SA 2023: 20 May 2023
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Contents
Report
Submission Deadline:
1 April 2023 |
Synod Assembly 2023 will be held Saturday, 20 May 2023,
at the Mon County 4H Center, Mylan Park, near Morgantown,
WV.
Repeating some things from last year
Last year marked a major departure from our usual
approach to Synod Assembly. The pandemic was a major
factor. Seeing that we are still managing pandemical
issues and being relatively pleased with the way things
went last year---not everything was perfect, but it went
better than expected in most ways---we are repeating some
of the measures and making some tweaks. Some of those
things affect those who make reports.
- SA 2023 is planned as a one-day event.
- There will be two meetings (one before lunch and one
after lunch) as part of the session. BTW, we often get
the terms meeting and session reversed. The typical
synod assembly is one session over two days with three
meetings (one Friday afternoon, one Saturday morning,
and one Saturday afternoon).
- There is always the possibility of an adjourned
meeting, but that is at the will of the assembly as to
time and place. Such an adjourned meeting may be
ordered
- if required business is not completed by the end of the day, or
- if the Synod Assembly desires an adjourned meeting to tackle business that is not required by our governing documents and rules.
- Podium time will be limited in the proposed agenda.
- Oral reports and business required under our governing documents and rules will be on the proposed agenda.
- Those business activities (e.g., resolutions and memorials) that are of the rights of the assembly under RONR will be on the proposed agenda.
- Those oral reports that are not required under our
governing documents and rules will not be on
the proposed agenda, but may be ordered by the
assembly.
As in past years, the Pre-Assembly Bulletin of
Reports includes options for inclusion of hypertext
links for
- websites/pages
- downloadable documents
- Youtube videos
- etc.
The more adventurous and tech savvy may want to consider
a live stream event. More on this further down this
page.
Pre-Assembly Bulletin of Reports
| Help us plan for
the Pre-Assembly Bulletin of Reports by
completing this online form: |
Some agencies, institutions, ministries, etc. are
required to report to the Synod Assembly. Others have a
longstanding tradition of reporting even though it has
been optional. If you are in either of those categories,
please read the following carefully.
Submission deadline for the Pre-Assembly
Bulletin of Reports is close of Monday, 1 April
2023.
Submitting a written report
We will still have a pre-assembly bulletin of reports,
and you are invited to contribute a report for that
bulletin. We ask you to complete a short online form (WV-WMD SA 2023:
Report Query) to assist us in compiling that
bulletin.
Important: When
submitting a report,
- email to Bishop@WV-WMD.org;
- begin the subject line with "SA Report: " followed by
your institution, agency, ministry, office, etc.; and
- if you do not receive confirmation of receipt, contact
the bishop (first by email and, then, by phone if
there is no email response within a few days—things do
sometimes end up in the spam box).
Limited formatting power
Our online platform employed for the Pre-Assembly
Bulletin of Reports has limited formatting features.
Think of this like the old days when images, fancy
diagrams, and cool formatting were not standard. Whether
you send your report in PDF, MS-Word, Word Perfect, RTF,
or TXT, we will be cutting and pasting on our end. Be
merciful to us; we beg you!
We reserve the right not to include images we deem
gratuitous. We will attempt to convert charts and diagrams
to image files, but resolution cannot be guaranteed. It
may be best for you to take advantage of the hypertext
embed option.
Hypertext embeds
As mentioned, we can embed hypertext links. Feel free to
go wild with respect to website/page referrals,
downloadable documents, youtube and media sites, social
media links, etc. Be sure to provide the raw URL
(because we can't make the hypertext link unless we know
the URL). If you have a lot of these, however, it would
make our lives a whole lot easier if you would create a
webpage (to serve as a landing page) with all those links
that we can provide just one link to.
Live stream, Zoom etc.
If you wish to offer a live stream or Zoom-type
videoconference to the members of the Synod Assembly, use
your report in the Pre-Assembly Bulletin of Reports
as a place to advertise/announce and to provide the
necessary weblinks and/or login information. We cannot
guarantee it at this time, but we are investigating
whether we can provide a launch pad on our Synod Assembly
website to advertise such things. N.B., we
will not provide the hosting. Hosting is up to you. Since
the Pre-Assembly Bulletin of Reports is not
published until 10 days before the assembly convenes, you
will have to consider what timing works for you.
At the assembly
Oral reports
As mentioned, only required oral reports will be on the
proposed agenda. Likewise, live or pre-recorded video
reports will not be shown at the assembly. It is your
option to mount such things on the web, and we will embed
hypetext links to them in your written report.
Workshops, round tables, etc.
No workshops are scheduled for this year. On the other hand, a 90-minute lunch is being proposed. During that time, anyone is free to gather interested parties for presentation and/or conversation. The assembly chamber will not be available except by the consent of the chair (because there may be assembly-related business taking place in the chamber over lunch). There is, however, a great deal of room under the outdoor pavilion, and it may be possible to give you an area or reserve you a table. If you are thinking about using the outdoor pavilion, visit our Exhibiting at Synod Assembly page.
Feel free to feed people if it is to your advantage.
Lunch (i.e., food) is not included as part of the
assembly. What's the old maxim? "Feed them, and they will
come?" There will be plenty of room under the pavilion
(though we aren't sure how many tables and chairs we will
have in that space) for eating or other activities. There
are also dozens of dining options within a reasonable
drive of the venue. We expect that many will scatter for
lunch, and you, likewise, are free to invite people to a
local dining establishment. Even picnicking on the grounds
of Mylan Park is not out of the question.
Handouts
We discontinued the "assembly packet" a few years back.
We will not receive by mail items for distribution to the
assembly except by prior arrangement. Distribution at the
assembly requires the consent of either the Synod
Secretary or the Committee for Reference & Counsel.
Approved exhibitors may distribute materials at their
respective exhibits with implied consent (which may be
withdrawn by the Synod Secretary or the Committee for
Reference & Council).