UTAH DEPUTATION

Photo by Barbara Lossee

Note: This post was written yesterday, but due to a computer glitch, didn't get published then. We have completed four days of business at General Convention.  Since the General Convention follows a pattern similar to the US Congress, in that it has two houses: the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies and in that it does a lot of its business in Legislative Committees. These committeess look at resolutions that are proposed by both individuals and various governing bodies, and decide whether they should be adopted, rejected, or adopted with change which the committee members have made,  Each of these committees has members from both of the Houses.  To help them decide on the action they want to take, they hold hearings on the proposed resolutions.  Anyone who is interested may make a statement at a hearing. 

This year, there are a number of issues which are important enough for them to be held in a larger room: changing the structure of the church, allowing blessings for same-ender unions, changing the canon of the Episcopal Church which limits the taking of communion to people who have been baptised, the Anglican Covenant, and of course the budget, which is developed by a group called Program, Budget and Finance(PBF).  I testified at two hearings: the Evangelism Committee on the subject of Open Table, and the Structure Committee, on how I think they should proceed with the task of figuring out how the church should change its structures, with the goals of being more effective and efficient. 

So far, the only issue that has come to the floor of the House for debate is a proposal to sell the headquarters building at 815 Second Avenue, in New York City.  The original resolution called for selling it by the time of the next convention in 2015. This was amended to remove the deadline, since the members of the House of Deputies felt that it might be harder to get a good price if the potential buyers thought they were desparate

Dear Brothers and Sisters from around the Diocese, It has been a week since we started the general convention here in Indianapolis and it feels like we haven't yet started. Resolutions from committees are coming and going to houses like small drips of water. I am a member of the committee on consecration of bishops and We presented eight different resolutions, names for bishops: Susan Goff, Bishop Suffragan, Diocese of Virginia; Dorsey McConnell, Bishop of Pittsburg; Robb Hirschfield, Bishop Coadjutor, Diocese of New Hampshire; Nick Knisely, Diocese of Rhode Island; Geoff Fisher, Diocese of Texas: Doug Fisher, Diocese of Western Massachusetts Robb Wright, Diocese of Atlanta; Jake Owensby, Bishop, Diocese of Western Louisiana. Your deputation has been working very hard, going to as many hearings as we can and reporting back to our deputies so we can all have a sense of the big picture of resolutions coming to the floor. There are others working behind the scenes: Kari Butler, Karen Pena, the Dean of the Cathedral, the Very Rev. Ray Waldon, Craig Wirth, Becky Ball and The Rev. Robin James, gathering as much information as they can to share with everyone as we prepare for making 2015 a great convention. If you would like to track resolutions, watch live feed from the floor, etc., you can go to the convention website: www.generalconvention.org Pablo+

Today was a very long day. I am just now back in my room for the first time in nearly 16 hours! My day started with an early trip to credentials to trade with Wim Ray so I could get a chance on the floor. Then I had a quick breakfast while rereading the resolutions that were to come up today. Next it was off to probably the final (this time they meant it) meeting of the stewardship and development committee. They only needed to discuss one resolution (about the amount each diocese gives to the Episcopal Church). What I found interesting as they debated the final wording was the way they made a "fail safe plan"- that is a way to divide the resolution if it appeared to get into trouble when it came to a vote. They want to make sure at least some parts pass so they made a plan on what to sacrifice. They got a commitment from members of the house of deputies and the bishops on how to deal with it if it looked in trouble. Next we were off to the daily Eucharist. Today the officiant was David Bailey, Bishop of Navajoland and former staff at the diocese of Utah. The music was great and all the readings were done in various Native American languages. The woman who gave the sermon was fabulous, as have all the preachers been here so far. My only complaint is that they do not publish their names in the bulletin. After the service, it was off to take my place as a voting deputy. It as great to have a purpose for listening to all the debate, to finally have a vote. I was, however, disappointed when the resolution calling for the study of marriage was delayed because the translations had not been completed for the Spanish speaking deputies. I had wanted to vote on that but it was not to be. I would like to share one thing that I found wonderful that the chaplain of the HOD shared today. You know how you always see the WWJD thing like on bracelets, shirts, etc? Well, instead of asking "What would Jesus do?" we should ask, "What DID Jesus do." I liked that. It seems to be the theme here- be a crazy Christian" At the lunch break, I traded badges with Wim again. In the afternoon, I sat for a while in the house alternate section and then headed to a stewardship meeting. It was strange, or maybe not so strange, that much of the discussion was actually about being a welcoming church to visitors. There was a lot of info and TENS people are coming to Salt lake to present info on stewardship. After this, I ran to a talk given by our own Brin Bon at the ECW triennial. She gave a fabulous talk about food and faith. The women in attendance seemed to really enjoy everything Brin had to say. Next I ran back to the HOD to listen to the end of the daily debates in there. I then ran from there to a screening of a film called Traces of the Trade. It was such a great movie. It as at Sundance a few years ago. I highly recommend it. Next I ran too the start of the Integrity Eucharist. I had missed it last time I was at GC and didn't want to miss it again. What an amazing gathering it was! I wish my camera had been better as I do not have a picture of either Gene Robinson or Mary Glaspool. I was only able to stay for part of it because of our nightly deputation meeting but next time I will be sure to have time to stay for the whole thing. I as struck that, although Integrity is a ministry for lgbt people, the room was full of not only gays and lesbians but also plenty of straight allies. There was a lot to celebrate tonight as the HOB passed the same sex blessings resolution. I honestly can not write another word. I again apologize for the typos. It is late. I am tired and this iPad is killing me. Good night Utah!

Good Sunday morning to you readers. I will apologize in advance for the predictable typos and autocorrects. I didnt bring a computer so am trying to do this on my ipad. I realize this blog is pretty sparse so far. It is hard to believe we have been here for 5 days already. It is slightly cooler here this morning, which is a relief as the day started with an innaugral ECW 5k. It was really fun. I was the only one from the deputation who participated, although there were a few women from Utah representing the ECW. They had expected about 70 people when they first came up with the idea but ended up with about 200 registered. The bishop of Chicago was the winner. He did talk a bit of smack about the absence of Bishop Scott when I congratulated him. There is a bit of calm this morning as today starts with the Eucharist at 9:30. Normally, there are hearings starting at 7:30. Today is a bit of a more relaxed day with the service, a day of fun at the stadium, and then a legislate session at 2:15. Our days end with a 9:30 check in with the whole group from Utah. Bed by 11 if you are lucky. As an alternate, I still sit through all the legislative sessions to make sure I understand the process. I am learning s lot about the parliamentary process. While I do understand that its purpose is to make things fair and orderly, it can be very tedious. I have made friends in the seats around me - people from Wyoming, Montana, Massachusetts, and even ended up with Brian Winters right behind me. I am hoping to get some time on the voting floor at some point. The other job I have is to go to committee hearings to report back on discussions. I attend the stewardship and development meetings. It was a wise choice as their meetings tend to be short and they seem to be finished with passing resolutions on. I'll need to start going to some other committee now. Although I need to head over to the Eucharist now, I will leave you with my favorite quote from convention so far. I overheard a woman talking with her friend about attending the discussions on Open Table (communion without baptism). She said, "I have very strong opinions about this issue, but I enjoyed hearing the other side and can really understand their argument." That is kind of the theme here. You can disagree, but we do all appreciate and love one another. I hope you get a chance to stream this morning's service. It will be a great one!

We have arrived in Indianapolis and are finding our way around.  An introductory meeting of the House of Deputies will take place at 2 p.m. 

Anyone who wishes to contribute to the blog should contact me, Kathy Horvat at kbhorvat@comcast.net.  To follow the action in real time go to: www.episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/gc2012/.

 

Welcome to the 2012 Journal of the Deputation from the Diocese of Utah to the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church.  Over the next ten days we will be sharing news and views of the proceedings of this convention.  Please feel free to share your comments with us as well.

Members of the Utah Deputation preparing for the big event.