General Board Report
on 2020

Rev. Joshua Patty
Regional Minister and President

Each year, the General Board of the Christian Church requests a report from each regional and general ministry. This month, I submitted a report highlighting some of the ministry of the Christian Church in the Upper Midwest in 2020.

General Board Report on 2020

The past year was one of challenge, adaptation, and transition for the congregations and leaders of the Christian Church in the Upper Midwest as we continued to live our vision of being Disciples Together.

The COVID pandemic and response made it unwise and unsafe to gather together in large numbers after March. For many congregations, this meant transitioning worship services, educational opportunities, meetings, and outreach efforts to virtual spaces. For our region, it also meant no large gatherings in one space, meaning no weeks of church camp and no All-Congregation Gathering at our Christian Conference Center. Our physical distancing also made it difficult to grieve our losses or to celebrate blessings.

On May 25, the killing of George Floyd by a police officer while being arrested in Minneapolis, MN attracted international attention and outrage. In response many of our church leaders participated in protests, prayer vigils, educational sessions, community organizing, and more, exemplifying our work to be an anti-racist/pro-reconciling church.

On August 11, a massive derecho with peak winds estimated at 140 mph caused severe property and crop damage across large parts of Iowa. In many areas, power was knocked out for more than a week, hampering initial responses and creating hardships for those affected...