General Convention 2009

Tuesday, July 7, 2009..........
Up at 3:30 this morning, we began our journey to Anaheim on the 6:20 am flight to Nashville. As I write this, we are about half way to Los Angeles (LAX). We are hoping to get out of the airport before the highways are clogged with departing Michael Jackson fans returning from his memorial service.

I have not been to a General Convention since that fateful one in 2003. in 2006, it made sense to remain in the diocese to support the Bishop by taking care of business at home.

This year, however, it is important that I be present for several reasons.

First, as we are setting the foundations for a new future under our new Bishop, I am attending General Convention to seek out and recruit a new generation of gifted ordained and lay professionals to serve in our diocese.

Second, in September I was elected by my peers to serve as Convener of the Transition Ministry Conference. The “TMC” as we call it for short, is the oldest organization of deployment officers in the Church. With about 40 member dioceses, the TMC meets each spring and fall to present parishes and clergy in search from our respective dioceses. As Convener, I will be meeting with other deployment officers and gathering for a meal with the Church Deployment Board and the new Program Officer for the Church Deployment Office of the Episcopal Church, the Rev. Canon Tori Duncan. Tori is a good friend and a great gift to the Church. She has already paid a visit to our diocese. Last month, just a few weeks following her appointment, she was able to meet with the interim clergy and consultants from Southern Virginia and Virginia.

Third, I am at General Convention to monitor areas that are critical to the life and ministry of our clergy and parish leaders, such as the Church’s attempts to respond to the increasing costs of healthcare coverage.

Finally, I am in Anaheim to network with organizations that represent the concerns of our clergy and parishes – such as the National Network of Episcopal Clergy Associations, of which our own Chris Thompson, Rector of Eastern Shore Chapel serves as President.

Throughout it all, I join our diocesan team as we soak up all we can of what is emerging, through the power of the Holy Spirit, of new vision, wisdom, energy, life, best practices, and experience across the community we call “The Episcopal Church.”

I know, from my time at that fateful convention of 2003, that whatever comes out of such a gathering of trauma, grief, or anger for some, or a sense of liberation, vision, or joy for others, the General Convention of our Church has one agenda – to be faithful to our Lord and the values of the Kingdom of God he proclaimed