The Last Day!

Our Presiding Bishop Elect Michael Curry was the preacher and Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori was the presider for our closing Eucharist. The members of the Joint Nominating Committee for the Presiding Bishop were given seats in the front of the worship space, so I got some good pictures.

Bishop Curry gave a rousing sermon, calling us to "Go" in the strength of the Jesus movement that we have all been baptized into. I encourage you to go online and enjoy the sermon. He is indeed an outstanding preacher and will bring unique energy to the church and to the world.

http://publicaffairs.cmail19.com/t/ViewEmail/r/09F6874C03F3EA562540EF23F30FEDED/15E42E05F8EB118A0B3A73003FEB3522

One of the most contentious debates has been around the church's strategy toward Israel and Palestine. The House of Bishops took out language endorsing divestment in companies doing business in the occupation and continued growth of settlements in Palestinian territories. We did pass a thoughtful, nuanced, and controversial resolution B013 calling the church into active participation in reconciliation toward a just and peaceful two-state resolution.

A group of 20 bishops have released a statement objecting to the General Convention's endorsement of same-sex marriage rites. Among the signers were 7 U.S. bishops, 7 bishops from Province 9 outside the U.S., and 6 retired or resigned bishops. The resolution passed the House of Bishops 129 in favor, 26 opposed, 5 abstaining on Monday. The House of Deputies also passed same-sex marriage on Thursday in a vote by orders – each diocese getting one vote in each order (clergy/lay) determined by the four deputies in each order. It passed:  Clergy – For 85, Against 15, Divided 6. Lay –  For 88, Against 12, Divided 6. These are overwhelming votes of affirmation.

We passed three compassionate resolutions D033 Supporting Refugee Rights in Central America, D041 Advocacy and Prayer for Syria, and D062 Addressing Prison Conditions and Areas for Advocacy. All of these are available on the General Convention website.

I learned something new in our committee testimony some days ago. In many places, creative priests are doing remarkable Sunday liturgies – many outside of the church walls, many appealing to the "spiritual-but-not-religious" and the "nones" and others who are unlikely to be drawn toward our prayer book liturgies. They are vibrant and growing communities. I spoke in support of a resolution making it explicit that bishops can encourage these imaginative and creative "Rite 3" liturgies on Sundays. It passed.

We passed some new canonical regulations that, among other things, will require each diocese to pay it full assessment (15%) by January 1, 2019. The Executive Council of the church will have power to grant waivers. Without such waivers, failure to make full payment would render the diocese ineligible to receive grants or loans from the Church. In my opinion, this is a change that is long overdue.

Late in the afternoon, the President invited our whole committee to the platform to sing a hymn I wrote in praise of the Virtual Binder, our paperless i-pad that we are using for all of our legislative processes and for our worship. It also references our new digital process for voting and for getting in the digital queue to speak.

Here's my hymn:

A Hymn in Praise of the Virtual Binder

Sung to the tune of St. Patrick's Breastplate

My binder and my self today

   will follow Convention so virtually.

With invocations and play-by-play

   my binder leads me day-by-day.

I love my binder, it guides me on.

  Amendments, motions, that blue, blue book.

With optional kick stand

    it frames attention

in endless meetings with just one look.

Pad be with me

Pad beside me

Pad before me

Pad below me

Pad to guide me

   and control me

Pad in hand of friend and stranger.

My binder and my self today

   will follow convention so virtually.

By invocation of the same

   I pray the queue-master sees my name.

My hands empowered to vote and sing,

   My card secured in the voting thing,

Such power for me is a great temptation,

   salvation comes NOT from i-Pad-ing.

It was a big hit and a lot of fun.

After our song, the House passed by a large margin a resolution proposing we explore the development of a new hymnal. We have set in motion a process for updating both the Prayer Book and the Hymnal in tandem as we did in the 1970's.

We passed a resolution commending the efforts of dioceses to reconcile with and welcome those who have previously left The Episcopal Church and wish to return. And one of the last courtesy resolution thanked the PB Nominating Committee that I served on. That was nice.

Our next to last item brought up our opposition to the Dominican Republic's constitutional court which has been ruling as ineligible for citizenship Haitians living in the DR if they were children of migrant, checking birth certificates back to 1929, potentially making hundreds of thousands stateless because of race. Horrible. Our last resolution also decries the suffering of stateless persons. It is nice to end on a compassionate response to the suffering of some of the most vulnerable people in our hemisphere.

It's been fun to blog again for this General Convention. I started this blog so many years ago that I was able to claim the name generalconvention.blogspot.com. Now various forms of social media make following General Convention ubiquitous. So... this is my closing entry. I'm not sure what you do with a last blog. How do you close one of these things? Oh, well. I am thankful to you for reading. It has been a delight and honor to serve the church this way and to share it with you.

Lowell

Thursday, July 2

For our morning Eucharist, I sat in the front near the children's area in our worship space. We had lively, driving Latino music that the children and many from the Youth Presence enjoyed with dancing. The Epistle Reader held a child in her arms as she read the lesson.

Our preacher was Colin Mathewson from the Dominican Republic. We had the calendar observation for Charles Barnes, martyred in 1938 after writing letters to contacts in the American State Department objecting to the slaughter of thousands of Haitians order by the dictator Trujillo.

Dean Mathewson told part of the story of the massacre. Trujillo's soldiers stopped people in an organized way and asked them to pronounce the Spanish word for "parsley." The French and Creole speaking Haitians, unfamiliar with rolling their "r's," mispronounced the word, and were killed, "for the sake of a word." Today there are tens of thousands of Haitians being forcibly deported from the Dominican Republic. Dean Mathewson decried the way we divide what should be united – all humanity, for we are one – united by the Word made flesh. During our time here in Salt Lake City, black churches continue to burn. People continue to die for the sake of a word, for their faith, for their race. It is time to stop. Just stop. Stop "we/they" and "us/them." We are all one. Every person is created in the image and likeness of God.

I mentioned the "housing first" model that Salt Lake City has adopted, which is successfully lowering homelessness and costs. At the busy crosswalk outside the Convention Center and elsewhere there are red "parking meters" where 100% of the change goes to the housing first project. There is a sign discouraging giving money to panhandlers. A friend of mine and several of his friends took fruit, food and beverages around to those who are sleeping outside around the neighborhood. Deacon Sara Milford carries energy bars to give to anyone on the street who asks her for money. Others shared their "brown bag" when coming back from a restaurant serving more than they could eat. I am impressed with the Salt Lake City work to combat homelessness.

We returned to debate the budget. There is a proposal for increasing the draw on our endowment (from 5% to 5.5%) in order to fund some new church initiatives. According to our treasurer, doing so would be likely to lower the capital in the endowment. It is a four-million dollar gamble. We took the gamble by a 60/30% vote. We also moved some money from the Development Office to the Stewardship Development (TENS) office. That did not seem like a good idea to me. With those two changes, the $127 million budget was passed. (my numbers may be wrong)

We continued with many, many resolutions, most of which did not prompt too much discussion or disagreement. Just taking care of the good business of the church.

Each deputation has its name on a pole in the area where it is designated to sit. We have a hog hat on the top of our pole. Yellow ribbons identify deputations where a senior deputy is so that they can be consulted over questions of procedure. That's my ribbon. You get one after being a deputy for seven conventions. This is my ninth as a deputy, the 11^th I've attended. I'm an old deputy.

One of the more interesting resolutions calls for the Church Medical Trust to reevaluate our church health plan. The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) has been so successful that almost one-fourth of the dioceses can obtain health insurance more economically through the Health Insurance Exchanges if that were allowed. We passed an option for churches to consider other options, but it will probably not be accepted by the Bishops.

We voted to concur with the House of Bishops to encourage divestment from fossil fuel companies and reinvest in clean renewable energy. The matter does not affect the Pension Fund, but does instruct other organizations like the Episcopal Church Endowment Fund and the Episcopal Church Foundation. The resolution urges dioceses and parishes to engage the topic within the coming year.

We concurred with the Bishops to begin a plan for the possibility of a revision to the Book of Common Prayer.

One of the highlights of the Convention has been the wonderful leadership of our Chaplain, the Rev. Lester V. Mackenzie of California, a native of South Africa. Great energy and love. He added so much to our prayers and spirit.

I just learned that my friend The Rev. Gwen Fry has been elected Vice President of National Affairs for Integrity! Delighted. Congratulations Gwen.

The last resolution of the day (past 7:00 p.m.) is an attempt to equalize same-gender couples in the benefits of the Church Pension Fund, including time that they would have accrued had they had the opportunity to marry. We passed the resolution without the sound of a single "nay." This is a good church.

Away for pizza with the Arkansas deputation on the last night we will all be together.

Thursday, July 2

Spanish. We have the Spanish translation side-by-side with the English in our .pdf online worship bulletins.

I read a touching article by Aisha Huertas Michel of the Diocese of Virginia. She moved from Puerto Rico to the US when she was 12, excited to be part of this new, "cool" world. But she also struggled, "as I tried to integrate myself into a new community. I remember also experiencing micro-aggressions because of the way I looked and spoke. I also remember praying and asking God to just let me fit in and to allow me to be just like everyone else."

As she "succeeded" at covering her accent and fitting in, she began to notice she and others like her were losing touch with the culture and language of their origins. At some point she changed, being less cautious with her accent, looking forward "to the hot, summer sun that always enhances the darkness of my skin." She gladly embraced things of her first language and culture.

"I had one of these 'aha,' "yes, I get this' moments earlier this week," she writes, "as I sat in the bilingual Eucharist at General Convention. As Bishop Katharine began celebrating the Eucharist in Spanish, my heart leapt, and I was instantly taken back to my earliest encounters with God – sort of like certain smells and sounds bring us back to our earliest happy memories. I stood there with hundreds of people but, in that instant, it was just  God and me – God as I knew him way back when, with the unshakable faith of a little girl… Worship is allowing god to speak to your heart, to completely overtake you in that moment and to feel the presence of no one but the Holy Spirit. And, for me, …the way for that to happen in its most awe-inspiring form is to hear the words and the name of God in the way I first heard his name and understood his power – 'Dios.'"

from Center Aisle, Wednesday, July 1, 2015 www.centeraisle.net

Here are a couple of links about yesterday's big events in the House of Deputies.

The House provides equal access to marriage:

http://www.deputynews.org/deputy-votes-provide-for-same-sex-marriage-in-the-episcopal-church/

The House passes significant restructuring legislation.

http://www.deputynews.org/house-of-deputies-passes-two-structure-resolutions/

Wednesday, July 1

Magdalene House founder and our great friend Becca Stevens was the preacher at today's General Convention Eucharist. She is always a spectacular speaker. I will send the link to the video and the text of the sermon as soon as I can. Afterwards I went by the Thistle Farm booth in the Exhibit Hall and it was buzzing with business. Becca was posing for lots of pictures. A good day for this wonderful work.

I don't know how long it will be at this link, but I encourage you to watch this video of the Bishops' March Against Gun Violence. You'll get a taste of the inspiring preaching of Michael Curry, our Presiding Bishop Elect. He can bring the word.

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/page/featured-general-convention

Here's a story about yesterday's debate that resumed today over the structure of the church. As I said yesterday, I don't have a dog in this hunt, but for those of you who do, here's a report about it -- http://www.deputynews.org/house-of-deputies-passes-two-structure-resolutions/

I rested today, and I visited the LDS Family History Library where after a bit of tutoring I did some genealogical research at this amazing facility. It was fascinating. I only made a modest bit of progress, but it's given me a direction for some future research sometime down the line.

As the convention recessed, I heard word that the House of Deputies passed authorizations for the church to offer same-sex marriage. I'm sure there are some nuances, and I will link more in-depth reports as soon as I can. I'm getting a bite to eat and retiring early tonight. Should have a lot more energy tomorrow after a pretty relaxing day. 

Wednesday, July 1

I am pretty worn out and taking the day off from General Convention. I met my colleague Stan McKinnon at 7:00 a.m. so we can swap credentials. Stan is our first alternate, and we are working to make sure he sits at a majority of the legislative sessions so he gets full credit for this convention. That helps with future seniority for committee assignment, and if he serves at least seven General Conventions, he could get his "yellow ribbon" as a Senior Deputy.

At this morning's 7:30 committee meeting of Prayer Book, Liturgy, and Church Music we acted on all of our remaining legislation, sending it on to the House of  Bishops. Of particular interest, we recommended beginning a process for hymnal revision (presumably to go along with Prayer Book revision). These processes take several years.

We also passed an interesting resolution that gives more access for using "Rite 3" services on Sunday with a bishop's permission. We heard fascinating stories about creative churches in edgy places designing their own Eucharistic liturgies especially consistent with their communities. The purpose of this resolution is to encourage such ministry.

You can follow online so much of what the General Convention is doing. I'm going to sleep a good part of the day. If I rebound with some new energy, I may do some sightseeing.

For the General Convention web site: generalconvention.org
 

For the Media Center with livestreaming: episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/gc
 

For the House of Deputies news: www.deputynews.org

For a continually updating list of "Top Stories" from Episcopal News Service," go to:

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/top-stories/

Here's a report what the House of Bishops in their debate on marriage.

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2015/06/30/marriage-equality-resolutions-advance-to-house-of-deputies/

Here's a report on the Integrity Eucharist

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2015/06/30/integrity-celebrates-40-years-with-festive-eucharist/

Here is an 18 minute interview with Presiding Bishop Elect Michael Curry

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2015/06/30/video-interview-with-presiding-bishop-elect-michael-curry/

This link has five very brief videos about the Five Marks of Mission that we talked about yesterday.

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2015/06/30/joint-session-focuses-on-taking-home-the-five-marks-of-mission/

A report on yesterday's release of the budget of the church. The Budget will be presented to the General Convention this afternoon.

http://www.deputynews.org/pbf-releases-budget/