General Convention 2009

Youth reporting from General Convention.................
Through no longer than five minute long descriptions, different committee members brought up their views on the topic at hand. Short, to the point, and often cut off, resolutions to problems within the church were vocalized. Ideas, personal stories, and laughter were easily thrown around. Why the resolutions needed to be officially dealt with was an interesting testament to the political system of the Episcopal Church.

I find the General Convention thus far to be a place for passionate speakers and a kind community surrounded by an overwhelming flurry of political debates on issues I have thought to be trivial topics for discussion. To seek the approval of the Church for such minute changes from its traditional roots is excessive. The great deliberation over such slight changes that have often been part of a personal approach to worship seems to be the wrong focus of the Episcopal Church as a whole.

The idea of these slight changes is to broaden the appeal of the Episcopal Church, to generate a larger audience. I have been asking myself though, is it possible to include everyone?

Christopher Cunningham is a rising junior at Corcoran College of Art + Design in Washington DC, majoring in photojournalism. He has been on mission trips to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, Diocese of Christ the King in South Africa, and the Diocese of Liberia in West Africa. He is a member of Johns Memorial Church in Farmville. Christopher is the eldest son of the Rev. Jeunée and Rev. Chris Cunningham.