East Tennessee perspectives:
Settling in ...

Bishop vonRosenberg, members of the East Tennessee deputation and East Tennessee visitors to the General Convention used these pages throughout the convention to share with the "folks back home" their impressions, activities and insights:

Settling in  •  Day One  • Day Two  • Day Three  • Day Four
Day Five  •  Day Six  •  Day Seven  •  Day Eight  •  Day Nine

• East Tennessee photo gallery at the convention
• "Suzanne discovers Columbus" - a blog by the Rev. Suzanne Smitherman, an East Tennessee deputy

Other pages related to the convention:

• Episcopal News Service convention coverage
• June 21 "unofficial" ENS round-up of legislation
• Official record of legislation
• "Windsor Process" background materials

photo by Annie vonRosenberg

Quite a variety of realities and experiences converge to create the reality of "the General Convention of the Episcopal Church." As I anticipate this triennial gathering, two perspectives from past conventions are uppermost in my own mind.

First, General Convention brings together a remarkable collection of people, cultures and races. Our traditions and experiences of church may be different and distinct, but our commitment to Jesus Christ, known within the wonder and beauty of the Episcopal Church, binds us together. This initial perspective involves the rich and varied worship life that we share. It is important to add that our life at convention will once again be enriched by the presence of lay and ordained visitors from other parts of the Anglican Communion.

Also, in the wide assortment of exhibits on display, ministries and missions associated with the Episcopal Church are available for insight, reflection and absorption. Indeed, many new ideas for ministry "back home" are found at General Convention.

In this first perspective, also, I have felt a shared sense of accomplishment, in terms of the ministries that we support as a church. That is, in working together and in pooling our resources, we are able to respond to our Lord's calls in some rather remarkable ways ... ways that we simply cannot achieve individually.

My second perspective, from earlier General Conventions and in anticipation of this one, involves the fact that we do gather as a legislative body - or, more accurately, in two bodies (House of Deputies and House of Bishops). As the duly elected and constituted governing body of the Episcopal Church, we have resolutions to debate and decisions to make. There is a budget to approve. There are elections to consider. Matters of governance certainly require our close attention.

Within this context, then, matters of differences of perspective, interest groups and politics emerge. This has been the case with every General Convention since the late 1700's ... and I suspect it will be so once again this time.

To conclude these thoughts, then, I do ask the prayers of the people of East Tennessee. Those of us who have come to Columbus will experience our larger church in some wonderful ways, and we will go about the task of governace with care and with prayer. Please know that we also will have the people of East Tennessee much in our own thoughts and prayers during this important time in the life of the Episcopal Church.

Hello Folks Back Home:

This message comes to you from sunny/chilly Columbus where we have our first official meeting this afternoon. Most of us arrived yesterday and spent the day getting to know the area. The convention center is absolutely huge. The exhibit hall enormous and beautiful. I'll try to take photos today and send.

Today is a sort of "getting on board" day. Some of us have committee meetings. Mine, the Consecration of Bishops committee, meets at 8 a.m., so I am up early and trying out this great high-speed Internet in our hotel. We will hear from the presiding bishop and the Very Rev. George Werner, president of the House of Deputies, then we will have orientation. Our group will caucus in the afternoon and then more legislative committee meetings in the evening. ... The pace begins.

We are settling in for a prayerful and busy week. Episcopalians are everywhere - and I do mean everywhere. All ages, genders, shapes, sizes wearing all kinds of apparel - from shorts and flip flops to purple shirts with collars and pectoral crosses ... and everything in between.

The Ohio volunteers are awesome - and everywhere. Lovely and hospitable people who have rolled out the red carpet for thousands of fellow church folk. Thank you Columbus!

I'm off to my meeting. More later as we try out this "deputy blog" thing. Thank you Sharon Rasmussen for putting it all together and doing such an awesome job of communication. You're the best!

As a "newbie," I come to General Convention with very few preconceived notions about what will or should happen. Being a cradle Episcopalian and the son of a priest, my focus in the church has always been more local (parish and diocese). That will obviously change for the next nine days.

I was impressed by the fact that the Diocese of Ohio had greeters at the airport yesterday. My wife, Donna, and I stopped to thank the lady for giving up a couple of hours of her time to stand in the baggage claim area with a sign welcoming Episcopalians to Columbus.

Good news: We got a refrigerator for our room. That means we don’t have to eat every meal out.

We begin our orientation shortly. Please keep us all in your prayers.

Dear one and all,

First, let me say that the trip up U.S. route 23 took five and a half hours - no, I was not driving - and was simply lovely, mostly. It deposited us two blocks from our hotel. Gregg Duncan came up from St. James, Knoxville, Sunday, and we drove up together.

Today was a "settle in" kind of day. I registered first thing (9:00 seeming late to start the day) and headed into the exhibits area to deliver Bill Fryar's cookies to the Appalachian Ministries booth. There are 255 exhibitors here. At 11:00, there was a meeting for those of us who had signed up to facilitate table conversations in the House of Deputies at the end of the business day. It was mostly about [the] appreciative inquiry [process] so I was well versed and on board right away. Then the East Tennessee deputation met for lunch at the North Market. Not only did I have a wonderful hot pastrami on rye but also a dish of dark chocolate gelato. Knowing I can find gelatto two blocks from the Convention Center is not a good thing.

This afternoon, bishops and deputies gathered together to hear opening addresses from Bishop Griswold and from Dean Werner (president of the House of Deputies). The presiding bishop reminded us of Paul's saying we are all parts of the same body and no part can say to another, "I have no need of you." He asked that we not "curl up in our obsessions as in the manner of hedgehogs" but that we remain open to one another. Dean Werner said that fear, hatred and anger against one another are not gospel values, that we need to listen more to our stories of each other and of our life as a church, that the stories are greater and more powerful than any issue that divides us today. Quoting Ephesians, he said, "Jesus is our peace. He has broken down the walls of hostility."

The last thing this afternoon was forming tables for the telling of stories. We were not to sit with anyone from our deputation. Remarkably, we managed to order ourselves in a very short time. At my table, there were 12 people: four women, eight men; nine whites, one African American, two Asian Americans; half from Province IV (south of Viriginia, west of the Mississippi River) with the rest hailing from San Joaquin, Calif.; Arizona; Fond du Lac, Wisc.; Rhode Island, Michigan and one I don't remember. Strangely, half of us were born Episcopalians! What was wonderful was to see how much the Episcopal Church means to all of us and how very much we want all parts of the body to stay together. So I have hope where I confess I had none yesterday at this time.

And now I am off to a dinner honoring overseas guests. By 5:15, I had walked 11,572 steps today, greated new and old friends from all over the country and basked in the glow of this wonderful family that we call our church home.

I'll close with the blessing we heard a short time ago:

The God of Truth bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficiality so that you live from deep within your heart. Amen.

The God of Understanding make you tender in the face of pain and rejection so that others can know the comfort of your acceptance. Amen.

The God of Justice make you fierce in the face of oppression and exploitation so that others can live with dignity in the midst of your respect. Amen.

The God of all Wisdom blesss you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done. Amen.

Today began early with our first committee meetings - lots of organizational business as committees formed, normed and set hearing/meeting calendars. Because I am on the Committee for Consecration of Bishops, we are charged with setting public hearings for all bishops who have been elected within 120 days of General Convention. They are: Bill Love, Diocese of Albany (New York); David Reed, suffragan in the Diocese of West Texas; Dena Harrison, suffragan in Texas (woman in Texas - how about that?); Todd Ousley, Diocese of Eastern Michigan (I met Todd at a Fresh Start event several years ago); Marc Andrus, Diocese of California (Marc is a bishop suffragan now in Alabama); and Barry Beisner, Diocese of Northern California (Barry's wife, Ann, who is also an Episcopal priest, is the national coordinator for the Fresh Start program for congregations and clergy in transition).

Others in our deputation attended a Program, Budget and Finance Committee meeting, which has perhaps the toughest schedule. Bob Leopold, seminarian and deputy, is on the Prayer Book, Music and Liturgy Committee, and they started early and went all morning.

After a really cool lunch at a place nearby called the North Market - lots of little places with tables outside - good chocolate gelato and Greek salads and cool gifts - we got to the meat of the convention: a presentation by retiring Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold and the Very Rev. George Werner, president of the House of Deputies. Then we sat at small worship tables with folks from all over the place and reflected on what makes community. Very interesting as I sat at a table with people of many varying positions and theological beliefs.

Our deputation had its first caucus tonight, where we debrief the day's events and plan for the next day. The bishop and his wife, Annie, presented all of us with shirts, magnets, pins and tote bags emblazoned with the Diocesan seal. Very cool. Wednesday we will all be dressed in our "team outfits"!

There were evening meetings, and tomorrow will be an early day.

It is a remarkable event here. I have run into people I know through Fresh Start, other diocesan work and consults. In my meeting this morning I sat next to the Rev. Ruth Black, who is a canon at St. Andrew Cathedral in Jackson, Miss. I was the canon pastor there before Joey and I married, and Ruth read the gospel at our wedding! Small world!

My heart is full of gratitude for a peaceful beginning to this gathering and for all the people who pray for us each day. Please pray for our families back home and keep the home fires burning ...

Here's something I heard today that grabbed me: "The truth we seek is larger than any one point of view," from the Most Rev. Frank Griswold, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, in his opening remarks to the General Convention.

This being my first exposure to General Convention, the first thing that struck me was the sheer size and complexity of the whole thing. To walk into the worship hall set with a thousand seats is not something I'm accustomed to as an Episcopalian.

The second thing that struck me was the wonderful diversity of our church. The General Convention brings together people from all over the country and indeed the world, and even though we have barely begun, I am already being reminded of the great breadth and depth of our church. We certainly cannot think only of our diocese in this process - we are called upon to think about our sisters and brothers across the church.

That was really brought home to me at the table where I have been assigned to worship during this convention. As our table came together for the first time today, there was a man from the Diocese of Dallas, a man from the Diocese of San Diego, a man from the Diocese of New Hampshire, a woman from the Diocese of Central New York and a woman from our companion diocese, South Dakota. Our table seems to me to be a microcosm of the larger church.

The deputies also gathered today to have a conversation with one another about what we are passionate about when it comes to the Christian faith, what we value most about the Episcopal Church, and what we hope to be able to say when we leave this convention. We were each at tables with people not from our own diocese. The answers to these questions were many and diverse, but I was encouraged to hear everyone at our table talk about their hopes for this convention. We all talked about our desire that this convention show us to be a loving church, and that we go away from this convention knowing that we are one church, that at a very deep level there is a unity that we share, even when we disagree. I pray that this will indeed be the outcome of our time together.

SEARCH THIS SITE  Powered by  

Web Editor: editor@etdiocese.net