no more bedhead

Considering how many people live on less than $1/day, the Hot Dog Eating Contest just makes me sick. "Competitive Eating" morally should not be a sport.

Although I had my nose buried in the Blue Book, and my head swimming in resolutions and reports, for most of the day today, I did “come up for air” a couple of times. Two things came across my radar during those times.

The first was a prayer. On Twitter, someone tweeted that they were having difficulty figuring out how to pray for General Convention, but that they had finally hit upon something. The prayer is this:

Jesus, protect delegates from spiritual darkness which they are about to enter. Surround them with your glory. In His name I pray. Amen.

Now, as I read this, it struck me that I didn't consider General Convention to be a “spiritual darkness”, and I started to reflect on that. I considered the possibility that it might be.

When we gather together next week, there will be lots of discussion about some issues that are pretty fundamental theologically. It is possible that some of the discussion could be heated. It is also possible that the discussions will be very polarized/polarizing. In that sense I suppose one could interpret us as descending into the “darkness”.

I believe differently, though. I believe that we will be in exactly the opposite of “spiritual darkness”. I believe that we will be living in the midst of the Holy Spirit, who will be guiding our actions and leading us toward where we are to supposed to go. I am not a Biblical scholar, but I think this passage says it best:

I still have many things to tell you, but you can't handle them now. But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. (John 16:12-13)

In the time of Jesus, we (humans) were not ready to hear the “whole truth”. (Think of that scene in Dogma, where anyone who hears the voice of God will explode.) I believe that the truth is constantly being revealed to us, and perhaps that is what we are experiencing with the debates that the Episcopal Church is going through right now.

I won't say much about the person who tweeted this, except that he is a priest. Based on his other tweets, and a quick overview of his blog, I think that “spiritual darkness” at convention is not the only thing on which he and I disagree.

The second thing I came across was a blog posting by Kristy Harding. In it she talks about Ubuntu (I am because We are) which is the theme of General Convention. It is also a flavor of Linux, the open source operating system. And that is where she starts drawing the comparison of General Convention being open source. She suggests that if the church were open source, the church would be accessible:

• Anyone who wants to can get at the church
  
• Access to theology and spirituality
  
• New work would be acessible
  
• Education would be accessible
  

and, the one that struck a chord in me:

• we would have more bazaars and fewer cathedrals
  

It is that image that I see when I look at the upcoming convention. It is truly a bazaar in the “marketplace”, but figuratively I think the House of Deputies (and to a lesser extent the House of Bishops) is a bazaar. When I think of a bazaar, I see in my minds eye wall to wall fabric topped booths that are explosions of color. Different colors and patterns, different state of repair, some things faded, some brand new, all contributing to the tapestry of the marketplace. That to me is the Episcopal Church. We are made up of individuals from different locations, with different experiences, different expectations, and at different places on our spiritual journey. All are welcome. ALL are welcome. Each one of us a different color or pattern, each in a different state of repair, some faded, some brand new.

Jesus sent the apostles out in pairs. Together. Each had a different viewpoint. Did they walk into a “spiritual darkness” or into a “bazaar”?

Once every three years The Episcopal Church gathers together to discuss things that are of importance to the whole church. This in one of those years. In fact, GC09 is due to start next Wednesday. What that means for me is that I am to climb on a plane bound for Anaheim on Monday so I can take my place as a member of the deputation of the Diocese of Ohio.

Each diocese elects 4 lay persons, and 4 clergy to represent them at General Convention. These people are deputies (as opposed to delegates), as they ...(and let me switch tenses here)... we are not sent there to vote as directed by the diocese, but rather we are supposed to vote our conscience. That vote, of course, is supposed to come after prayer, conversation, meditation, and taking into account what we believe will be in the best interests of the Church, the diocese, and our parishes.

I usually get on my high horse at Diocesan Convention time, arguing that the delegates to that convention should do the same thing, rather than vote the way their parish wants them to. I always advocate for “the big picture”. Now, I'm charged with doing just that and I find that prospect a little frightening. The people of the Diocese of Ohio have entrusted me to vote “in the best interest” and there is a lot of responsibility packed in there. I'm sure I will be/do just fine. There are 110 dioceses, so there will be almost 900 deputies in the House of Deputies (plus however many bishops make up the House of Bishops). Not that that means my voice won't count, but the chances of me messing things up by myself are pretty slim.

So, aside from the frightening aspect, the other emotion I am experiencing in higher than normal quantities is excitement. I am very excited to be an active participant in this process (which some might say makes me clinically insane for just stating that), and I look forward to meeting all kinds of new and interesting people. I am actually looking forward to the discussion around resolution B033 and what this convention should do about it. (B033 is the resolution that was passed at the end of GC06 that directed the church to “exercise restraint” in selecting a bishop “whose manner of life may present significant challenges to the wider church” .) I have my own ideas, but I am very interested to hear from people on the other side of the issue. Those who have chosen to remain part of the church, and engage in discussion. I really do want to understand their point of view.

I plan to write on this blog to keep people up to date on what is going on. I know, how can this putz say he's going to do this – he hasn't posted anything in almost two months, and then it was only embedded videos. Nothing written since January. Okay, lay off, will ya. I said I was “planning” on it. I am actually going to try hard to get something posted here every day or two. It should be easier (in a peer-pressure sort of way) because the deputation has agreed to blog on the OhioDeputiesBlog. I can practice writing because I don't want to look like an idiot over there. You – you already know I'm an idiot, so no surprises here!

I am also excited because my family will be coming out to join me at the end of convention. We'll be able to spend a few days in the Los Angeles area (Disneyland!!), and then we are going to drive back home. This part of the journey represents a big leap for me. We don't have a plan. I like plans. We know we will be spending time in Arizona – at the Grand Canyon, and the Navajo Nation We are going to try to stop in to see Ellen's cousin in Fort Worth (and hopefully my friend Eric in Austin). The plan then is to drive along the Gulf Coast and end up in Georgia to see Ellen's brother Jim (who is going to help drive them all to Anaheim, then fly back to GA). From there, home. Now that may sound like a plan to some (and apparently to my wife), but to me not knowing where we will be staying, when we will get somewhere, what route we're going to take – that's not a plan.

Maybe it's an adventure.

Who was Neda? - CNN

If I had a house on Cape Cod, with a nice big deck, I would so totally ditch everything else.

Just because Mom's away doesn't mean you can fill the bathroom sink with soap bubbles and play in it.

GW Alert: Just learned of the death of Witt Pratt.

Read article on Washington Post

Going to see Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin tonight. "My name is Eva Peron. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

A Classic.

My 6 year old son just got the Blue Screen of Death.