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.