JUNE 18, LEGISLATIVE DAY 6

SHOTS OF THE DAY:
1. Crowds gather around House of Deputies to await results of the election.
2. A short recess allows deputies to phone home with the news.
3. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop-elect is welcomed by the House of Deputies. (Below)

QUOTES OF THE DAY:
“Even when you’re on the right track, you get run over if you just sit there.” A deputy quoting Will Rogers.

“Happy Father’s Day ! Dad, you rock !” - From the teenage son of a deputy who called home to tell his family that the Church had elected a woman as presiding bishop.

DISCOVERY OF THE DAY:
Thirty years after the approval of ordination for women, the stained glass ceiling for women in the Episcopal Church has been shattered.

REPORT OF THE DAY:
Today promised to be a working day of meaningful legislation and the election by the House of Bishops of our next presiding bishop. After our morning Eucharist, we stayed in place until our bishops could leave to begin casting ballots. They would not come out of session today until they had an election. It’s much like the college of cardinals, but we don’t do smoke. We proceeded with our working day. After lunch the signs were clear that the bishops had an election. There was no white smoke, but our Committee on the Election of Bishops was called out of the House and we knew an announcement would come soon. The gallery of our House filled with observers and press. The announcement was made that Bp. Katharine Jefferts Schori had been elected and the House was electric. We affirmed the election by a wide margin and recessed to await the arrival of our next presiding bishop. The recess gave us time to call and report in, but for most of you back home, the news was out before we even knew at convention. Presiding Bishop Griswold walked in with Bp. Jefferts Schori and her family, all surrounded by enthusiastic applause. Men and women were moved to tears and our new presiding bishop elect was gracious in expressing her gratitude. It was an historic day for The Episcopal Church.
Tomorrow is Legislative Day 6. I will be on an early flight to return to Chattanooga and be with my St. Paul’s family for Jerry Martin’s burial. I still can hardly believe that Jerry has died. My seat in the House will be ably filled and I will be where I need to be.

JUNE 16, LEGISLATIVE DAY 5

SHOT OF THE DAY:
Oblations prepared for thousands. The deacon guards the table.

QUOTES OF THE DAY:
“We do not wonder that God intends the best for us. We only wonder how painful the best will turn out to be.” - Our preacher, Dr. Jenny Te Paa of New Zealand paraphrasing Bonnhoeffer

“Only at an Episcopal convention can you walk into a bar and see three monks sitting at a table. Is this the first line of a bad joke?” – an East Tennessee deputy

DISCOVERY OF THE DAY:
With 11 communion stations, 88 Eucharistic ministers, and incredible organization, up to 10, 000 people can be served communion in 15 minutes.

REPORT OF THE DAY:
After my morning committee meetings, I attended this convention’s largest festival Eucharist which included the traditional ingathering of theUnited Thank Offering. Collections from the little blue boxes of the Episcopal Church Women totaled more than 2 million dollars and were presented to the presiding bishop by a representative of each diocese of the Church. People from all over Ohio, and from the church wide youth event taking place in Columbus joined us for the Eucharist. We believe that we had nearly 10,000 Episcopalians for the service of Holy Eucharist. All of our bishops processed in their Episcopal vestments. It was a marvelous gathering in which to participate. I helped to serve communion at one of eleven communion stations. It was a long service, but worth every minute.
I took the afternoon off from the floor of the house with Matthew Dutton-Gillette taking my place. We all are encourage to take a break from our 7-11 days.
Tomorrow is Legislative Day 5. This will be my last legislative day as I am heading home for Jerry Martin’s burial. I am comfortable that our diocese has elected fine alternates to be here for such a need.

JUNE 16, LEGISLATIVE DAY 4

SHOT OF THE DAY:
Me with deputy Christopher Hart of Pennsylvania. He is the grandson of the Rev. Oliver Hart who was rector of St. Paul’s Chattanooga in the 1930’s. Did Mr. Hart baptise or marry any of you?

QUOTES OF THE DAY:
“I prayed, and understanding was given me. I called on God, and the Spirit of wisdom came to me. I preferred her to scepters and thrones, and I accounted wealth as nothing in comparison with her. “ This was the beginning of today’s first reading from the book of Wisdom. I would hope that it could set the tone for the rest of convention as we move toward the election of our presiding bishop and decisions about difficult concerns in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. So far in legislation we’ve started with things that are easier to agree on like lectionaries, funding studies and scholarships, and small church ministries.


DISCOVERY OF THE DAY:
Good news: Tomorrow I sleep in. My 7:30 meeting begins at 8. Bad news: Tomorrow is Saturday and Starbucks will be closed.

REPORT OF THE DAY:
Life on the floor of the House of Deputies can be dull as dirt sometimes. The debate gets bogged down in technical minutia or people’s need to be heard when they add little new to the discussion. Electronic voting has to be repeated and speeches run long. At times I have looked around to see faces betraying inner saturation. Some people unashamedly try to sleep through the slow times. Others struggle unsuccessfully to stay awake.
Each person and each deputation has their own way of coping as we wait for the pace to pick up. This is one of many reasons I’m glad to be from East Tennessee. You should know that we have one of the livelier deputations on the floor and we sit right down front and center. We consider ourselves to be well behaved and attentive to the business at hand, but when the process threatens to grind to a halt, the East Tennesseeans seem to come to life with lively banter, lame jokes, and audible, visible laughter. Other heads are turned. They may be joining our frivolity or looking on in wonder. Our table neighbors from Maine seem to enjoy our company, but I’m not so sure about the people from Missouri who sit right behind us. At any rate I love the people with whom I serve . We are serious about our business here. We also know how to care for ourselves and one another with respect, laughter and love.
Tomorrow is Legislative Day 5 and also our largest Eucharist which includes the impressive UTO ingatherning.

SHOT OF THE DAY:
An icon painted by Kathryn Carrington like the ones hanging in the Convention’s meditation room. In this room I met with Betty Quave and Nicole Seiferth for prayers for Jerry Martin, for Joel King, for Jerry’s family and all the members of the St. Paul’s family who have been stunned and saddened today by Jerry’s death.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
Changed from glory in to glory
Til in heaven we take our place.
Til we cast our crowns before thee
Lost in wonder love and grace.
From Love Divine all loves excelling - the opening hymn of today’s morning Eucharist.

DISCOVERY OF THE DAY:
The love and support of concerned members of the Tennessee deputation and others here with me on a day when I struggled through profound sadness to concentrate on the work of convention.

REPORT OF THE DAY:
I was with Betty Quave this morning around 9 when Ben called to say that Jerry had died. Betty and I stood in the open hall of the Columbus Convention Center and cried together. We went in to Eucharist at 9:30 to worship and say our prayers for Jerry and all we love who would be hurting today.
The legislative day went on with no respect for my inner turmoil. My heart was in Chattanooga. I was back and forth between the convention floor and calls to St. Paul’s. Stephen and Patricia Askew arrived today and joined our sadness. Around 6 PM, when the day’s business was over, the entire East Tennessee deputation gathered for prayer and support of those who have loved Jerry Martin.

May his soul and the soul of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Tomorrow is Legislative Day 4.

JUNE 13, LEGISLATIVE DAY 1

SHOT OF THE DAY:
The vast House of Deputies is waiting for the deputies.

QUOTES OF THE DAY:
“It is dangerous to invoke the Holy Spirit. What if we were taken seriously?” – Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold in morning sermon.

DISCOVERY OF THE DAY:
Starbucks almost on the walking route to convention.

DISASTER OF THE DAY:
I’ll be needing that coffee. I learned today that my appointed committee will meet every morning at 7:30. Ugh.

Also: Flags from all member nations of the Episcopal Church are displayed behind the main podium. The convention leaders were made aware that they had displayed the wrong flag from Haiti. The flag displayed will soon be replaced by what is hopefully the current Haitian flag.

REPORT OF THE DAY:
This morning I began to remember why I love General Convention. It starts with the daily Eucharist. This is not the quiet brief 12:05 Eucharist in St. George’s Chapel. Communion begins with the crucifer leading a host of oblation bearers with enough wine and bread for 2,000. They are followed by the usual cast of preacher and celebrant. During hymns the big ugly convention space is filled from its concrete floor to its black overhead ductwork and neon lights with the swell of familiar hymns. Today during communion at the 12 stations around the room we were surrounded by the sounds of a single fiddle. A stately mountain melody guided us to the body of Christ and evolved into a rousing jig by the time we were through. It was fabulous and made me think of Tennessee.
Appropriate dress for convention includes dresses and shorts, hats and headbands, Native American feathers and Hawaiian leis, seersuckers suits and cargo pants. We are a motley
crew and I love being a part of the larger Church. Tomorrow is Legislative Day 2.

JUNE12, ORIENTATION DAY

SHOT OF THE DAY:
Nicole Seiferth from St. Paul’s reports for The Episcopal News Service… And her Mama thought I couldn’t find that baby among 2,000 Episcopalians.

QUOTES OF THE DAY:
1. In Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold’s opening remarks to the convention, he encouraged us all to be moved by the love of Christ and be open to works of the Spirit. In speaking against our tendency to look inward and become insular, he quoted the third century Clement of Alexandria.
"Most people," he wrote, "are enclosed in their mortal bodies like a snail in its shell, curled up in their obsessions after the manner of hedgehogs. They form their notion of God's blessedness taking themselves for a model."
2. Part of the official explanation of the legislative process: “ Each resolution initially will be sent to one of 22 committees which are mysteriously numbered 1 through 26.”
DISCOVERY OF THE DAY:
I’ve discovered that Columbus in June can be delightful. We expect a string of days like today: Blue skies. Lows in the 50’s. Highs in the 70’s.

DISASTER OF THE DAY:
The fabulous local chocolate store is closed on Monday.

REPORT OF THE DAY: My morning was for left over personal and St. Paul’s phone calls, then a walking exploration of the downtown environs. We registered at the convention and met up with our E. Tenn. Deputation for lunch.
2:00 Opening address from the Presiding Bishop(PB) and the President of the House of Deputies(HOD). Then the bishops left us to meet in the House of Bishops(HOB) and we stayed for a power point explanation of the legislative process.
We ended the afternoon in an exercise of table discussions. I shared my table with representatives from the dioceses of NE Texas, Georgia, Pittsburgh, The Central Gulf Coast, and Central New York. Each deputy was given 7 minutes to discuss the most important message of the Gospel to them, their most cherished aspect of the Episcopal Church, and their hope for this convention. We went in turn and without interruption. From our variety of backgrounds and view points on the “hot topics”, we found commonality in our love of God and the Episcopal Church and expressed hope for this convention to be a positive moment in our history.
At 5:30 our deputation caucused = we met in one room and planned the next day’s optional committee meetings and reported from today.
I attended with Maggie Zeller the only official dinner I have signed up for. We walked 7 blocks to attend the Overseas Bishop’s Dinner. Bishops from around the world are attending our convention as one way to encourage communication and understanding within the Anglican Communion. We dined with and heard from bishops representing Panama, Brazil, Mexico, Sao Paulo, Venezuela, Botswana, Uganda, Tanzania, Jerusalem and others. More overseas bishops will arrive during the week. Biggest surprise? The Bishop of Sao Paulo is Japanese!
Most dramatic appeal? The Bishop of Jerusalem briefly speaking of being Christian in the Middle East.
Tomorrow is the opening Eucharist and Legislative Day 1.

JUNE 11, SUNDAY TRAVEL

SHOT OF THE DAY:
My pilot(not co-pilot) waiting to fly. You go girl !

DISCOVERY OF THE DAY:
Not all Chicago pizza is great pizza.

DISASTER OF THE DAY:
My flight to Columbus is delayed. Not a disaster yet as I have time to sit and write.


Heading off to my third General Convention, I wonder why I like being a deputy. In many ways it’s not my kind of thing... Long days. Long meetings. Lots of sitting. The first time I ran in the election of East Tennessee deputies, I threw my hat in to a sparsely populated ring of candidates that was a clue that most intelligent Episcopalians want no part of this. I was willing to give it a try one time and now I’m heading back for my third convention. Among other things this week I will explore why I like being a part of our General Convention and why I keep going back when the diocese agrees to send me.

Today is travel away from family at home and family at St. Paul’s. Monday is a day of orientation, initial speeches and welcomes and first committee meetings. The first legislative day is Tuesday.

So on travel day, I ask ,
“General Convention… Why do I go?”
Today the sad truth is that I like to travel. France or New York would be better, but waiting for connections in Chicago, the people watching is not bad. I see that comfortable travel clothes are in, with occasional stunning exceptions. Sparkle is in. Families are on the move. Sports attire is big with Northwestern, Indiana and the Cubs well represented. Also seen, Florida State, UC Berkely and Alabama (Roll Tide)…. No Vols so far. My independent survey of Chicago’s Midway Airport indicates the team with the greatest show of support is…. The Boston Red Sox. Go figure.

Nearly 1.5 hours late we are ready to leave Chicago for Columbus. Finally I'm gloing in the right direction.