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.