Getting Oriented in Ubuntu

I have made it through the first official day of General Convention! Yesterday I got in early to attend the scheduled New Deputy Orientation - which was promptly cancelled (we later found out that it was simply a mistake on the calendar that slipped through; there was no such thing). Many new deputies and I were very disappointed, as we all were desperately looking for guidance, already overwhelmed by the crowds and schedule. Luckily, we turned to each other and to the senior deputies for help and got some good advice and direction. And when in doubt, just follow the crowds!

Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori addressed the Convention on mission and on our duty as deputies, as did the President of the House of Deputies, Bonnie Anderson, whose comments on "welcome" really resonated with me, saying (in a rough paraphrase) that the Episcopal Church welcomed her, not just by giving her coffee, but by showing her the truth in herself.

We also got a demonstration of parlimentary procedure by a good-natured group of volunteers taking on roles (like Deputy Hannah of Diocese of Montana) and proposing/debating/amending a resolution to decorate the marker poles of each diocese. Even though the resolution ultimately did not pass, most dioceses have done a great job of decorating the poles to represent their local flair. Western Mass is well-represented with a great Dr. Seuss hat that Mick Kalber supplied. (Hopefully, I will have photos to come - can't download them at this point).

Today was the first Legislative Session, and we already have gotten some great work done. Larry Provenzano, formerly of St. Andrew's Longmeadow, was approved by the House of Deputies as Bishop Elect of the Diocese of Long Island (and was appropriately and joyously welcomed by his new diocese). There was also an interesting resolution passed from the Committee on Education - it encourages dioceses and congregations to include comprehensive AIDS educations and to offer educational programming to interested parents and grandparents on how to discussion sex with their children/grandchildren. This will be an interesting piece to bring back to Western Mass to see if St. Mark's and other congregations can act on this - I think it would be a great extension of the work being done in Journey to Adulthood and could be a natural way to get the church supporting this key part of the formation of young adults.

I also started sitting in on the National and International Affairs Committee sessions. Stay tuned for more on the resolutions before that committee.