Back to Reality - but not before a short side trip down memory lane

Well, and it was "hit the ground running" today.

Tonight is the first chance I've had to put the events of the last two weeks into perspective. Images are still emerging and thoughts are coming together.

I'll be writing more on this later, no doubt. Right now, I'm enjoying the memory of the one morning I played 'hookie' and went to The Getty in LA with two friends who were visiting from NY.

It was wonderful. What an amazing place!

There was a sacredness about it - the architecture, the reverence for the creative art in a variety of forms: sculpture, bronze, paint, landscape.

It was one way to hallow the gift of creativity and imagination that has its source in The Holy One.

It was just the right antidote to the craziness of the schedule of General Convention. But, we had no idea of the Balm in The City of Angels that was awaiting us.

This is the Roman Catholic Cathedral in LA. Interestingly enough, it's one of the top five tourist attractions in this amazing city.

I'm no fan of modern architecture, but this one had so much integrity, it was astounding. It is not hyperbole to say that I was awed.

Clearly, this is a holy, sacred place.

The above is a picture of the walk-in baptistry which was near the narthex.

There is a beautiful progression of a tapestry of saints - ancient and modern - which the artist created from photographs of 'real' people.

You can see the altar in the distance.

All around the walls were these angel sconces - all in various poses and with different facial expressions.

Some were dancing. Others were frowning. One was in a full belly-laugh. (The picture I took of it was too blurry to reproduce.)

I LOVED them - especially the one in full belly-laugh. I even went to the Gift Shop, specifically looking for him. Alas, none were on sale.

This is the Paschal Candle in front of the baptistry, with a picture on the back wall of Jesus being baptized.

I found it a very compelling rendition.

This is a reproduction which hung in one of the alcoves of the church. I sat before it and had a lovely meditation.

The altar is also very compelling. I couldn't get the shot I wanted - the one from the altar straight back to the baptistry. It was breathtaking to see the baptismal font and the picture of John the Baptist and Jesus.

Interestingly enough, there was no outward and visible sign of the Incarnation - no manger scene. Not even a statue of Blessed Mary. Not in the sanctuary, anyway.

I know. I know. It was a Roman Catholic Cathedral. Why didn't I go to "our" Cathedral? Because I wanted to see THIS Cathedral, is why.

Never mind. It was a wonderful couple of hours away from the church as institution to visit a sacred space for art and the church as holy space.

It's one memory I'll treasure whenever I remember the 'blur' of exhaustion and politics that was General Convention 2009.

". . .and he had compassion on them . . ."

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
Pentecost VIII – July 18, 2009
The Episcopal Church of St. Paul, Chatham
(the Rev’d Dr.) Elizabeth Kaeton, rector and pastor

It is so good to be home.

Having slept in my own bed.

Eating sensible meals at sensible hours.

Being back again with those who know me well and love me still, including furry, four legged creatures whose only requirement is that I return their unconditional love.

I am realizing, more acutely now more than ever, that they, as lesser creatures of God, do that far better at unconditional love than the supposed higher, more intelligent life forms of God’s creation.

For those of you who may not know, for the past two weeks, I have been attending the triennial legislative gathering of the institutional Episcopal Church known as General Convention.

On any given day, there were 5 – 7,000 people here, including over 800 deputies, more than 200 bishops and, as Jonah once said of the people of Tarshish, “many who do not know their right hand from their left.”

The days are long – beginning at 5:30 AM to start with the first legislative team meeting at 6:30, to be at legislative committee sessions or hearings at 7:30 AM, to be at the media briefings at 8:45, to be at the legislative sessions at 9:30, to be at the daily Eucharist at 11:30, followed by various presentations and caucuses, before the legislative sessions begin again at 2 PM and end at 6 PM.

But wait – there’s more!

The evenings were often filled with more hearings, more programs, more caucuses, lots of lobbying and activism and various debriefings.

Often, I would crawl into my bed at 11, eat a bowl of cold cereal – sometimes with the luxury of milk, sometimes not – and turn the lights off at midnight, to dream, perchance to sleep. (Jon Richardson’s schedule was not much different from my own. He knows only too well of what I speak.)

As my sainted grandmother would say, “Oh, the things we do for Jesus.”

Perhaps you won’t be surprised, then, to learn that I hear the words of Jesus, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while,” as a real ‘welcome home’ to this little church in the heart of suburbia.

And while Chatham is not exactly deserted, I am suddenly glad for the normally low attendance of the summer.

It might also not be surprising to learn that, of the various themes in this gospel passage, I am compelled by the image of Jesus, who, coming ashore from the boat he was in with his disciples, and, in the words of scripture, “saw a great crowd; and he had compassion.”

Please hear me clearly: for all of the foolishness of the institutional church, all the word games and political strategy, all the fleeting moments of glorious clarity and the magnificent messiness that is General Convention, it is, at its core, important, holy work.

And . .and. . .and . . .there was a moment in Anaheim where The Episcopal Church was never more magnificently messy, more gloriously clear, more important, relevant and holy as it embraced and embodied the compassion that is at the core of the mission of Christ Jesus which did not take place inside Convention Hall but took place because of what was happening within it.

Through the organizing efforts of the local chapter of the Episcopal Economic Justice Network, we joined together with local folks to stage a Prayer Vigil and March with those who carry luggage, clean the hotel rooms, do the laundry and serve meals at Disney World in Anaheim, “the happiest place on earth,” who have been working for the last year without a contract and under the threat of having their positions cut to part time or having the health insurance benefit of their full time jobs claim $500 per month of their frozen salaries.

The Episcopal Church was out in force on Harbor Blvd in Anaheim in our march toward the entrance of Disney World, which, for the first time in the history of this city, closed down one side of the street in order to accommodate the March.

We, as a church, had gotten out of the safety of our ‘boat’ and were in the streets and with the people. We were there to march for justice, but it was our compassion for the people which compelled us there.

The demonstration ended with the clergy anointing the workers for the work of justice. I took my place in the line of clergy who stood waiting for the workers to come forward.

That didn’t happen.

Interesting how our arrogance can inform our posture.

So I asked a sister priest, Altagracia Perez to anoint me, which she graciously did. In that sacramental moment, I found the courage and grace to move forward into the mass of people whose faces were filled with a mixture of faith and fear.

It didn’t take long before I was surrounded by people – men, women and children – who suddenly seemed to be everywhere: tugging at my blouse and pulling at my skirt. I cannot put into words what it felt like to have people call to me, "Madre, Madre. Unteme! Unteme!"

I could feel people pressing in on my back and sides. I hardly knew where to turn next, but I took my time, looking deep into the eyes of each person - adult women, men and little children - and anointed them, in my faulting Spanish: “En nombre de Dios, de Jesuchristo y de Espirito Santo”.

"Gracias a dios," they said softly, thankfully. Funny how that works. I anointed them, but I was the one who was blessed. And, transformed. And, will never be the same.

I was instantly overcome with a variety of emotions and feelings – humility, privilege, foolishness, and profound awe – all of which sprang from an increasing awareness that the source of these human feelings came from a deep well of the compassion of Christ.

I am convinced, now more than ever, that mission is not only the best form of evangelism, it is the incarnation of compassion.

Mission is what you do to bring an anointing of the spirit of Jesus to those who need it most. And compassion is the holy oil of the spirit of Jesus.

Compassion begins with being moved by our own sense of being ‘other’ to be present to our own sense of need for healing.

Compassion for those who are hungry or thirsty, those who are in danger of losing their jobs begins by first recognizing our own hunger and thirst, and being aware of the great fragility of life.

Compassion begins with a passion to be certain that whatever we have suffered – or, whatever suffering is unimaginable to us – is not experienced by others, even total strangers.

We hear St. Paul’s words this morning to the ancient church in Ephesis:

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the corner stone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.”

That is the vision which General Convention calls us to embrace. It is the difference between being an institution and the corporate Body of Christ.

There is an urgency, a ‘now’ to our mission. The world has never been more dark or broken or hurting a place. The compassion of Christ has never been more needed. Now, more than ever, we need to be Christ’s representatives, Christ’s anointing, Christ’s healing presence in the world.

Now, more than ever, we need to be fed from the sacraments so that we might be sacramental presence in the world.

That work requires us to move past our own zones of comfort – to get out of the safety of our own little boats of home or church or national conventions – and make our way onto the shores of discomfort to be among the people of God.

This is the important work of the church. The frenetic work schedule of General Convention is designed to make us think that THAT is the most important work.

It is not.

This church building is often confused with being the center of important work.

It is not.

For me, compassion that finds its way into mission and ministry is the only work of the church that brings us any authenticity with the central importance of One whose Sacred Body we claim to be.

The mystery of compassion is that, in the process of trying to change the world for the better, it is we who are changed and transformed and will never again be the same.

As my sainted grandmother would say, “Oh, the things we do for Jesus.”

And I would add, “Oh, the things He does for us.” Amen.

Money, money, money

Hands down, the winner in the category "The most stunning thing to have happened at GC" is the Budget.

Thirty seven positions (of 180, including 7 retirements that won't be filled), evaporated in front of our very eyes, leaving no support staff and no program development at the national level for mission, evangelism, stewardship, education, anti-racism training, etc., etc., etc.

Additionally, the face-to-face meetings of the CCAB's has been reduced to one per year, and the PHOD's expenses have been sharply reduced. (I was shocked to see how many deputies were shocked to discover that the PHOD is not a paid, salaried position.)

At least there was consistency between the message of the budget and the message of the rest of our resolutions.

Not only is the budget a descriptive statement of our (painful economic) reality, General Convention put things like discernment of vocation to the episcopacy and the 'design" of liturgical rites for marriage equality right along side mission, evangelism, stewardship, education, anti-racism training, etc., in the very same place: directly at the responsibility of the local level.

It will now be the challenge of churches, dioceses and, hopefully, provinces, to work collaboratively on those things which we previously had depended on national staff.

We will have to take the resources already developed by competent national staff and tailor them for our own uses. It will be a difficult challenge in many places, but one that I trust we will prove we are capable of meeting.

We will become, more and more, 'one, holy, catholic and apostolic church' that works best at the local level. Besides, the best evangelism I know is mission. And, as the old adage goes, "Money follows mission." I have never seen that to fail.

There was, however, a shocking inconsistency between the resolutions and the budget.

While many of the resolutions revealed a church which is focused on the prophetic nature of the Body of Christ, the budget revealed a decidedly different image: We are, beyond a shadow of a doubt, a hierarchical institutional church.

Last November, as I sat with the budget committee and my staff to develop the 2009 budget, we were anticipating the worst from the financial crisis. We were all very concerned about the fact that, before the program year was out, someone might lose their job.

So, we crunched some numbers and came to a community decision as a staff to voluntarily freeze our salaries for 6 months, and reevaluate our situation once the pledges were all in and counted and we had a better handle on the financial forecast of our global economy. Three of us who were able offered to cut our salaries, if need be, so that everyone could keep their full or part time jobs.

Thankfully, none of that was necessary, but we did it as an exercise and demonstration of our theological understanding of the gospel imperatives of doing ministry together in community, in the Name of Jesus.

As deeply saddened as I am about all of the lost jobs at 815, I am even more distressed that the very ones who have called "the least of these" to "stand in a crucified place for a season" could not have exemplified the same standard for themselves.

We will survive. The next few years will be lean (and probably even mean), but we will survive. And, I suspect, thrive. When the currency of the world fails us (as it often does), Jesus gives us the currency of heaven: our intellect and our religious imagination.

The truly good news is that we are blessed with an abundance of both. Already, I am told that one deputy figured out that if each deputation gave $1,000 each (8 deputies = $125 each, or responsible for raising that amount from 'back home') we would have more than enough to restore a few line items (read: positions) to the budget.

Imagine what we'll be able to imagine when we're not sleep deprived and have actually had a few days of good nutrition to sustain and fuel the gray matter of our brains!

At times like these, I remember Parker Palmer's sermon on the Feeding of the Five Thousand - the only miracle story told in all four gospels. He said that gospel story was the first recorded evidence of community organizing.

Jesus actually got people to sit down - Palmer imagined in small circles - and got people to begin talking to one another. Jesus said to his disciples, who were anxious to know how they were going to get enough money to even go the local White Castle and get a 'Bag of Burgers' to feed everyone, "What do you have? Go and see."

The disciples pooled their resources and came up with five loaves and two fish. At that, Palmer imagines, seeing the leadership of the disciples, people began to open their travel bags. And then, wonder of wonder and miracles of miracles, Jesus blessed them and they began to share what little they had brought so that, not only was there enough for everyone, there were leftovers in abundance.

We need a time to lament and grieve the loss of so many wonderful talented people who have meant so very much to so many of us in the church.

We also would do well to hear the ancient words of Jesus to those of us who are his modern day disciples: "What do you have? Go and see."

Coming 'round the home stretch

Despite the mind-numbing legislative and budgetary processes that frame General Convention, I have, in fact, retained a firm grasp on the obvious.

Today is the last day of General Convention.

See, I have been paying attention. Indeed, I can't tell you how much I've been waiting for this day.

I, for one, am really glad General Convention will be shorter by two days next time. Yes, it's a great deal of work to be done in a very short period of time. But, I do think we can use technology to be more efficient, and ultimately, be better stewards not only of our financial resources, but more efficient managers of our time as well as employ a more effective application of our talent.

I'm also glad General Convention has been forced to limit national committees and standing commissions to have a 'face to face' meeting once a year. For far too long, many of those meetings have been seen as 'political junkets'.

This does place the bishops in an even greater, albeit 'unfair' advantage as they already meet much more than the 'Senior House'. Perhaps they will take the lead from clergy and laity on this issue as they have on other issues of justice and cut down their expensive junkets in the name of Jesus.

Today will be an opportunity for attempted 'end runs' by those who are unhappy with how General Convention has turned out. Back in the day (oh, less than 10 years ago) when most conservatives were known as 'conservatives' and not 'orthodox', the folks from N.O.E.L. (National Organization of Episcopalians for Life - which is now A.F.L. = Anglicans for Life) would submit last minute resolutions about reproductive choice, hoping that many from the more liberal or moderate deputations would have already gone home (many of them already had) and they could 'squeak' something by.

Not too many people go home early any more, but then again, not too many people try too many end-runs any more. It will be interesting to see what happens today.

The budget is probably the most disappointing development thus far. I'll have more to say on that later, but I'll say this (because while many are muttering it, I haven't seen it in print):

I think it is unconscionable for a church that purports to stand for justice to have cut 37 positions from the national church staff (7 retirements that will not be replaced and 30 positions eliminated) while not even considering lowering the salaries of those at the top in order to keep a few key positions.

You know. Like Evangelism. And, Mission. And, Anti-Racism. How are we supposed to accomplish our "Budget Priorities" without national staff to bring these programs to the congregational level?

Well, I suppose that question with all of its inherent "creative tension" will be one we learn to live into over the next three years.

Another thing: I think it's really, really important for our Presiding Bishop to be seen as a Global Religious Figure, but in this economy, perhaps her travel could have been cut back just a tad. You know, for the good of the whole.

We are a church which purports to 'do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God'. Alas, that begins to ring shallow when our budget reveals that we value hierarchy more than a full incarnational embrace of that prophetic imperative.

Well, according to my little illustration at the top of this entry, the above was part of the 'vast cognitive waste land' of this blog post.

Time to bring this 'think piece', such as it is, to a merciful end.

Just like General Convention.

Off I go then, into the home stretch. Your prayers and comments have been a blessing through these grueling, impossibly long days. Thank you. More later.

Dateline General Convention, Anaheim: Quote of the Day

The quote of the day from the House of Bishops (I swear to God this is true but I won't identify the source. Oh, okay, buy me a martini and I just may spill):

"What we need to do in this resolution is to give a sense of movement without actually doing something."

As the British would say, "Well, and there it is, then."

To quote George Burns, "Say Goodnight, Gracie."

As I have often said about the church, "You just can't make this stuff up."

Or, to quote my then feisty but now sainted grandmother, "Ah, the things we do for Jesus."

Sí, se puede!

There have been many important things which have happened at this General Convention in Anaheim: Resolutions, Committee meetings, Hearings, Legislative Debates, Eucharists, Conferences, Relationships, Community building, Reunions - even Def Poetry Slams.

Even so, none has been as important as today's Prayer Vigil and March in support of the workers at Disney.

We gathered at the plaza at the Katella Ave. entrance to the Convention Center where we waited for some of the marchers who were protesting at one of the nearby Disney hotels before joining us.

While we waited, some of the bishops of the church also gathered with us, including Bishops Doug Theuner, Gene Robinson, Mark Beckwith, Barbara Harris, Jon Bruno, Chet Talton, Greg Rickel, and several others.

Before the march began, Bishop Barbara addressed the crowd, encouraging them in their struggle. Then, Bishop Gene got up and the crowd roared its approval.

Turns out, EVERYONE knows Bishop Gene. His words were translated by Alma, the event organizer, who spoke beautifully in Spanish and flawlessly in English.

Bishop Gene spoke about "America the Beautiful," how much work it takes takes to make her beautiful and how unfairly the workers who make her beautiful are treated.

He said as beautiful as America is, there is a great deal of ugliness and corruption in her closets, and that it was time to open the closet doors and clean them out.

The crowd applauded its agreement.

We said some prayers (BTW, that man in the blue shirt standing next to Bishop Barbara, also in blue is MY bishop, Mark Beckwith. I was so proud of him and his commitment to and passion for justice, I could have just burst) and then it was off to Katella Ave and onto Harbor Blvd to deliver thousands of signed petitions to the Disney officials who were waiting for us.

Here's the thing: In the history of Anaheim, no street has EVER been blocked off for a Protest March.

Ever, that is, until today.

One entire side of Harbor Blvd. was filled with marchers.

We were, as Alma had instructed us to be - dignified and beautiful.

And, noisy.

I wish I had taken a picture of the man who had a drum but had, apparently, forgotten his drum sticks. So, he used two empty plastic water bottles and pounded out the rhythm as we chanted:

Sí, se puede!
(Yes, it can be done.)

It is, of course, the chant used by Cesar Chavez during his protest rallies and marches which was 'borrowed' by the Obama campaign, translated instead to "Yes, we can."

We marched for about two blocks to the entrance at Disney World, where a handful of those of us who were clergy were invited to walk into the gate to meet with "Jim" an official representative of Disney.

A local clergy woman who was part of the Episcopal Economic Justice Network handed the thousands of signed protests to him and Bishop Gene told him that if the demands of the workers were not met and they planned a boycott of Disney, that we would use our religious networks to assist them in their boycott until the event organizers told us to stop.

Jim was very somber and respectful, thanking us for our concern and promising to take the petitions to the Disney executive officers.

It was a very powerful moment. There was the church - speaking truth to power in the name of the people.

Yes. I wept. Again. At least this time, Louise Brooks wasn't around to catch me being all girly-burbly on video.

There were a few more rousing speeches from Bishops Barbara and Gene and then a local priest (I'm so sorry I didn't get his name), retold the story of David and Goliath to the eager crowd, who listened attentively.

He compared Disney to Goliath and the workers to David and told the people that God would chose the least among them to lead them to justice.

He got them to chant "The people. United. Will never be defeated."

And then he told them about David's anointing for God's calling and announced to them that the clergy would pass among them to anoint them for their calling to do justice.

Then, they chanted, "The people. Anointed. Will never be defeated."

Can I just say? Wow! I mean, Wow!

At first, the clergy stood into lines, waiting for people to come. It felt awkward and wrong to me, so I asked a sister clergy, Altagracia Perez, to anoint me.

After she anointed my forehead, I felt empowered to venture out into the crowd with my little plastic cup filled with cotton balls that had been saturated with Holy Oil.

I can not put into words what it felt like to have people call to me, "Madre, Madre. Unteme! Unteme!"

People were pulling on my blouse. I hardly knew where to turn next, but I took my time, looking deep into the eyes of each person - adult women, men and little children - and anointed them in the name of the One who created them, the One who sustains them and the One who guides their feet into the path of justice and peace.

"Gracias estan a dios," they said softly, thankfully.

Funny how that works. I anointed them, but I was the one who was blessed.

And, transformed.

And, will never be the same.

That's what happens whenever I encounter the living Christ in others.

Clearly, this church has moved beyond B033 and into a fuller understanding of our mission and ministry.

Suddenly, I can't wait to get home, roll up my sleeves, and get to work. Even in the oh-so comfortable affluent suburban Mayberry USA town where I live and move and make my being.

I think things are going to get just a little less comfortable - all in the name of the mission and ministry of The Living Christ.

Sí, se puede!

Anointed for the work of justice

This afternoon at 4:30, I will join hundreds of other Episcopalians here at Convention as well as other religious leaders from the area in supporting the Prayer Vigil and March organized by the group "Disney Be Faithful," representing 2150 employees of the three Disneyland Hotels: Paradise Pier, Grand Californian and Disneyland Hotel.

These workers clean the rooms, cook and serve the food, wash the dishes, and carry the luggage.

Disney wants to take away from its employees union family health insurance. They also want to take away full-time jobs, forcing many into positions with no health insurance at all, no vacation and less than full rights.

Disney's net income in the first half of the Fiscal Year 2009 was nearly $1.46 billion. In Fiscal Year 2008, Disney CEO Robert Iger made $30.6 million.

When I signed up to march last Monday, I was approached by one of the organizers with a request I agreed to but I'm still processing.

"Mother," he said (as I winced), "would you stay with us at the end of the march? We're asking some of the clergy to anoint the workers, and it would be wonderful to have you with us."

I was initially taken aback. 'Anoint' he said. What did he mean, really? Did he mean anoint with holy oils or just extend a hand in blessing?

I wanted to make certain I had a correct translation from his Hispanic, Roman Catholic culture to my progressive Western European, Anglo-Catholic understanding.

So, I asked.

"While we are marching," he said softly, "some of the people from Disney will be standing along the sidelines, filming us as we pass by. They will use that film as evidence to get us fired or to have our positions eliminated or downsized."

"You may not be aware, Mother," he said politely, "that for the workers, this Prayer Vigil and March is a big risk. We need to be anointed for the work of justice, after this event, so that we will find the strength to go back to our jobs. Just a little sign from God that He will continue to be with us after the support of this event."

"We know you have probably not brought your oils with you to this place, so we will have some for you. Will you help us? It would mean so much to some of us for a woman to anoint us for the work of justice."

"Anointed for justice."

I continue to find myself deeply moved by that request. There is something that strikes a cord of authenticity with the core values of what the church professes to be, but often is not.

I ask you, wherever you are, to pray with me and for me, that I may be a worthy vehicle of an anointing of God's healing and enabling power upon these workers.

Pray that we may catch a glimmer of God's justice promised of the Realm of God for these workers and their families.

The Lambeth Kool-Aid

Well, by now you know that the House of Deputies is on the move - beyond B033 and forward into mission. If you don't know about it, check into stories over at Episcopal Cafe and "The Lead".

In summary, Resolution D025 passed the House of Deputies yesterday and will be sent to the House of Bishops sometime today. The vote was 77-31 in the lay order and 74-35 in the clerical order.

You can find the summary of the resolution here, but it, in effect, rescinds B033 in very carefully crafted, very gracious language.

C056 is a major resolution on same sex blessings that has cleared the Prayer Book Committee by a huge margin (6-0 among bishops, 26-1 in deputies).

This is a critically important resolution which will direct the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (SCLM), in consultation with the House of Bishops Theology Committee, to collect and develop theological resources and liturgies of blessing for same-gender holy unions, to be presented to the 77th General Convention (2012) for formal consideration.

It also stipulates that all bishops, noting particularly those in dioceses within civil jurisdictions where same-gender marriage, civil unions, or domestic partnerships’ are legal, may provide generous pastoral response (B012) to meet the needs of members of this Church.

This, folks, is huge. HUGE.

It is expected to pass the House of Deputies and will then move on to the Bishops.

There's another breaking story that, until the other day, was being told in hushed terms. The "moderate" publication "The Center Aisle" had another story in this morning's edition.

It's best summed up in the term: "Lambeth Kool-Aid"

You hear the term in not-so hushed, concerned conversations on both sides of the aisle in the Exhibit and Convention Hall, usually in response to the question, “What will the bishops do?”

Some long-time deputies are lamenting that they’ve never seen the split so deep between the two houses. Others refer to it as “a rift” between deputies and bishops.

I disagree. The mood here in Anaheim is more cordial than I've experienced in years, and that includes the relationship between deputies and bishops.

Our baptized sisters and brothers who wear varying shades of purple are being described, alternately, as “more conservative,” “anxious,” “fearful,” and even, “depressed.”

It’s about that time that the term “Lambeth Kool-Aid” begins to surface.

From where I sit, that's a short hand way to talk about the seductive and intoxicating effects of power.

The Episcopal Church is hardly unique in our democratic process of legislation and decision-making, and in our more egalitarian approach to the application of our understanding of the theology and ecclesiology of our Baptismal Covenant.

The ‘standard’ of the rest of the Anglican Communion tends to be much more hierarchical – if not heavy-handed – in its polity and ecclesiology than The Episcopal Church.

Being a distinct minority in a majority of bishops who have that much decision-making power can give a body a serious case of 'miter envy'. One can begin to imagine that one has waaayyy more power than our canons allow.

There are two other ‘side effects’ of this ‘purple Anglican brew’.

The first has to do with the ‘paradigm of success’ which is operative in the world and, unfortunately, in the church.

We should not be surprised. St. Paul tells us that ‘we are in the world but not of the world’ but that doesn’t mean that the world isn’t in the church.

‘Bigger, faster, better, wealthier’ are the standards in the corporate world. The corporate body of Christ has, unfortunately, also embraced this paradigm of success.

The rise of the evangelical movement in the World Wide Anglican Communion has led to an even more aggressive embrace of this paradigm.

Many bishops in the Global South have hardly been shy in telling anyone who will listen about the amazing, rapid (although largely undocumented) effects of their evangelism efforts.

Their ‘orthodox’ evangelical North American counterparts have capitalized on this information, using it to try to shame and intimidate their more progressive sisters and brothers.

In many ways, it’s worked. Many North American bishops are facing serious declines in their home churches. When not dealing with the fruit of disaffection sewn by seeds of discord intentionally being planted by those on the Right, the economy is playing havoc with pledges at the local level, resulting in deficits that have ‘trickled up’ to the diocesan level.

In my own congregation, while we remain pretty much untouched by the discord in the church, I would guestimate that there are about a dozen or so folks who have lost their jobs, and another 1/3 are anxious about their job security.

My medical background informs my perception that many more people are on anti-depressants and/or using higher amounts of alcohol as self-medication.

The ‘silent shame’ in many of the affluent suburbs of Northern New Jersey is the increase in suicide attempts (just ask any EMT or ER staff) as well as an increase in stress-related disease: high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke.

I can’t imagine what this is like in other states where the unemployment rate is in the double-digits.

This feeds the anxiety about the ‘paradigm of success’ we currently hold.

I don’t think clergy in general and bishops in particular are ‘depressed’ about this, per se. Rather, I think ‘compassion fatigue’ is a more accurate description of what we’re all feeling.

Compassion fatigue is now classified as a Secondary Traumatic Distress Disorder. Sufferers can exhibit several symptoms including hopelessness, a decrease in experiences of pleasure, constant stress and anxiety, and a pervasive negative attitude.

This can have detrimental effects on individuals, both professionally and personally, including a decrease in productivity, the inability to focus, and the development of new feelings of in competency and self-doubt.

I think the antidote to “The Lambeth Kool-Aid” and the local manifestations of the harsh realities of this global economic crisis is to embrace a new paradigm of success, one that is based in biblical values as opposed to the dictates of our culture.

Jesus did not count sheep. He fed them.

He was able to feed five thousand people (by one account) by getting them to sit down and talk with each other.

Parker Palmer's understanding of this biblical account is that this was the first recorded incident of 'community organizing'. If you get people sitting together to address an issue like hunger, miracles can happen.

Palmer's understanding of that miracle is that people opened their travel packs and brought out the food they had carried with them.

The second miracle was that people SHARED what they had. And, when that happened, not only was there enough for everyone to eat, it resulted in a third miracle: there was plenty of food left over.

The answer for the institutional church is organizing the church community for mission. That’s never been the question. The question for all Christians – all the baptized in all of our various institutional variations – is this: “How will we prosper the mission of Christ Jesus in the world?”

If we answer that question, we will prosper as a church – financially and spiritually– no matter what we ‘drink’ or how drunk it makes us with an illusion of power.

If we focus on THAT question, we will be moved out of the immobility and paralysis of fear and into a sense of hope and purpose.

We are promised that our thirst will be assuaged by the ‘living water’ of Jesus and our hunger satisfied by the ‘bread of heaven’.

Now, more than ever, we need to preach that Good News – apparently and especially to the ones who seem to hear it most: the bishops.

UPDATE: 6 PM Monday the 13th: House of Bishops vote on D025 as amended: 99 in favor, 45 opposed, 2 abstentions.

Because of the amendments, it will have to go back to the HOD where it is certain to pass.

We are 'officially' beyond B033.

Somebody cue the choir to sing the Doxology.

Woo hoo to God in the highest!

Def Poetry Slam

On Sunday afternoon, in the midst of the grueling schedule and difficult conversations and decisions that frame General Convention, right in front of God, an appreciative audience, and a few confused passersby who wandered in the Exhibit Hall, poetry was spoken – and sung.

Our own Louie Crew was joined by Lelanda Lee, Zoe Cole, Sally Sedwick, and Elizabeth Kaeton, who read some of their original poetry.


Dylan Breuer put some of her poetry to music and treated us to some stirring vocals and a few wicked riffs on her electric guitar.

Her parody on “I will survive” (General Convention) is destined to be a classic.

To give you a flavor of the event, I include “Paean to the Queen” (for Lutibelle) written by Lelanda Lee:

My heart follows
the barbed lobs
zinging across the court
excitement and angst
curdle my blood
These are my brethren
whose arrows intend to wound
whose slings intend to cripple

The Quean sits in the new ark
upon an eastern shore
fielding data
from all sources
Emissaries assert
no one else spares
the time or interest
to sort and file
who’s gained entry
who’s newly anointed
who’s MIA
Occasionally her majesty
sends out request for
film recommendations
just for fun

The Queen has served
her subjects like a royal conscience
soft as a whispered confidence
purred in silken tones
across the network
deputized to makes things
right and make things
happen and save a
pretty penny to entice
new members to the kingdom

This Quean holds genleness
within her breast and
faith in God within her soul
She lays the truth out
like a fine filed of clover
inviting all to tread softly
lest truth be crushed
under the weight of
those armed with
the last word
the final pronouncement
of right and wronged

Joy, Joy, the Quean encourages
Love, Love, the Quean espouses
All the fielding, sorting and filing
making, righting and saving
only matter if we learn to dance
to the music of the galaxy’s stars
connected by our rainbow feathered boas
hugs and kisses for one, for all.

Wow! Just WOW!

Walking for Justice

Note: The following was written for Sunday's edition of "Issues," a publication of The Consultation. (Click on "Issues")

In New Delhi, there is a fitting memorial to Gandhi – the man who walked all over India for justice. It marks the path of his last steps, before he was assassinated.

Just for a giggle, I brought Ms. Conroy’s pedometer to Anaheim. It’s not a ‘professional’ one. It’s just something she picked up a while back when she was trying to get into shape.

I know that General Convention requires a great deal of walking – I’ve been attending these things for a number of years and my tired body remembered instantly – but I was curious to know just how much walking I do.

So, I put on the pedometer and here’s what I found.

Keep in mind that, for a person my size, 2, 000 steps equals approximately one mile.

Monday: 9,644 steps.

Tuesday: 21,157 steps

Wednesday: 31,104 steps

Thursday: 32, 064 steps

Friday – stopped wearing it. I don’t want to know anymore.

I suspect Gandhi never counted his steps. He just kept walking. He walked all over India – an area much larger than all the General Conventions I’ve ever attended.

Still, he kept walking for justice.

Jesus walked all over Israel – back and forth, going to where the people were. Being with the people who needed to hear the Good News. Teaching. Telling stories. Bringing healing and hope. Confronting the powers and principalities in the name of justice and peace, and never counting the cost – much less the steps.

It’s humbling to remember that as I schlep back and forth and forth and back from hotel to convention center and from the HOD to the HOB to various hearings and committee meetings.

It’s also not a bad thing to remember that for every 2,000 steps I take, I burn 100 calories.

Who would have guessed that walking for justice can also be good for your body?

They're baaacccckkkk!

And, this time, it's personal.

Imagine!

The incredible nerve!

Or, the stupidity!

This group of well-meaning folks actually tried to engage the "demonstrators" in conversation.

I was standing back, slack-jawed, wide-eyed and thoroughly disgusted and appalled, when I realized than Matt Kennedy of "Stand Firm" was right beside me.

His chin wasn't exactly on his chest, but he looked disgusted.

"They are taking scripture out of context," he said sadly, his distress unmistakable.

"I'm glad we agree on that, Matt," I said, my relief unmistakable.

"But you know, Matt, when people see them, they think they are from Stand Firm."

"I know," said Matt, "I know. It's an embarrassment."

We may hold down polar opposite ends of the theological spectrum, but I'd like to believe that we do so with a little more than a modicum of intelligence and reason.

We chatted a bit more - I shared his distress that he had not been authorized press credentials (that just doesn't make any sense when David Virtue and George Conger have their press passes. I promised to ask a few questions to see what I might discover) - before we went on our separate ways.

You know, come to think of it, that just might have been the highlight of my Saturday.

Integrity Triennial Eucharist

One word: FABULOUS!

Mostly because of an AMAZING liturgy and even more amazing sermon by Bishop Barbara Harris. Here's the quote of the night - if not the decade.

"Don't initiate us into the church and then PRETEND we've only had a half-assed baptism." - The Rt Rev Barbara Harris

Oh, and when all the LGBT clergy "came up" (because we had already come out) to join Bishop Gene on the stage, well, I swear, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

Episcopal Life Online has already posted this story.

Hmm . . . I didn't see any of the folks from Stand Firm or T19 or Baby Blue Cafe, so I wouldn't bother going over there to check on a story from that crowd.

I'm thoroughly exhausted from the day, but I'll just post this picture.

Yup, that's Grandmere Mimi, It's Margaret! and moi.

Be afraid. Be very, very afraid.

Mickey works for justice - but not a living wage

Actually, this picture was at a protest rally last November. But, he's planning to do it again next Tuesday. And, he's asking clergy to help.

"Disney Be Faithful" is an organization that represents thousands of workers at Disney World here in Anaheim. You know. "The Happiest Place on Earth."

Here's some information which some of the organizers handed out this morning in front of the Convention Center.

Disney is Faithful to its Shareholders:

• Disney’s net income in the first half of Fiscal Year 2009 was nearly $1.46 billion.
• Disney’s leaders are among the highest paid in the world. In Fiscal Year 2008, Disney CEO Robert Iger made $30.6 million.

Disney, Be Faithful to your Employees:

• Disney wants to take away our union family health insurance. We will be forced to pay up to hundreds of dollars per month for family health insurance. Many families will lose their insurance.

• Disney wants to take away full-time jobs and forcing many of us into “casual regular” positions with no health insurance at all, no vacation, and less than full rights.

The very polite, articulate young man I spoke with this morning told me that a coalition of three organizations - The Episcopal Network for Economic Justice, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice and Disneyland Hotel Workers - are going to stage a

Prayer Vigil and March
Tuesday, July 14
4:30 PM
In front of the Convention Center on Katella Ave.

He asked me if I would be one of the clergy to "anoint" some of the workers for the work of justice.

You know I'm going to be there.

If you are in Anaheim, I hope you'll join us.

If you are not, I hope you'll be with us in spirit and prayer.

"The people. United. Will NEVER be defeated. "

Outraged!

Episcopal Life Online is reporting that last night's testimony was overwhelmingly in favor of moving beyond B033.

As many as a thousand people attended the two-hour hearing which began at 8 p.m. in the Pacific Ballroom of the Hilton Hotel. A total of 51 people testified; 41 said they hoped the church could move beyond B033, a moratorium on the consecration of bishops whose manner of life presented a challenge to the wider church. Ten others indicated they wanted to retain B033.

All of that is true.

Most of the expressions were that of pain - on both sides of the issue. The pain of exclusion. The cost of inclusion for the sake of the gospel.

Mostly, there was fear in the messages of those 10 deputies who said they wanted to retain B033.

I had decided earlier in the day not to testify on this one. I'm getting tired. Lots of people are. Even well-seasoned GC deputies. In fact, I'm skipping the 6:30 AM Legislative Team session this morning to sleep in for an extra hour.

When I'm tired - especially if I'm tired and anxious - I can say things in such a way as to not clearly convey what's in my head or in my heart. You may have noticed that. I don't do it very often, but when I do, it's a humdinger.

What I didn't hear expressed last night was what I'm really feeling about B033: outrage.

I mean, we were bamboozled! We were hogtied! Arm-wrestled at the 11th damn hour of convention! Emotionally manipulated!! It was nothing less than institutional rape!

I can hear some of you, "Well, you need to get a grip. We need to move on - beyond B033. That's what everyone is saying - even the conservatives. They just want to move a bit more slowly than the rest of us. What more do you want, Elizabeth?"

Umm . . . an apology would be a good place to start. A real acknowledgment of the pain and damage done. An expression of genuine regret and a promise not to do this ever again.

And, by "this" I mean to balance a statue of the False God of Anglican Unity on the backs of LGBT or ANY other 'target' population.

Let me say that in small words so if there are any institutional types who love to keep themselves confused so they don't have to do anything, much less make a response, can understand: I want three things:

1. An apology.

2. A resolution which formally rescinds B033.

3. A promise that we, as an institutional church, will not do this again.

I know that's not going to happen.

I'm grown up enough to know that you don't always get what you want. You don't always get what you need. As a friend of mine once said to me, "You get what you get in this life, and you make the best of what you've been given."

Check, check and check.

I trust that we will, at this Convention, move "beyond" B033. And, that will be touted as a HUGE deal. In many ways, it is. No doubt.

And, when that happens, my outrage will subside.

I'm just really, really tired of always baking cakes for the institutional church, and then having to go under the table to gather up the crumbs.

Because, if you're not outraged, you're not paying attention.

I loves me some Mark Harris

When I first met Mark Harris in 1986, I fell instantly in love with the man.

He's intelligent, creative, with a wicked sense of humor which he does not spare on his own sense of his foibles. As if that weren't enough, he's a poet with his own hand-operated printing press.

I mean, how irresistible is that?

And, his wife is equally intelligent, creative and feisty as hell.

See why I love the man?

Broken Open By Intimacy

Below is the text of Rowan William's Meditation at this morning's Eucharist. You can watch and listen to it yourself at General Convention Media Hub.

One of the first things +++Himself notes is this:

One thing you learn very quickly as Archbishop of Canterbury is that everything you say is scrutinised and interpreted and picked over for hidden meanings and agendas. Something tells me today will be no exception…

He wasn't just kidding.

Shortly after +++Himself began his meditation, my cell phone rang. It was a very dear friend of mine, a psychologist and professor of Religion and Psychology at a major seminary.

He's also an unrepentant Freudian while I have very serious latent Jungian tendencies.

As I said the other day, Episcopal clergy are renowned for being able to squeeze at least six sermons out of one simple, meager metaphor.

We're always busting each other's chops about symbolism, but because he's Black Baptist and I'm Episcopalian, my sermons always seem to come up on the loosing end of the argument.

I told him I was stepping out of a meditation by the ABC to take his call.

"What is he talking about?" he asked, curious if not concerned that he was taking me away from something important.

"He's just said something about being 'broken open by intimacy'," I said, walking outside the door of the worship space.

I thought I heard a muffled giggle and then he said, "I know it's a real long shot, but, you know, if you ever 'change your uniform', just make sure that this guy is on the bottom of your list of possibilities."

Dr. Williams meet Dr. Frued and Dr. Jung.

We both giggled, more at our own long-standing joke than at +++Himself, but he didn't exactly go unscathed, just as he, +++himself, had predicted.

So, here it is.

One observation: Sometimes, the preacher preaches more to him/herself, than to the congregation.

'Broken open by intimacy,' indeed.

Archbishop of Canterbury’s Meditation

[July 9, 2009] The following is the meditation presented by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams during the July 9 Eucharist at the Church’s 76th General Convention in Anaheim, California. (Video will be available on the Media Hub, http://gchub.episcopalchurch.org/)

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams

The 76th General Convention of The Episcopal Church
July 9, 2009

Meditation

One thing you learn very quickly as Archbishop of Canterbury is that everything you say is scrutinised and interpreted and picked over for hidden meanings and agendas. Something tells me today will be no exception…

But because I don’t actually like coded messages or hidden agendas, and because I believe they’re an aspect of a whole rather unhealthy culture of suspicion – not to mention conspiracy theories - I’m going to begin by saying two things as simply and directly as I can, so that we can get on to the more important matter of reflecting together on the Scripture passages we have been given in this Eucharist.

The first thing is to say thank you. Thank you for the invitation to join you on this occasion and to share something of my mind with you; and so thank you too for your continuing willingness to engage with the wider life of our Communion. I do realise that this engagement has been and still is costly for different people in different ways: some feel impatient, some feel compromised, some feel harassed or undervalued, or that their good faith has been ungraciously received. I’m sorry; this has been hard and will not get much easier, I suspect. But it is something for which many of us genuinely are grateful to you and to God.

And it’s related to the second thing I want to say. Of course I am coming here with hopes and anxieties – you know that and I shan’t deny it. Along with many in the Communion, I hope and pray that there won’t be decisions in the coming days that could push us further apart. But if people elsewhere in the Communion are concerned about this, it’s because of a profound sense of what the Episcopal Church has given and can give to our fellowship worldwide. If we - if I – had felt that we could do perfectly well with out you, there wouldn’t be a problem. But the bonds of relationship are deep, for me personally as for many others. And I’m tempted to adapt what St Paul says to the Corinthians in the middle of a set of tensions no less bitter than what we have been living through and in the wake of challenges from St Paul a good deal more savage than even the sharpest words from Primates or Councils: ‘Why? Because we do not love you? God knows we do.’

Well: to business. Our readings put before us a vision of Christ’s Church that is both simple and alarming. We have been called and chosen. It is not that we have ourselves chosen Jesus, and it is certainly not that we have earned the right to be chosen by him (because we’re so orthodox or so open or so faithful or so creative or whatever). We have simply been spoken to by Christ and our fellowship has been created by his word to us. What is more, that word makes us his friends; and as his friends we share some understanding of what he is doing because he has allowed us to overhear his eternal conversation of love with the one he calls ‘Abba, Father.’

So we’re ‘holy’, a holy people, a holy nation, because we have been brought within earshot of that eternal conversation, that immeasurable intimacy. We know that this is Jesus’ business – living in an intimacy with the Father that opens him up to the needs of creation, so that the eternal conversation overflows and transforms an entire world. As John’s gospel tells us time and again, we come to be where Jesus is; and that is our holiness. Not what we have achieved, what we have held on to, what we can trade for rewards from God, but simply the fact of being in the Holy place that is Jesus at prayer. The intimacy of the Source and the Word becomes intimate to and in us. And we turn to the world so that our humanity, newly transparent to God the Trinity, can itself become a word, a transforming message and gift – a humanity living in mutual generosity, intimacy with each other and delight in each other, like the delight and intimacy that exists for ever in heaven.

This is what we are here for as a Church. Our life as church declares to the world that God’s longing is for a humanity like this, a humanity broken open for intimacy. Broken open: because there is a cost in the creation of the humanity that God longs for. At the very beginning of all things, and at the very beginning of the story of God’s people, the word of God speaks into a dark emptiness and brings life and light. By sheer divine freedom, God brings light, makes a humanity where there was no humanity, a community where there was no community. And God makes us able to receive his mercy where once we could not even understand that we needed it. In a word, we have been called from nothingness; but this means that we still stand over that abyss of emptiness – an inner void that only the Word of God can hold and fill and make to be something that is real and living. Sin is our constant temptation to slip back into nothingness, into unreality – the void of our own individual desires and agendas, the void of a self that deludes itself into the belief that it is really there on its own, independent of God and of others.

So when God in Jesus Christ restores humanity to its proper place in God’s heart, Jesus has to face full-on the strange power of nothingness, the power of the terrors and dreams that are generated out of the self in its urgent attempts to keep itself alive by its own strength. Jesus dies because we don’t want to die – to die to our fantasies and self-centred plans and dreams. To follow him is to risk stepping into life by recognising that something in us must die – so that everlasting and true life may live.

The Church is a place where indestructible life is made manifest: it “presents and represents in its corporate life creation restored in celebration of the Word of God” – words from one your own prophets, the greatest Episcopalian theologian and perhaps the greatest American theologian of the twentieth century, William Stringfellow; not the least of the gifts which the Episcopal Church has given the rest of us. Stringfellow is writing about the calling of the Church to be a ‘holy nation’ - a community that is free from every kind of local and uncritical loyalty so as to show the world what an institution looks like when it lives by the self-communication of God. And above all, he says, it is an institution which looks death in the face and declares it to be overcome.

Our contemporary world is still very recognisably the world that Stringfellow wrote about in the seventies and eighties, a world in which death and nothingness have what looks like a powerful advantage. We collude with the death of the poor, with the almost unimaginable ravages of HIV/AIDS in Africa, with the ruination of small economies in the strange adventures of the global market, with the impending extinction of the possibility of human existence in some parts of the world by rising water levels. In the last nine months, we have learned, with more surprise that we should have felt, how our financial affairs are based on a passionate quest for “growth” that has increasingly led us to make profit out of literally – nothingness, out of empty words and manufactured figures. The poisonous effect of death and nothingness can be seen in a reeling international economy and a fearful bewilderment about our human future, not only financially but materially, as inhabitants of a planet in which limitless material growth is impossible. And in this world, the Church is there to name death and to promise life – the life that comes in relationship, not selfish speculation or protective barriers against the poor, but relation with God through Jesus Christ and with each other, relation that is grounded in our knowledge of the will of God for the wealth and welfare of God’s creation.

To be holy is to be a witness for life in the face of these and many other forms of death. But Stringfellow adds another dimension to this. We have to face and acknowledge death in ourselves – not just death at work in the world in general, not death at work in other believers that we disapprove of, but the fact that we like all other believers we disapprove of, but the fact that we like all other believers are where we are and what we are because we have called from nothingness and still experience the drawing of death and emptiness in our own depths. Because of this, we proclaim the victory of life through our corporate confession and repentance: Stringfellow says ‘if want to know what you can do to justify yourself, the biblical response is: You must give up trying to justify yourself and confess your utter helplessness in the face of the power of death….The repentance at issue is such that it apprehends the empirical risk of death or of abandonment; that is, the risk that there is no Word of God to identify you and give you your name. Without that gift of your name, you do not exist; you are dead or, as they say, as good as dead.’

Life is proclaimed not in our achievement, our splendid record of witness to God, but in our admission of helplessness and of the continuing presence and lure of death in our lives. To be able to speak of this, and not to retreat in fear or throw up defences is part of true life; it is to know that our name is spoken by the Word of God and that we do not have to battle in resentment and anxiety to create an identity of our own. It is already there: we are already called friends. we are already bound to each other, and our life is invested in each other, in those we see and those we don’t, those we like and those we don’t. We are in the holy place with Jesus, a holy nation, a royal priesthood.

Here at the Eucharist we state who we are and where and why. We give voice to our hunger and helplessness; we name death, in us and around us; we give thanks that we are called from emptiness to life, and our own true names are spoken by the Word. May this gathering be a sign of life in the face of death, a declaration of who we are in Jesus and with one another, in the heart of God the Holy Trinity: chosen friends who, miraculously, know something of that God’s longing for what has been made.


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Hey, kids! Really big doings today!

That's what Mickey used to say at the top of the hour of my favorite childhood TV Program, "The Mickey Mouse Club.

The EWC Legislative Team met at 6:30 AM (I actually got the guys at the little but very pricey coffee shop at the Hilton to make me a poached egg on English muffin - no potatoes, no meat - for $6.00. That's cheap here. One of our team ordered whole wheat toast the other day and was charged $7).

Then came hearings on Church Structure at 7 AM. Of special concern was their proposal to dismantle the Committee on the Status of Women. Marge Christie did her usual brilliant job of putting the issue in historical context so we might be better informed in our decision making for our present and future.

The daily press briefing is at 8:45 AM which is always filled with helpful information. Neva Rae Fox is doing a good job of keeping things flowing, allowing for questions but moving things along when some of our more "orthodox" brethren rather brazenly tried to ambush Bishop Frede about "Father Cute".

Clearly, some were scratching for a fight or to unloosen a careless remark that might lend itself well to being repeated out of context. Neva stopped that right quick.

I'm on my way to the 11:30 Eucharist where the Archbishop of Canterbury will be leading the "Bible Study" portion of it.

At 1 PM is a Brown Bag Lunch sponsored by The Chicago Consultation with speakers Dr. Jenny Te Paa and the Rev. Canon Dr. Jane Shaw. You can catch them on a great video about B033 at The Lead.

At 2 PM the the Prayerbook, Liturgy and Music Committee will hold an open hearing on resolutions related to the blessing of same-sex unions. They want those who are speakers to arrive at 1 PM to sign in.

You don't have to be insane to survive General Convention but it helps.

The House of Deputies has approved the Special Order of Business to meet as a Committee of the Whole on Thursday, July 9 at 5 pm. The session will be devoted to a presentation about the issues at hand and to facilitated conversation between deputies.

In between these two Committee of the Whole sessions, the World Mission Committee will hold an open hearing on Thursday, July 9 at 8 pm to consider resolutions related to B033.

I'm watching my time in the gym disappear before my very eyes.

Other than that, kids, it's just business as usual.

Or, as Mickey might say, "It's real swell!"

If I get to speak tonight at the World Mission Committee Hearing, this is what I plan to say. It's part of today's edition of ISSUES. You can read the whole thing here along with some great articles by Ed Rodman and Katie Sherrod.

Acceptance

I wish to make a plea here for a change in language that keeps us focused on the issue before the church, at least, as LGBT people understand it.

LGBT people are not - I repeat NOT - asking the church to bless our same sex relationships.
We are asking the church for the same thing afforded to 'opposite sex' (to quote the former Ms. California) relationships. We are asking the church to bless the COVENANTS we make between each other.

That's it. That's all.

With all due respect, 'opposite sex' couples do not ask the church to bless their relationship. Neither are those of us who are 'same sex' couples.

With all due respect, we are not asking for your approval of our relationship, just as 'opposite sex' couples do not ask for approval of their relationships (even though the statistics prove that 50% of them will end in divorce).

With all due respect, we are not asking you to welcome us in any other special ways than you welcome 'opposite sex' couples into your congregations.

With all due respect, we are not asking you to make us members of the church or even to 'accept' us as full and equal members of the church. Our baptism already does that. We are already 'included' in the Household of God. We are asking you to recognize that fact and act accordingly.

This is not in the same category as blessing hounds, boats, motorcycles, vestments or religious jewelry.

We are asking the church to bless the COVENANTS we make between each other for faithful, life-long monogamy in a relationship marked by mutual respect, equality, fidelity and the holy love that is a reflection of the love of God.

Thank you.

Buddy, can you spare . . . oh, say, $70,000?

Word is that PB&F has gone through its first box of red pencils in trying to balance the budget for The Episcopal Church in the next Triennium.

I think I’ve found $70,000 for them.

At its March meeting, when the Theology Committee of the HOB decided to authorize a ‘study’ (the 10th one in the past 35 years) on homosexuality and to keep the membership a secret, they also approved a budget for themselves of $70,000 to complete this task.

Mind you, neither General Convention nor Executive Council authorized this study (Did I mention that it was the 10th such study in the past 35 years?).

Given a looming $9 Million deficit, $70,000 may not be a significant amount, but it may just allow another committee, one that operates with transparency and relevancy, to actually have a positive impact on the life of this church.

I'm just sayin'.

News Flash: Marriage Equality is Coming Soon to a Diocese Near You

Marriage Equality.

Get over it.

The testimony for B012 this afternoon was stellar. Absolutely stellar.

And, there was no opposition.

None. Zippo. Zilch. Nada.

Except, from a member of Committee 11 - Social and Urban Affairs - from a deputy from SW Florida who felt compelled to name the "concerns" voiced to him by those who are "conservative".

Here they are. Ready?

1. Just because it's legal does not mean it's right.

Sigh! You know what is most annoying about these guys? They can't be creative or original.

This is the same argument used by the anti-abortion folk.

Here's my answer: You're absolutely right.

Slavery was once legal. That didn't make it right.

Discrimination based on gender, age, physical ability and race was once legal. That didn't make it right.

It is legal, right now, to deny me my civil right to marriage. That doesn't make it right.

Next?

2. There is no official TEC position which identifies LGBT people as being "a wholesome example to the people".

You're right. Absolutely. Sounds like a new resolution to me. You know. Just to get this out of the way.

Next?

3. B033 has not yet been discussed or decided. Why are we looking at marriage equality?

Right again. Take it up with the folks at "Dispatch of business."

4. Claiming that this is a 'justice issue' isn't fair. There's nothing to argue and it closes down conversation.

Bingo! Brilliant.

Oh . . .and. . . . DUH!

So, if that's all they got, they got bupkus.

No wonder Kendall Harmon stayed in South Carolina. Sounds like he's got lots to coordinate in the Anglican Communion.

I also testified tonight at the Ministry hearings on C013 Support for those studying for ordained ministry. It's the resolution I wrote with Kevin Martin, Dean of the Cathedral at the Diocese of Dallas.

Yeah. You heard that right. Some things are so obvious, even theological differences on social issues don't matter.

The Archbishop of Canterbury speaks to General Convention at Eucharist tomorrow morning.

Don't expect anything spectacular. It's bound to be more of the same-old-same-old.

But, it will sound highly intelligent and very articulate and everyone will be so very, very impressed.

Film, as they say, at 11.