When I started writing this blog as General Convention got going, I was optimistic and hopeful, then quickly soured as I despaired at the prospects of accomplishing any significant change through the unwieldy structures of the General Convention. I got particularly discouraged over the weekend as the business of the House of Deputies screeched to a halt in a parliamentary morass of amendments to amendments, re-referrals to various committees, and general lack of understanding on the part of some of the deputies about what was going on.
Oh me of little faith.
Things started clicking on Monday. And yesterday the institutional church took a huge leap forward. I might as well start with the obvious - the vote to authorize a liturgy to bless same-sex unions. I've already written about this elsewhere. Debate started at 5:00 and ended at a little after 5:30, after which opponents engaged in elaborate parliamentary maneuvering to try to maximize the chances of a vote that would force sending the measure back to the House of Bishops. Supporters fought back with equally wily deployment of the rules of order. It was like the dweebiest action movie ever. After 45 minutes of this, the vote was finally taken, and it passed overwhelmingly. Yes, I saw this coming from a mile away. Yes, I still fought back tears.
Ok, let's back up a little. The session started with a joint presentation of the budget to the bishops and the deputies. This was far better than I expected. As with any budget, everyone can find something to hate, but the budget takes steps to focus on growth and mission through creative block grants. I was also very pleased that the Presiding Bishop's proposal to divert $700,000 of funding from Episcopal Relief & Development was undone. There's a lot that needs to change in the national church. Episcopal Relief and Development isn't one of them. As usual, Tom Ferguson's analysis is superior to anything I can provide. This budget has not yet been passed, but it will be moving through the houses today and tomorrow.
The Rev. Susan Brown Snook was elected to the Executive Council. Woohoo! Susan is one of the minds behind the Acts 8 Moment, and is an innovative thinker about the future of the church.
The structure resolution unanimously passed without amendment. In general you can ignore unanimous votes at General Convention because it means we haven't committed ourselves to do anything meaningful. Example 1: Sunday we passed a resolution to "stand as one" with Haiti. Who's going to vote against that? But it obligates us to do what exactly? Example 2: Also Sunday, we passed a resolution commending the work of missionaries. This is barely better than the courtesy resolutions thanking convention staff and volunteers. Really, why bother? At least the deputies voted down establishing a lay ministry month, because...seriously.
The structure resolution is a whole other thing. It commits the whole church to change how it envisions itself and operates. It's going to require a huge amount of work not only from the task force it establishes, but they're not going to get anywhere without input fm the rest of us, especially where things are working. And remember that if we're going to change as a church, most of that change is actually going to be happening at the parish level. Don't get too comfortable.
So I'm feeling pretty good today, as we go into the penultimate legislative day. We've still got big stuff ahead of us - mainly the budget and the denominational health plan, but I'm going in feeling better than I have in days. Thanks be to God.
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