I looked down at the name card that I had been given to find that I had been assigned to table number seven. Since part of this event was designed to have us discuss the topic with our table mates, the Chicago Consultation, in their wisdom, sat those of us from the same diocese at different tables. I set off to find table seven. As I found it, I had to pass by Dr. Jenny Te Paa, the "ahorangi" or dean of Te Rau Kahikatea (College of St. John the Evangelist) in Auckland, New Zealand. She is one of the smartest people I have ever heard talk. I saw her speak at the General Convention in Columbus, and she addressed the House of Deputies yesterday, in a speech that can only be described as “transformational”. However, I digress...
So, as I'm passing by Dr. Te Paa, I realize that she, too, is assigned to table seven. Not only that, there is an empty seat next to her. So, I casually meander over to it and place my name card on the table, all the while thinking “Oh. My. God. I'm going to sit next to Jenny Te Paa for this lunchtime discussion.” It turns out that she was one of the speakers for the luncheon, and she delivered another brilliant speech about the Anglican Communion, justice, and the Episcopal Church.
Our discussion was really very good, with all of us at the table sharing our stories of how we came to be interested in the call of justice, or the work of the Chicago Consultation, or the issues facing the Anglican Communion. It was great, if not a little nerve-wracking, to have to tell my story to Jenny (she said I could call her Jenny – how cool), but she was very gracious and as I said, it was a good discussion.
I should mention that also at the table were Bishop Henry Parsley from Alabama, Bishop John Chane from Washington DC, Esther Mombo from Kenya, who also addressed the convention yesterday, and three other deputies.
The other thing that happened today was that we (the House of Deputies) passed Resolution D025, which is our response to Resolution B033. It is a very pastoral response that I believe spells out how we intend to remain in relationship with the rest of the Anglican Communion, while still stating/embracing who we are as an inclusive church. Gay Jennings (the chair of our deputation) is the chair of the World Mission committee, whose members listened to testimony about and debated all of the resolutions that had been presented about this. After the session ended for the day I told her that I thought the resolution that she had presented was a good one and that I had come to Anaheim with the belief that B033 should be overturned. Through the conversations that I had during the week, I came to realize that doing so could cause more pain, and potentially push people out, and the last thing I want to do is exclude anyone. I told Gay that, to me, D025 spoke to exactly where I was with the issue.
Now, will the bishops concur?
