A couple things to consider. 1. Jose Rayas must have choosen to take a year off from being an officer, as he was not on our final ballot (and undoubtedly many people nominated him again). 2. Scott Greenway was only willing to serve as a Clerk this year (he did not leave his name up for Presidential nominations). 3. Only 1 year of prior officer experience is low, but I was surprised it was as common as it is (26% of the time)? 4. While this is the most "Mid-West" Synod since 1993, note that Synod had 3 of 4 officers from Grand Rapids Classes, where as this one had none (which also displays a shifting). 5. I wonder, between retirement trends, and missing two years of Synod gatherings for Covid, if there will be somewhat of a lower experience level trend line for a while?
Lloyd is correct. If you look at the list of nominees, if the last names are any indication, there are no persons of colour listed. For president and VP only one woman is listed and this is her first ever synod. Under clerks, the only other woman is Luann Sankey, who did serve one year. Greenway and Kranenburg have previously been officers and they were not willing to serve in any capacity except clerk. So trying to elect a diverse group as has become expected would be pretty difficult.
Sorry to push back on the language again. Is it possible for someone to be leftist in their politics and be traditional on marriage? Or even join Abide? Marriage seems apolitical to me. Especially from Canada where it really isn't on the docket.
That’s correct. In looking at the historical data, I was looking at the church the officer was in at the time they held office. It got too tedious to track nationality of the officebearer.
A couple things to consider. 1. Jose Rayas must have choosen to take a year off from being an officer, as he was not on our final ballot (and undoubtedly many people nominated him again). 2. Scott Greenway was only willing to serve as a Clerk this year (he did not leave his name up for Presidential nominations). 3. Only 1 year of prior officer experience is low, but I was surprised it was as common as it is (26% of the time)? 4. While this is the most "Mid-West" Synod since 1993, note that Synod had 3 of 4 officers from Grand Rapids Classes, where as this one had none (which also displays a shifting). 5. I wonder, between retirement trends, and missing two years of Synod gatherings for Covid, if there will be somewhat of a lower experience level trend line for a while?
All very good points. I think your #4 point is extremely important. This really shows the kinds of changes that have been happening.
Lloyd is correct. If you look at the list of nominees, if the last names are any indication, there are no persons of colour listed. For president and VP only one woman is listed and this is her first ever synod. Under clerks, the only other woman is Luann Sankey, who did serve one year. Greenway and Kranenburg have previously been officers and they were not willing to serve in any capacity except clerk. So trying to elect a diverse group as has become expected would be pretty difficult.
Sorry to push back on the language again. Is it possible for someone to be leftist in their politics and be traditional on marriage? Or even join Abide? Marriage seems apolitical to me. Especially from Canada where it really isn't on the docket.
Yes, definitely possible, though probably unusual.
I believe that Rev Terpstra is Canadian and has served a Canadian congregation. :)
That’s correct. In looking at the historical data, I was looking at the church the officer was in at the time they held office. It got too tedious to track nationality of the officebearer.