Let’s look back a century at the 1921 meeting of Synod. Delegates met at the Pittsburgh, Pa., church building, located downtown on Eighth Street with 177 members. It was one of the RPCNA’s largest congregations, although it was smaller than some rural churches in Iowa and Kansas. Just seven years later, it merged with the shrinking Central Allegheny congregation and moved out of the downtown area.

Synod’s moderator was T.M. Slater, age 52, who was about to conclude a 17-year pastorate at Seattle. There were 183 delegates (115 teaching and 68 ruling elders) from 89 congregations in all 12 presbyteries and the Chinese Mission. The meetings spanned 8 days and resulted in 34 decisions.

Synod’s 1871 meeting had been dominated by the adoption of the new Covenant of 1871. The 1921 meeting acknowledged the anniversary by publishing an “Added Statement” about the events of the past half-century and scheduling a set of special addresses. However, interest in the Covenant had waned; a committee considered publishing the addresses, but publication was rejected because only five or six congregations wanted copies.

As well as making ordinary statements related to political dissent, Synod took several additional government-related actions. It protested alleged ties between Sinn Fein—then fighting for Irish Catholic independence from the United Kingdom—and the American Catholic hierarchy. President Harding was sent two letters: praising him for refusing to break the Sabbath by golfing, and urging him to support Armenian refugees. The delegates even voted to interrupt their meetings with an hour-long Flag Day celebration. It was “carried out with intense interest and enthusiasm,” apparently without mention of the four Canadian delegates and the church’s historic opposition to the U.S. government as an immoral institution.

Finally, although the Covenant of 1871 was becoming less significant, church history was important in 1921. Synod considered starting a church historical society, an effort that underlies today’s archival collections at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary. A newly published “Covenanter Bibliography” was commended. W.M. Glasgow’s history of the church was now a third of a century old; so Synod asked for a new book of minister biographies. That project took nine years to complete.

Image caption: Synod met at the Pittsburgh RP Church