Synod School, a Presbyterian conference, made its way to campus from July 21-26 for its 70th anniversary and weeklong intergenerational family gathering.  

Planned by Deb DeMeester, BVU event staff, and DeMeester’s committee of eight other coordinators, the event brought in approximately 544 people, 84 of whom are attending for the first time.  

The attendees were spread across almost every building, attending classes, workshops, and Bible camps across campus with a diverse range of people spanning 28 states and three different countries. 

David McBride, an elder at the First Presbyterian Church of Omaha, and attendee of the academy classes shared one of his favorite aspects of the experience. “Making connections. Jesus said ’wherever one or two or two or three of you gather, there I am.’ And so even now, if I’m just sitting by myself, it’s kind of lonely, but being engaged with someone else is powerful.”

Crowds came, old and young, from 5 months old up to 101 years of age to the 70th annual celebration to meet people, make connections, and learn more about their faith. 

“It’s so much fun to come and see other styles of worship in a service… We’ve done Taizé  services, we’ve got a band, up there led by a pastor that has a very traditional church, so, there’s something for everybody,.” said Lisa Tarbell, evening activities coordinator for the Synod School. 

The different ways to worship were only the tip of the iceberg to all the workshops and classes under way such as ‘Heaven, Hell and the Underworld,’ ‘Chemistry and Food,’ taught by BVU university Chaplain/Associate Professor of Chemistry, Dr. Melanie Hauser, and ‘Happy Accidents: The Theology of Bob Ross,’ along with a variety of others.

On Friday, July 26 the event came to a close after a sendoff in Schaller chapel. After the year of planning that went into this year’s event, the coordinators will get to work preparing for next year to bring everyone together once again.