Sunday, October 10, 2004
Convention and Stuff
As I mentioned, I found going to my diocesan convention to be a good experience. Here's what I recount in roughly the order that it happened.
We began with a Eucharist service presided over by Bishop John and during which the Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold was the guest preacher. Jim Kennaugh and the St. John's (Naples) praise band provided the music, so it was awesome! I finally got to hear his group's version of "Be Thou My Vision" again, which I've been wanting to hear again for over a year now. It features some great guitar work and an awesome drum solo during the last verse. They also include a lot more of the verses than does the BCP. So, maybe its not the version you want for a Solemn High Mass, but other than that it rocks! The PB's sermon had its good points I thought, but I was disturbed by how he began. He opened with a statment that there has always been conflict in the church and then jumped to highlighting the Donatist controversy and Augustine's involvement in that by way of example. The Donatists were a group of believers in the 4th century in N. Africa who thought that the efficacy of the sacrament depended on the sanctity of the clergy. It was decided by council and decree that it did not. In light of the current controversy in the church on human sexuality, and in light of the conservative position our Bishop takes on that issue, it was a clever way to rebuke John that I found to be somewhat inappropriate in the context of a sermon in front of a crowd, 95% of whom have no idea who the Donatists were probably (or remember who they were). Other than that, his sermon was ok - he focused on the need of the church to come together as one and remain in community with one another despite differences, a point well made.
Then we heard a variety of reports from different folks before Bishop John gave his address, which, as I've already stated, was right on. In it he called for the search process to begin for a Bishop Coadjutor due to his health and the needs of the diocese. He then stated, to quell any rumors, that he was not setting a date for his resignation or retirement. He said that God-willing and health withstanding he will lead this diocese through the 2006 General Convention and, with the new Coadjutor, through the Lambeth Conference of 2008. The earliest he said he would retire was 2009. This is great news as it will give me the opportunity to serve under him for at least two years.
We commissioned Melanie Fitzsimmons ( a good friend of mine) to be the first commissioned missionary ever from our Diocese to go to the Dominican Republic for a two-year period of service. It was a touching service and the church will be better for it.
Lunch came next and a much needed break from the convention room (a high school gym) as there was no air conditioning! The original site for the convention was destroyed by a hurricane, so we had to improvise on short notice.
After lunch the amazingly inefficient method of electing officers commenced, followed by the debate period on Resolutions. The first resolution passed - a committment to the Birmingham Pledge on Anti-Racism. The second resolution passed, permitting funds to be diverted to missionary work and support on the island of Hispaniola if, in good conscience, parishoners could not give money to the national church because of the General Convention's decision to approve Gene Robinson. The third and fourth resolutions, both defining marriage as being between a man and a woman in a life-long union with abstinence being the proper sexual beavior for those not married, were tabled indefinitely. (They were largely the same resolution, just worded differently.) Now, this frustrated me to no end. Even being in favor of the resolutions, I would be much happier if we had debated them in earnest and then voted to reject them, rather than table them indefinitely. It just proves we are still unwilling to actually talk about this issue and it serves as a wonderful avoidance tactic. Nor does it help define a diocesan position in any way.
After that the report of the tellers came back with the election results and four more rounds of voting ensued to rule out ties. Like I said, wildly inefficient.
But, all in all it was a great experience for me. I got to network with a lot of good people (and potential employers) as well as get connected with some old friends. I am looking forward to going back to this diocese in two years to serve as a deacon and then a priest. It is a good place to be.
Other stuff: Over the weekend I not only finished Christoher Moore's book, Lamb, but I began and finished another novel - Barry Unsworth's Morality Play. It was pretty good, though a bit heavier than I anticipated. The story of a young renegade priest who joins a troupe of players, it tells the tale of them as they decide to play the ongoing story of a murder in a small medieval town in the 14th century. Through the play, the murder is evolved as more and more clues are revealed. It is a great look at the evolution of theatre, 14th century European life, as well as an accomplished murder mystery. Now, I am tackling, purely for the fun of it, Stephen King's epic apocalyptic tale, The Stand. That's about all for now, and wow, it's enough!
-R
We began with a Eucharist service presided over by Bishop John and during which the Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold was the guest preacher. Jim Kennaugh and the St. John's (Naples) praise band provided the music, so it was awesome! I finally got to hear his group's version of "Be Thou My Vision" again, which I've been wanting to hear again for over a year now. It features some great guitar work and an awesome drum solo during the last verse. They also include a lot more of the verses than does the BCP. So, maybe its not the version you want for a Solemn High Mass, but other than that it rocks! The PB's sermon had its good points I thought, but I was disturbed by how he began. He opened with a statment that there has always been conflict in the church and then jumped to highlighting the Donatist controversy and Augustine's involvement in that by way of example. The Donatists were a group of believers in the 4th century in N. Africa who thought that the efficacy of the sacrament depended on the sanctity of the clergy. It was decided by council and decree that it did not. In light of the current controversy in the church on human sexuality, and in light of the conservative position our Bishop takes on that issue, it was a clever way to rebuke John that I found to be somewhat inappropriate in the context of a sermon in front of a crowd, 95% of whom have no idea who the Donatists were probably (or remember who they were). Other than that, his sermon was ok - he focused on the need of the church to come together as one and remain in community with one another despite differences, a point well made.
Then we heard a variety of reports from different folks before Bishop John gave his address, which, as I've already stated, was right on. In it he called for the search process to begin for a Bishop Coadjutor due to his health and the needs of the diocese. He then stated, to quell any rumors, that he was not setting a date for his resignation or retirement. He said that God-willing and health withstanding he will lead this diocese through the 2006 General Convention and, with the new Coadjutor, through the Lambeth Conference of 2008. The earliest he said he would retire was 2009. This is great news as it will give me the opportunity to serve under him for at least two years.
We commissioned Melanie Fitzsimmons ( a good friend of mine) to be the first commissioned missionary ever from our Diocese to go to the Dominican Republic for a two-year period of service. It was a touching service and the church will be better for it.
Lunch came next and a much needed break from the convention room (a high school gym) as there was no air conditioning! The original site for the convention was destroyed by a hurricane, so we had to improvise on short notice.
After lunch the amazingly inefficient method of electing officers commenced, followed by the debate period on Resolutions. The first resolution passed - a committment to the Birmingham Pledge on Anti-Racism. The second resolution passed, permitting funds to be diverted to missionary work and support on the island of Hispaniola if, in good conscience, parishoners could not give money to the national church because of the General Convention's decision to approve Gene Robinson. The third and fourth resolutions, both defining marriage as being between a man and a woman in a life-long union with abstinence being the proper sexual beavior for those not married, were tabled indefinitely. (They were largely the same resolution, just worded differently.) Now, this frustrated me to no end. Even being in favor of the resolutions, I would be much happier if we had debated them in earnest and then voted to reject them, rather than table them indefinitely. It just proves we are still unwilling to actually talk about this issue and it serves as a wonderful avoidance tactic. Nor does it help define a diocesan position in any way.
After that the report of the tellers came back with the election results and four more rounds of voting ensued to rule out ties. Like I said, wildly inefficient.
But, all in all it was a great experience for me. I got to network with a lot of good people (and potential employers) as well as get connected with some old friends. I am looking forward to going back to this diocese in two years to serve as a deacon and then a priest. It is a good place to be.
Other stuff: Over the weekend I not only finished Christoher Moore's book, Lamb, but I began and finished another novel - Barry Unsworth's Morality Play. It was pretty good, though a bit heavier than I anticipated. The story of a young renegade priest who joins a troupe of players, it tells the tale of them as they decide to play the ongoing story of a murder in a small medieval town in the 14th century. Through the play, the murder is evolved as more and more clues are revealed. It is a great look at the evolution of theatre, 14th century European life, as well as an accomplished murder mystery. Now, I am tackling, purely for the fun of it, Stephen King's epic apocalyptic tale, The Stand. That's about all for now, and wow, it's enough!
-R
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