General Synod Daily Recap: Thursday, June 11, 2026

Worship calls delegates to unity in Christ

Threads of unity, Christ’s love, and God’s faithfulness were woven through opening worship. Portions of worship were spoken and sung in Apache, Spanish, and English.

Rev. Cora Taitt, pastor of Highbridge Community Church in the Bronx, New York, read Ephesians 3:14-19 and preached a message calling the synod to seek unity in Christ, strengthened by the fullness of God’s love and led by a revelation of reconciliation that moved the apostle Paul to praise and prayer.

“God revealed to Paul his glorious plan for his church. The plan, once hidden, breaks down all barriers to create one equal and loving community. This plan—that the church be one, the plan that Paul was so excited about—it’s what drew me to faith in Christ,” shared Taitt. “I grew up in a small southern town where I was an outsider. There were signs reminding me where I could and could not go and reminding me that I was not welcome. But my Sunday school teacher said to me, ‘In Jesus, we are all one. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. God is the great equalizer. Salvation is through faith and a gift of God.’ This message changed my life forever.

“We share the Spirit and have equal access to the Father. Every soul is important and has a place. He’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone. Christ is the chief cornerstone that holds all the parts together. This oneness is the proof of the gospel power,” she said. “It’s a tall order. It’s not easy. Even though this may seem impossible to bring people together in this way—to be one—God is able. He can do it.”

Taitt, general secretary Rev. Eddy Alemán, and synod chaplain Rev. Jim Knol presided over the Lord’s Table as the General Synod celebrated communion together.

Offerings are taken during the synod’s opening worship service, Sunday worship service, and closing worship service. This year, Palsma selected Tesoros de Dios (God’s Treasures), a partner of RCA Global Mission that she visited in April, as the beneficiary of General Synod offerings. This ministry provides therapy programs and a supportive environment for children with disabilities in Nicaragua. You can contribute to the offering here.

Equity-based hospitality training

On Thursday evening, at the request of the president, delegates participated in a training on equity-based hospitality, which is the biblical practice of welcoming both friends and strangers in generous, kind, respectful, flexible, barrier-free ways.

“General Synod is the broadest assembly of the Reformed Church in America, so it brings together delegates from a wide variety of geographic locations, racial and ethnic backgrounds, ages, and abilities,” said Rev. Sarah Palsma, synod president. “We believe that God is bringing together a diverse, Revelation 7:9 church in the Reformed Church in America, and we celebrate that diversity. Practicing equity-based hospitality is a way that we can create an environment at General Synod where everyone feels like a welcome and valued member of this body.”

The training was led by Rev. Dr. Liz Testa, who serves on GSC staff as the director of the RCA’s Revelation 7:9 ministries.

“This is a foundational tenet of our ministry in the Center for Church Multiplication and Ministry, and we believe that it is a way for us to move forward together,” said Testa. “This is not the way the world does it; this is the way God does it. We’re trying to see how God is calling us to be a beautiful, harmonious, and unified body shining the light of Christ out into a broken and troubled world that needs us now and needs Jesus more than ever. We are embracing the kingdom of God among us. We stand before Jesus our great God and King, and we’re having a foretaste of what that will be. The great unveiling is already among us.

“This is a collaborative effort, just like the women and men who journeyed with Jesus. We are on the journey of transformation together,” said Testa. “Believe that it is possible to emerge from this General Synod feeling encouraged, hopeful, and able to embrace God’s promise for the future of the RCA in your own corner of the world and for us as the body of Christ. Dare to believe it like Mary believed and Elizabeth prophesied, ‘Blessed is she who believed.’ We too can believe.”

A hospitality team and a bias response team were also organized by the General Synod president for General Synod 2026.

Land use acknowledgement

The following land use acknowledgement was developed with assistance by the Commission on Christian Action and is in keeping with the instruction to “annually state a land acknowledgement for any location in which General Synod meets” (Minutes of General Synod 2021, page 203).

“We respectfully acknowledge that the land on which the 2026 General Synod of the Reformed Church in America meets is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples, who were removed from their ancestral lands, often by governmental entities, and usually by violent means. Tennessee was once the homeland of the Cherokee and Chickasaw people, among others. We acknowledge their history in this place and lament any role the Reformed Church in America or her members may have played in their displacement.”