The Letter to the ABC

The General Convention’s officers have sent a hand-delivered letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury regarding resolution D025, which has been broadly interpreted by some persons. The text follows.

Please make the “Blue Book” Green!

Posted By: Keri Dixon

I have found a plastic cup that, for once, I do not feel guilty about throwing away. It is a little fragile, and I have cracked quite a few of them.  These plastic cups were made from corn products, and they were 100% decomposable.

The General Convention has touted its “green” image.  And, in some ways this has been their practice.  There are numerous articles that members of The Episcopal Church has put out.  I personally enjoy by the information that is put out describing the contracts made with the hotels around the Convention Center.  These contracts include make sure they only change sheets every third day, and that the use of plastic in the hotel rooms be cut down to a minimum.  The use of recycled material and water based inks have also been advised for most of the printed items, like display banners, at Convention.

Why Wait?

Posted By: Mrs. Joan Geiszler-Ludlum

The next time I become worried about the future of The Episcopal Church, I need only recall General Convention 2009.  In addition to two young Clergy Deputies, and my own  Lay Alternate daughter, part of the two percent of Deputies and Alternates under 35, and a first time 23 year old Deputy who served on the Legislative Committee on Structure, I have had the further privilege of working with several representatives of the Official Youth Presence.  These bright, energetic young adults are sufficient to sustain my hope for The Episcopal Church of the future.

D025 – what it is and what it isn’t.

[View resolution D025 in its final form here]

D025 reaffirms resolution A159 of the 2006 General Convention – it affirms our commitment to the Anglican Communion, of which we are a constituent member, and which is a rich tapestry of ministries and networks as well as personal relationships. It isn’t a huge Church, like the Roman Catholic Church, but is an aggregation of independent national Churches.

The Infinity of Welcome

From Deacon David Crabtree of the Diocese of North Carolina and longtime friend of East Carolina Episcopalians (not to mention his work in broadcasting):

Across the front of the gigantic Anaheim Convention Center is a gigantic banner.
I’ve seen the message hundreds of times before yet this time the words lept toward me.
The leaping came because of the size of the words. The size of the words. Not the size of the lettering.
“The Episcopal Church welcomes You.” Only five words. Five words with profound meaning.

We, as Episcopalians have struggled, are struggling and will continue to struggle with exactly who and what we are, where we’ve been and where we’re going and more importantly what are we called to do and how are we answering. These questions and their ultimate diverse answers are welcomed into our magnificent, if sometimes quirky spiritual sanctuary known as the Episcopal Church.

A Bench of Bishops

Posted By: The Rev. Canon Matthew Stockard

Sitting with Nancy Broadwell as we both visited the House of Bishops on Friday morning, I was struck by a strange sight on the platform. The Presiding Bishop sat in the middle of a table of folks, presiding over this House of The General Convention. This PB is a she and that was different, but she’s someone we choose as a church in 2006 and she’s a friend as well – I knew where she’d be…so that wasn’t my surprise. My surprise was a couple of faces seated just behind the PB…two former PB’s….Bishops Griswold and Browning. I have a great deal of respect and admiration for these two gentle men, who each provided decisive and faithful leadership for this church during some difficult times. The norm at General Conventions is to sort of let such leaders fade into the distance. But these folks weren’t fading. Both looked great, healthy and happy.

Live from LA…

For this General Convention, Episcopal Church Center staff members in communication and information techs  have developed an amazingly powerful tool for everyone to use: The Media Hub. Want info on an upcoming piece of legislation? Want to see this morning’s sermon? Want to hear people share in legislative hearings? See what’s happening right now? All this and more awaits you. You’ll find the media hub referenced in our blogroll on this page for a direct link, or type this into your favorite browser: http://gchub.episcopalchurch.org/

How Broad is My Horizon?

Posted By: Bishop Daniel

I’m sitting on an airplane flying at 32000 feet hurtling towards Los Angeles and General Convention. Dinner has been served and the cabin is quiet. Anne is asleep next to me.

After all the rush and busyness of preparing to leave, doing the writing and planning I needed to do in preparation for my responsibilities at the Convention, taking the pets to the pet motel for their vacation enjoyment, the airport hassle, the long walk to change planes in the Charlotte airport and the stretches and strains of putting luggage in the overhead storage bin, it is nice for things to be quiet and to let my thoughts to find their own place to settle.

The Episcopal Church Welcomes You!

Posted By: The Rev. John Pollock

It’s helpful to get the lay of the land when you are in a new place.

Getting oriented, locating yourself in space and time helps a body and soul get more centered.  My body clock is on east-coast time, three hours ahead.  I arrived to the hotel after dark, and woke up this morning having no real sense of where I am, and what time it “really” is.   I was disoriented.  So I did what I always like to do to stake out my space and get some clarity.  I went for a run.

Efficiency is Key

Posted By: Mr. Tom Holt

I find it hard to believe that, at one time seemed to be a lifetime away, is now slightly more than a week away.  I am woefully behind in preparation, but Synod and the Deanery meetings helped me get focused to get ready.