen on the other side of the arena, and see both the image and
the mirror image. There were worship services throughout the event, and while
the services were nothing like we are used to seeing at PACC, when you sing a
hymn like "The Church's One Foundation" with 8,000 people at your back singing
at the tops of their voices, that can really lift the hair on the back of your
head!!! Other events were held in churches and buildings around downtown
Hartford, but when 15,000 people are walking from event to event, nearly every
venue other than the Civic Center was filled to capacity immediately. Featured
speakers we were able to hear during the day included Bill Moyers, John
Hockenberry, Barack Obama, Ray Kurzweil, and Peter Gomes.
We stayed across the street from the Civic Center where most
of the Synod events were held. See what happens when you get lucky and get
a free upgrade to a great suite!
Boylston, Massachusetts
We stopped at Tower Hill on the way down to Connecticut to
enjoy their acres of beautiful gardens and forested walks.
See pictures from other events
at the church.
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