Straight but not narrow…

This is the theme for why I am attending General Convention this year…

Many would think this a crazy thing to do and yet I am convinced that this is what I should be doing.

Months ago, as conversations about GC began swirling around ASC, my heart was drawn into the importance of work on the table here in Columbus. Perhaps it was the passionate voice of our dear Susan Russell, with tears welling in her eyes, as she spoke about the voice of inclusive witness we share together as a parish at ASC – I realized that I, too, should and could be a witness here – getting this message out to the larger church.

And nearly two months ago, I learned that my friend and ASC Vestry member, Gerti Reagan Garner also had these same stirrings. So that was it! We decided to come to GC together. I have been joking that we are like Thelma and Louise arriving in Columbus – things will never be the same here!

I knew it was time to find my voice on this subject upon learning that it is many of our gay and lesbian members and friends who were planning to attend convention and work in the Claiming the Blessing booth.

I have a story to tell: from my [hetero] perspective, as a married woman in a long, long relationship, my voice of witness is important too.

I look forward to the challenge of speaking with others who do not necessarily share my point of view. Yes, I do feel some trepidation about being challenged. And I pray for the wisdom deep within to articulate how God's inclusive love is alive in our community of faith.

From the Rector’s Desk…

The legislative body of the Episcopal Church is called "General Convention." 10,000 people are gathered here in Columbus, Ohio for two weeks of worship, debate, discernment, and fellowship in the service of expressing what this one section of Christianity thinks is essential to bear witness to at this point in the human drama.

There are two big stories of this convention.The first story will be how this U.S. branch of the Anglican communion responds on record to the "Windsor Report". That report spelled out the official reprimand of an international committee to our having consented to consecrating an openly gay man as bishop when last we met in 2003. We took that action prior to the Anglican church as a whole reaching consensus about the full inclusion of gays and lesbians in the life and ministry of the Church. Many would like to see the American church sternly disciplined as a result. A special committee here has the task of crafting resolutions which could in one scenario express regret over the pain caused by that consecration. That committee is considering a variety of proposed resolutions that in the extreme could include a call for a moratorium on blessing same sex unions. Needless to say I am against any of those kinds of responses. Rather than step into the roles of compliant or rebellious child which the Windsor Report invites through its tone of critical parent, my testimony to the committee is that we instead honor and respect those in pain while we take a more adult position of joyfully describing the wonderful fruit of the Spirit that has been born in the church as a result of full inclusion of gay and lesbian Christians and their families. This debate has just started, with the official position perhaps not to be decided until just before the convention adjourns late next week. The second story is the election of the new Presiding Bishop. I have four personal friends in the race, but more about that election after it is concluded Sunday afternoon.

Surrounding these two stories are the myriad of relationships that exist for each one of us here. There were seven of us members of All Saints Church, Pasadena, at Convention today. That number changes daily as parishioners and staff fly in and out of Columbus over the course of the two weeks. The convention home base for us is the "Claiming the Blessing" booth in a gigantic hall where thousands of people on a daily basis visit a wide variety of exhibition booths. There are booths selling everything from vestments to religious jewelry to Hmong handcrafts to fudge. There are booths for church fund raising companies, seminaries, colleges, and a host of educational and social action concerns. Each day friends of long-standing have reunions and make new friends. All of these enterprises coupled with the unrelenting schedule of meetings of the Women of the Church, the committees that serve the two legislative houses, the House of Bishops, and the House of Deputies, often have people working from 7:30 each morning until 10:30 each night. The challenge is to take care of self, monitoring one's own sensory overload. That is one reason that the central organizing relationship is so critical — one's commitment to quiet oneself periodically in the grace, love, and rest of God. Without that central ordering relationship, all other activities and relationships overwhelm.

So, we from All Saints touch base frequently with one another for meals, encouragement, coordination of where we will be attending committee hearings on a number of issues from torture to war to Guantanamo to genocide to health care to Israel/Palestine. We rely interdependently on our partners across the nation who also care about all these issues and with whom we strategize in an effort to express our understanding of God's dream to turn the human race into the human family. We miss our families, our friends, and our colleagues who work extra hard in order for us to be here. We try to keep in touch with them daily by phone. We also try to stay abreast of world events through newspapers, TV, and e-mail. This convention is a necessary part of being Church, but I am very glad it happens only once every three years. It is rich with new and renewed friendships, challenging as well as affirming conversations, and powerful daily worship with thousands of voices lifted in prayer and song. And…it will be good to return home to Pasadena and All Saints at the end of next week.

From Chris Mackey-Mason

Hi – It’s Chris Mackey-Mason from Columbus, Ohio. I arrived here on Thursday, June 8 in order to begin setting up the booth for Claiming the Blessing (CTB). Rebecca Omahen and I moved all the furniture in, hung our banners and displayed our materials. We began popping our famous popcorn on Sunday – opening day for the Exhibit Hall at the Convention Center. As Susan Russell would say “the mists of Brigadoon” have certainly risen and General Convention 2006 is underway.

We have had many visitors to our booth. We have pink triangles on our tables for those who want to peel one off and put in on their name badge and it’s very heartening to see how many reach for them both gay and straight. Right now we are encouraging everyone to attend our video premiere “Voice of Witness” tonight, Tuesday, June 13 at Trinity Church. The premiere begins at 6:30 pm with introductions by Susan Russell.

When I have had a chance to walk the hall of convention I am amazed at how many people I recognize from previous conventions and it’s like homecoming. Most days the booth is open until 6 pm and then on back to the hotel in search of a place to have dinner. The night ends with our nightly de-briefing in the Integrity Nerve Center at 10:00 pm. People report on what has occurred in the different legislative committees; announcements made and then off to hotel rooms to collapse in bed.

At the end of this week several fellow All Saints staff and parish members will be helping with the booth – Anne Peterson, Lori Kizzia, Ilean Rogers, Gertie Regan Garner, and Stuart Coxhead. Hope all is well at All Saints. Keep praying for us here and we will for you all there.

Chris

General Convetion 2006: Legislative Day Three

Up early today trying to get a head start on what will be another big day (aren't they all at General Convention?) The Special Committee will continue hearing testimony on the Windsor resolutions this morning and the Deputies will likely get a chance to consider A159 … the first of those resolutions to come out of committee … sometime today.

This evening the Episcopal General Convention will be the focus of the Larry King Show so be sure to tune in and see us "live from Columbus."

Reflecting on the hearings last night I think the single most striking impression I took away was that the discourse was remarkably on point and remarkably free of both the Scripture bludgeoning and graphic sexual detail that has been so unfortunately part of these debates over the years. We were actually talking about the church and the nature of communion — and while I might vehemently disagree with many of the perspectives represented by the "other side" I am deeply grateful that the conversations were actually about theology rather than biology.

On that note, I thought the following comment exchange from an earlier post on this blog [Moderator note:  This was originally posted to Susan's blog here.] was worth bringing "up front." I think it is illustrative of both the core difference between the two "sides"here at this convention AND the core hope I hold for this church: that if we can keep coming back to Jesus in our discourse the Prince of Peace will bring us to place of both peace AND justice for all.