It is finished!

-->

Closing day of General Convention 2009! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Although this convention has been much less contentious than (I’m told) previous ones, we are all weary. Fortunately, our deputation has worked remarkably well together and I am grateful to these other exhausted Alabamians for their friendship counsel these past two weeks. We have maintained a cheerful camaraderie even under the strain of differing opinions. We have engaged in honest and frank discussions of difficult topics in which my thoughts and beliefs have been challenged and informed and I am grateful to these good people for their willingness to be open to me and to each other even we

when we disagreed. Through all of it, we have maintained a care for each other - and for the process - that makes me very proud to be part of this deputation, especially in light of the increasing frustration level of some of our nearby deputations over the past few days.

Yesterday was a very difficult day as we made the hard choices of a convention called on to cut a budget by 12 ½ percent. Important programs were lost. People, real people with names and families, will lose jobs. Due to the current economic strains, “the asking” (the amount requested by The Episcopal Church from each diocese - currently at 21.5%) is being held level in 2010, and then reduced slightly in each of the following two years. This, of course, put even further strains on the budget with which we dealt this week.

Throughout this process, however, we have managed to maintain (and even increase) our commitment to mission. Our Presiding Bishop’s opening address and the theme that mission is the heartbeat of our church, resounded with those of us gathered to do the work of this 76^th General Convention and led those who developed the budget to embrace the following five priorities in our budgeting for the next three years:

• Networking the members of the Body of Christ (within the Episcopal Church, the larger Anglican Communion, and in ecumenical relationships with other churches)
• Alleviating Poverty and Injustice
• Claiming our Identity
• Growing Congregations and the Next Generations of Faith
• Strengthening Governance and Foundations for Ministry

Many of the budgeting decisions we made were difficult and yet we remain in an atmosphere of hope and optimism. Some of the programs that were cut may have reached the end of their life cycle and their ending may generate new and exciting initiatives. We will find ways to reduce expenses (including the expenses of the next General Convention) and use more of our money for the mission of the church. More meetings will be held by teleconference, reducing our carbon footprint and protecting the earth, “our island home.” Resurrection from death – it is the pattern of our lives together and though not easy, reveals to us God’s goodness and care.

As we prepare to leave this place, there is some tension and unease about the position this convention has taken on the issue of human sexuality. Two resolutions, in particular, have captured the attention of the media who seem, remarkably, to have written their headlines long before we even arrived in Anaheim. I have included both resolutions below and invite you to read them for yourselves.

The first is resolution D025. This resolution - passed by a wide margin in both houses - strongly reaffirms our commitment to the Anglican Communion and acknowledges that when the communion called on us “listen to the experience of homosexual persons” over the past 30 years - we actually did so. What the church found was that our membership includes many gay persons who are living in lifelong, committed relationships and that many of them have served, and continue to serve, in all aspects of the ministries of our churches, including ordained ministry. The discernment process for ordained ministry, as set forth in our constitution and canons, is open and available to all people God might call to those ministries and this resolution simply restates that. Finally, the resolution acknowledges that the people of The Episcopal Church continue to discern these issues and that in our discernment of Holy Scripture, tradition and reason, we are not yet of one mind.

This statement is, I think, a fair assessment of where we are as a church. The resolution does not instruct changes in our church. It does not change our constitutions or our canons. It seems to me simply an honest summary of where we are at this point in our common lives together. From my perspective, such honesty is the only beginning point from which true relationship can flourish.

The second resolution is one you may have already read about. It, too, passed overwhelmingly in the House of Bishops yesterday and passed overwhelmingly in the House of Deputies today. I have been amazed at how incorrectly this resolution has been reported in the media – including the Birmingham News – and, again, invite you to read the resolution for yourself.

This resolution begins by acknowledging the changing perspective and diverse dynamic in the United States with regards to the unions of gay and lesbian persons. As a result of these changing societal and legal dynamics, a very serious pastoral need has arisen and the church needs to be prepared to offer a pastoral response. (A priest in a diocese where gay unions are legal made a very compelling case to the House of Deputies a few days ago. She told us she had several couples in her parish who are now legally married but she has no means of responding to them pastorally, does not have a clear directive from our church on how she is to respond to them pastorally, and asked earnestly for help from her church on what she should do.)

Resolution C056 instructs the Standing Committee on Liturgy and Music (in consultation with the House of Bishops) to collect and develop RESOURCES (not liturgies – resources) and report them back to the next convention. (The Associated Press article which the Birmingham News ran implied that the bishops had approved rites for same sex unions. This is completely false and terribly misleading.) Once again, please read the resolution.

In addition to these two “hot button” resolutions, we also commissioned a major (and long overdue) study on the theology of marriage to be conducted by the Theology Committee which Bishop Parsley chairs. Actually having a clear and deeply thought-out theology from which to base these conversations will be tremendously helpful as we navigate the new and choppy waters in which we find ourselves.

There will be some additional information coming to you soon in the form of a letter from Bishop Parsley and I will also forward a letter written by Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori to Archbishop Rowan Williams and others in the Anglican Communion about the resolutions from this convention.

Though the experience has been personally taxing and stressful, as most difficult things tend to be, this process has been transformative for me. I have a different perspective of and a greater appreciation for the magnitude and scope of this our beloved part of the body of Christ. I am going to spend the next several days reflecting on the whirlwind of this 76^th General Convention, re-reading articles, looking at my notes, re-reading some of the legislation that came at us so very quickly. (We processed almost 400 pieces of legislation – most of it we dealt with in our general session just this past week!)

I look forward to talking with you more about the Convention, the decisions that we made there, the decisions I made there. If you have concerns or questions, please ask freely and openly and I will answer as honestly as I can. I am very much looking forward to being among you again soon. God’s blessings. John Mark +

* FINAL VERSION - Concurred

Resolution:	D025
Title:	Commitment and Witness to Anglican Communion
Topic:	Anglican Communion
Committee:	08 - World Mission
House of Initial Action:	Deputies
Proposer:	Ms. D. Rebecca Snow

---

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That the 76th General Convention reaffirm the continued participation of The Episcopal Church as a constituent member of the Anglican Communion; give thanks for the work of the bishops at the Lambeth Conference of 2008; reaffirm the abiding commitment of The Episcopal Church to the fellowship of churches that constitute the Anglican Communion and seek to live into the highest degree of communion possible; and be it further
Resolved, That the 76th General Convention encourage dioceses, congregations, and members of The Episcopal Church to participate to the fullest extent possible in the many instruments, networks and relationships of the Anglican Communion; and be it further
Resolved, That the 76th General Convention reaffirm its financial commitment to the Anglican Communion and pledge to participate fully in the Inter-Anglican Budget; and be it further
Resolved, That the 76th General Convention affirm the value of "listening to the experience of homosexual persons," as called for by the Lambeth Conferences of 1978, 1988, and 1998, and acknowledge that through our own listening the General Convention has come to recognize that the baptized membership of The Episcopal Church includes same-sex couples living in lifelong committed relationships "characterized by fidelity, monogamy, mutual affection and respect, careful, honest communication, and the holy love which enables those in such relationships to see in each other the image of God" (2000-D039); and be it further
Resolved, That the 76th General Convention recognize that gay and lesbian persons who are part of such relationships have responded to God's call and have exercised various ministries in and on behalf of God's One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church and are currently doing so in our midst; and be it further
Resolved, That the 76th General Convention affirm that God has called and may call such individuals, to any ordained ministry in The Episcopal Church, and that God's call to the ordained ministry in The Episcopal Church is a mystery which the Church attempts to discern for all people through our discernment processes acting in accordance with the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church; and be it further
Resolved, That the 76th General Convention acknowledge that members of The Episcopal Church as of the Anglican Communion, based on careful study of the Holy Scriptures, and in light of tradition and reason, are not of one mind, and Christians of good conscience disagree about some of these matters.

* FINAL VERSION - Concurred

Resolution:	C056
Title:	Liturgies for Blessings
Topic:	Liturgy
Committee:	13 - Prayer Book, Liturgy and Church Music
House of Initial Action:	Bishops
Proposer:	Diocese of Missouri

---

Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, That the 76th General Convention acknowledge the changing circumstances in the United States and in other nations, as legislation authorizing or forbidding marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships for gay and lesbian persons is passed in various civil jurisdictions that call forth a renewed pastoral response from this Church, and for an open process for the consideration of theological and liturgical resources for the blessing of same gender relationships; and be it further
Resolved, That the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, in consultation with the House of Bishops, collect and develop theological and liturgical resources, and report to the 77th General Convention; and be it further
Resolved, That the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, in consultation with the House of Bishops, devise an open process for the conduct of its work inviting participation from provinces, dioceses, congregations, and individuals who are engaged in such theological work, and inviting theological reflection from throughout the Anglican Communion; and be it further
Resolved, That bishops, particularly those in dioceses within civil jurisdictions where same-gender marriage, civil unions, or domestic partnerships are legal, may provide generous pastoral response to meet the needs of members of this Church; and be it further
Resolved, That this Convention honor the theological diversity of this Church in regard to matters of human sexuality; and be it further
Resolved, That the members of this Church be encouraged to engage in this effort.

Out Of Steam

Beginning Tuesday afternoon of last week, (I arrived about noon on Tuesday) we have been in legislative sessions, committee meetings, worship services or unofficial meetings almost without stop.

My day usually begins at 6:00. (I have gradually been able to adjust my body clock so I can stay asleep that long - beginning my time here by waking up around 4:30!) I have coffee in my room while catching up on some emails, making phone calls, and writing fewer of these blogs than I'd hoped. (I also brought a hand blender and get to enjoy a delicious powdered, diet shake for breakfast!)

Legislative committees begin at 7:30. Fortunately, first-time deputies were not appointed to committees this convention and, though I've sat in on some of the committee meetings, I honestly don't know how the deputies who are on committees find time to eat. The first legislative session begins at 9:30 but because of the volumes of new paperwork that have to be sorted and reviewed each morning, it is almost necessary to arrive by 9:00.

Yesterday as I was walking over to the convention hall, large Starbucks in hand, another deputy and I struck up a conversation as we walked. He had a purple name tag (bishop) and looked familiar to me so I was sure I'd been introduced to him at one point this past week. I have finally admitted to myself - and readily admit to others - that I am horrible with names and faces and so, rather than stumble and fumble trying to guess, have just learned to ask. "You look familiar to me," I said through my as-yet-fully-uncoffeed haze. "I'm Frank Grizwold," he told me (the previous Presiding Bishop) "and it's good to know I haven't been completely forgotten." He smiling and me red-faced, we had a very nice chat during the remainder of our walk.

The first session lasts until 11:00 (although usually until 11:15 or 11:20) and though still heavy with parlimentary procedure, we are actually discussing, amending, and passing resolutions. Each resolution we pass then goes to the House of Bishops (and their resolutions come to us) for approval. All resolutions at General Convention must be approved by BOTH Houses in order to become official resolutions of General Convention.

(Something that has caused some confusion in the Anglican Communion is that our General Convention is the final legislative authority of the Episcopal Church. Other churches in the Anglican Communion have different forms of governement in which a bishop or group of bishops holds final authority. Some of them had difficulty understanding why our Presiding Bishop didn't just make decisions for our Church, not understanding that the Presiding Bishop has little authority to make binding decisions for the Episcopal Church. Instead, very similar to the Houses of Congress in the U.S. government, the Episcopal Church is governed by General Convention which is composed of two "Houses." The House of Bishops is composed entirely of bishops, and the House of Deputies is composed equally of lay and ordained people.)

From the morning legislative session I race to the great hall where the Eucharist is to begin at 11:30. Members of the Umbuntu Choir are supposed to be there at 11:15 but we are rarely on time. My experience with the choir has been a wonderful surprise. I joined on a whim and it has been one of the most enjoyable parts of General Convention for me. The time commitment has been small but we have sung with a wonderful choir of Hispanic children, an amazing Gospel choir, the youth choir from Trinity, Wall Street, and Elizabeth Von Trapp, granddauther of the Von Trapp family from the Sound of Music. And, on Sunday, we totally blew ourselves away with an Ave Maria that the Holy Spirit somehow got hold of and sang through us. The choir has created for me a small community of people (although I don't know anyone's name) who I recognize in the hall or wave at on the street, a chance to participate more fully in our daily worship, and it will be a cherished memory for me from my time here.

I typically grab a sandwich or salad and head for one of several "lunch events" held every day to discuss various topics. These forums have been tremendously helpful and informative, but leave little down time before the legislative sessions resume at 2:00. The bulk of the legislation is taken up in the afternoon sessions from 2:00 until 6:00 (or 6:15 or 6:30 or . . .) by which time we are definitely tired, frustrated, and ready not to be there any more!

In the middle of all this is the Exhibition Hall. I have yet to make it all the way through this monstrous Episcopal shopping mall. Vendors from far and wide have booths set up in rows and rows and rows of brochures, electronics, vestments, and other exotic wares. So far, I have quite a cache. I managed to obtain the business card of the developer of the Rite Stuff software (the software we use for our service booklets) who finally gave in because there were "paying customers" around and agreed he would give us a "start-up church" discount on their new on-line software version.

I have brochures and website information from the Anglican Church Musician organization for lots of free (or almost free) choir and service music resources. Daughters of the King have advised me about beginning our chapter. A very nice woman at a booth for advocates for disabled Episcopalians provided some suggestions for building our ramp and other ideas for making our church more accessible.

Singing bowl vendors from Napal, chalice sellers from the Holy Land, people selling baskets and bags from Honduras are next to people who want to handle our trusts and those who would help us set up our endowments. It is truly a mind-boggeling sea of vendors and everyone - EVERYONE - wants to give me candy. So far, I've managed to resist.

Bookstores are virtually irrisistible to me but so far, I have been able to only do quick walk-throughs without buying anything at the massive Church Publishing display, ONLY because my luggage is already bulging. There is a Fed-Ex store right in the convention center, though, and things could be shipped home . . .

Dinner arrangements are made, usually with our deputation, on the fly and we have either eaten quickly at the hotel or walked to a nearby restaurant. I attended the Sewanee Dinner at which Bishop Parsley spoke on Friday night but otherwise, my evening meals have been with the Alabama deputation as we tried to digest all that had gone on during the day. Following dinner, there are always more committee meetings or events and our deputation has a nightly meeting at 9:30 to recap the day. I'm usually back in my room by about 10:30 for some Charlene time on the phone, another email check and catch up on the news of the day, and an attempt to organize all the materials of the day, and try to make it to bed by midnight.

Yesterday morning, my body cried "uncle." I managed to make it through the day but it became clear to me that I needed to take a break. So I asked that one of the alternate deputies take my place at the convention this morning and I am taking the morning off. I still woke up at 6:00 but I have remainded in my room and don't plan to be anywhere until the Eucharist at 11:30. Only three full days after today and I think this little time off may make the difference for me before we get to the really hard work of all the legislation that is coming our way in the final days of the convention. (Mark Smith, deputy from St. Marks, Birmingham, and I agreed last night that we have both been to many conventions and they should rename this event. This is NOT a convention! This is a work-vention!)

Please keep me and all of us here in your prayers. This work is stressful and difficult. At times it is gut-wrenching; at times it is awe-inspiring and Spirit-filled. I look forward to telling you about it and to answering any questions you might have.

I am honored to be here, but I am thinking fondly of home.

Saturday mornings are not what they used to be . . .

I believe I remember something about God resting on Saturday but the conveeners of this convention must have a different translation. Today, like every other of these 11 days, begins with committee meetings at 7:30 a.m., legislative sessions from 9 until 11, Eucharist from 11:30 until 12:45, legislative sessions from 2 until 6:00 p.m. and then meetings that go well into the night. Tonight there are no "business" meetings but the seminaries are all hosting dinners and Bishop Parsley will be speaking at the Sewanee dinner I will be attending.

I had the great privilege of sharing the Eucharist with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, in a strange and marvelous way on Thursday. I arrived a bit early (sort of a new experience for me!) to the joint meeting just prior to the daily Eucharist and a volunteer (they are everywhere in their bright yellow aprons and big, friendly smiles) was at the door holding a basket with small slips of paper. As I entered the room, she asked if I would like to serve communion that day and I readily agreed. There are several thousand people at each of these Eucharists with hundreds of loaves of bread, gallons of wine, and many, many receiving stations scattered all over the hall where we can take communion. The slip of paper I received listed "Station 7" on it and there were instructions that I was to go to station 7 at "The Peace," get a paten, stand on the purple X, and distribute communion.

At The Peace, I took my bright orange instruction sheet and headed for station 7. Because this operation is so huge with so many people involved, there is, by necessity, a great deal of "stage handling" that goes on. The folks who are managing the flow are good and they are subtle and mostly unseen but they wear headsets, give each other hand signals and, if you watch closely, it almost looks like the production of a TV show. As I was headed to my station, I passed a table loaded with pitchers of wine and baskets of bread. One of the headsetted stage directors saw my bright orange instruction sheet, grabbed my arm, asked what station I was assigned, and spoke into his microphone that he had a "Station 7." He shoved a pitcher of wine in my hand and the next thing I knew, I was standing with about twenty other people, wine or basket of bread in hand, waiting for the cue to "head to the stage" to place all the bounty on the altar where Archbishop Rowan Willams and Bishop Bruno, the bishop of Los Angeles, waited to consecrate it. We stood off to the side during the consecration then marched back on stage to gather it back up and take it back to the various stations for distribution. So, you know, me and Rowan . . .

Yesterday was my first experience with the choir and it is, I believe, going to be one of my favorite experiences of General Convention. The choir is a community I would not otherwise have had, we actually sound pretty good, and it is just a light, fun thing to be doing that is outside the serious business to which we attend all the other times.

And there is much serious business. Yesterday we had a wonderful presentation by the president of Episcopal Relief and Development. I hope to play his presentation for you when I return but know that we - WE - are doing extraordinary work in a hurting world. We have much to be proud of and much, much work to do.

As with many of the previous conventions, there is a great deal of discussion at this convention regarding the issue of homosexuality. As you undoubtedly know, in 2003, the Diocese of New Hampshire elected The Rev. V. Gene Robinson to be their bishop. Robinson is a gay man who had been in partnered relationship for many years. Because of some weird rules of this body, since his election happened within 60 days of General Convention, the entire convention had to consent to his election. (Normally, only the House of Bishops has to consent. We have already had to consent to three or four elections that happened within the past 120 days.) General Convention 2003 found that the election followed all the rules of a valid election and consented. I won't even attempt to give you a full history of what came next but you probably remember the uproar that followed.

The Anglican Consultative Council (the closest thing to a governing body the Anglican Communion has), following the Windsor Report commissioned by Archbishop Williams, asked that the Episcopal Church apologize for the damage we had caused the communion, refrain from ordaining any more gay bishops, and that we not bless same sex unions. That wording is not right but is the gist of their request.

At the 2006 General Convention, on the very last day of the convention, no resolution had been reached that even came close to answering any of those requests and the convention was about to come to an end. Presiding Bishop Griswold and newly elected Presiding Bishop Jefferts-Schori made the unusual request to request suspension of the rules of the House of Deputies, came to the floor of the House of Deputies, and strongly urged the House to pass a compromise resolution to give Bishop Katherine an opportunity to "stay at the table" for the next three years. Resolution B033 was the result in which "this Convention therefore call upon Standing Committees and bishops with jurisdiction to exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion."

Bishop Katherine has remained "at the table" and the bonds of the communion have healed significantly over these past three years. Many, many of our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, however, feel they were the only ones asked to sacrifice - again - in that process. And many, many of them - and their straight counterparts - seem to feel now is the time to move past that resolution, and that we should begin to find ways to more publicly incorporate them and their families into the life of the church.

We are revisiting all these issues and much is up in the air about what will happen in the next few days. Testimony seems to be running about 5 to 1 in favor of developing rites for the blessing of same gender unions.

There is very little opposition at the microphones to "moving beyond B033" in consenting to the consecration of priests who are elected as bishops without the additional qualification of their marital or relationship status.

This issue is far to complex to try and discuss in a blog except to say this: I find myself deeply, deeply moved by the pain that is evident in our church over this issue. Devoted, Christian couples, vestry people, Altar Guild people, Sunday School teachers, who have been in dedicated relationships for 30 or 40 or 50 years want desperately for the church to recognize and bless their committed unions. Devoted, dedicated, good, decent people, strong Christians, can't understand how this "issue" has so consumed our church, are fearful that it will further divide us, and are honestly questioning if this is the right course for our church to take. There is much pain here and regardless of the direction this convention takes, a great many people are going to be hurt further, many of the repercussions of our decisions are unknown, and the way forward is murky at best.

I am finding this burden especially heavy as we move through these long days. I ask for your prayers for me, for the Alabama deputation, and for all the deputies and Bishops who are here trying to discern the will of God in this place.

Finally, I ask for your prayers for our dear Fran. I found out late last night that the doctors have discovered a tumor in Fran's brain and she will undergo a biopsy on Sunday. Please keep her deeply in your prayers and let her and her family know of your concern and your prayers.

I have seen the Church . . . and it is us.

I realized yesterday as I sat at Eucharist that for the first time in my twenty-five years as an Episcopalian, I was actually seeing our beautiful, wonderful, colorful church in all its diversity, and the experience reinforced for me how much I love being Episcopalian!

The bond that you and I share with these 2.1 million Christians seems almost palpable here. Most of us live in the United States but we also hail from seven other countries making us a truly international church. (A resolution asking that we cease making reference to "The National Church" seems a good one to me.) Our skins are darkest dark and lightest light, our language is mostly English but we have lots and lots of Spanish, a good bit French, and several Chinese and other languages thrown in for rich flavor. These are not some vague, theoretical Christian comrades. These are our brothers and sister Episcopalians and as I stood with them to take bread and wine, as we sang a classic Anglican hymn, a praise song, and a lively African song to honor our theme of Ubuntu, as we prayed in English and in Spanish and heard our Presiding Bishop talk to us of the beating heart of mission of our church, I was overwhelmed with the sense of community and was very joyful to be in this good place with these good people.

My body it seems, however, does not care too much for Pacific time. Yesterday morning (Wednesday) was my first full day in Anaheim and the first "official" business meeting of the convention. I finally just went ahead and got up at 4:30 a.m. (a respectable 6:30 a.m. in normal time!) and began reading the notebook full of new resolutions I received on my arrival. (These are in addition to the encyclopedic volume of resolutions I brought with me!)

After one day, I have come to the conclusion that the legislative sessions of conventions are mostly tedious and often downright silly ("Deputy Doolittle from the Diocese of Incoherent. Madam President, I rise to speak to the amendment as amended by the second amendment before the first." "You are out of order, sir, for your left sock is one inch lower than your right." "Point of personal privilege!" "Point of personal privilege allowed." "Madam President, we were not told . . ." "Please state your name and your diocese." "My apologies, Madam President. Deputy Wilforshire from the Diocese of Cashmere. We were not told that socks were required and our deputation is not wearing socks. . ." and on and on it goes.

However, business does eventually get done, resolutions passed and the work of the Church progresses. There are hundreds of resolutions, all of which go to committee before coming to the full House of Deputies for a vote. Many of the resolutions seem to be duplicates or to be very similar in nature and will be combined into single resolutions to be brought to the floor.

I hope you will be able to follow some of the convention as it progresses. I copied and pasted the following from the Diocesan website about helpful General Convention websites. Though I'm sure all of them are good, the first one - The Hub - is supposed to be a very nice site.

• Convention Media Hub: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/gchub

• National Church Website: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/index.htm

• General Convention Website: http://episcopalchurch.org/gc2009.htm

• Blogging Bishops: http://episcopalchurch.typepad.com/bloggingbishops/

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, is with us. Last night he spoke about the global economic crisis and spoke bluntly about how we have gotten used to lying to ourselves, learned to tolerate lying at very high levels, lied to ourselves about our place in creation and "limitless material growth in a limited environment." We have, he told us, lied to ourselves about our relationship with each other, our dependence on each other, about Ubuntu - "I am because you are."

Our correct action must be, Archbishop Williams said, a reversal of these lies. A season of transparency, of relationship building is necessary. A time of truth-telling about the world as it is must begin. And we must begin to talk about risk, about who ultimately bears the cost of excessive risk-taking, to tell the truth that it is the "least of these" who are most at risk. It is time to begin talking again about common good and not just what is good for the one.

Today is a new day and I am excited and anxious to see what is in store for us. We will engage today in something called "public narrative" about mission which I feel sure you will hear more about. Archbishop Williams will lead a Bible Study during the Eucharist today. The business sessions and committee meetings will continue. And I think I may join the choir.

On the brink

Three days and counting until GC 2009. Bishop Miller's funeral yesterday gave me pause and reminded me that the contributions we make and the things we do in our families, in our communities, in our churches, at events like General Convention - are parts of an ongoing drama that continues long after our performance in this life is finished. I keep hearing Bishop Miller's laughter and remembering the advice Archbishop George Carey gave us in a surprise visit to Sewanee my first week of seminary "not to take ourselves too seriously." Bishop Miller lived a life dedicated to his family and his church, to proclaiming the Gospel, and to enjoying the gifts God gave him. I can't imagine a better eulogy and will try to remember the "fun" part of that as I enter the serious business of General Convention on Tuesday.

There have been literally hundreds of resolutions pre-filed and many more will be brought to the floor of the convention. I have read many (but not all yet!) of the resolutions and many of them are procedural, simply attempting to make the system work a little more smoothly.

After all the hot-button issues, the big media storms of previous conventions, it appears that the controversial issue this year is whether or not to have a mandated, church-wide health insurance plan. (I jokingly told someone recently that I spent twenty years in insurance and now that I am finally getting to go to General Convention, all we're going to talk about is INSURANCE!) There is also a lay-employee pension program that seems to be getting a lot of attention.

There is a long-overdue revision to Lesser Feasts and Fasts (the book with all the Saints in it) that will likely be adopted for trial use at this convention and final approval at the next convention and there are several new and beautiful liturgical options being proposed.

At our diocesan forum last week, Bishop Parsley said he would not be surprised to see a resolution adopted that instructs the Committee for Liturgy and Music to begin studying a rite for the blessing of same gender relationships. He is very doubtful that there will be any kind of mandate that the church implement any kind of blessing yet but thinks (rightly so in my mind) that if there is the possibility that future conventions might propose that, the Liturgy and Music Committee should have at least been looking at and studying the issue beforehand.

The Millennium Development Goals were listed as our top missional priority at the last General Convention. Although the overall budget provides for a significant amount of giving to MDG causes, the specific MDG category has been removed as a line-item from the budge this year. My guess is that there will be some controversy over that.

One of the exciting things about this is that no one really knows yet what the most controversial and energy-garnering issue will be at this convention. It may be a quiet and uneventful meeting for the purpose of doing the business of the church, or it may be a Spirit-filled, media circus where amazing and marvelous new events unfold. Either way, I am looking forward with great anticipation to being there, to seeing the inner workings of our marvelous church, and to sharing this adventure with you in the days to come. JM+

Maiden Blogging Voyage

When the idea of blogging my way through General Convention 2009 first arose, my initial questions involved whether or not blogging was painful, how much a blog might cost, or if I could pack a blog in my suitcase and still have room for my toothbrush. Needless to say, this is my first blog and if I seem hesitant or uncomfortable, it is only because I am.

I have read some blog-type stuff on the world wide interworld (I just do that to see the eye-roll from my kids . . .) and so very much of it seems so very purpose-less. I am very much NOT interested in inflicting my train-of-consciousness drivel on people who might stumble into this blog.

I do believe, however, that we - St. Catherine's in Chelsea - are in a unique situation to participate in a meaningful way in the wonder that appears to be the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. My purpose in this maiden voyage into the world of the blogosphere is to try and allow those in our parish (or anyone else who might be interested) to peer over my shoulder a bit and share this new and exciting experience with me.

My plan is to publish some blogs along the way in the lead up to General Convention (July 7-18) as issues or thoughts or questions arise, and then to publish a daily blog of the day's activities during the convention itself.

Thank you in advance for your patience as I learn the rules of the road in blogging. As always, I invite your advice and input. God's blessings. John Mark+