What a relief to leave Anaheim. Ten days of bad coffee, small talk, daily Eucharist with a mega church vibe, more buttons and papers given then I will ever read, and tourists wearing Mickey Mouse ears. My experience at The Episcopal General Convention was not what I had expected; All of us, Episcopal Peace Fellowship Young Adult Fellows, were first time convention goers, who I had imagined would mostly observe and maybe have a few conversations with some of the Bishops and Deputies lobbying for our areas of interest. This was not the case. We all, from the first day testified to the committee hearings, offering revisions to resolutions and suggestions that were often adopted, playing a much more active role than I had imagined.
Just two days into convention another young adult and I took on the challenge of writing a resolution. We first had intentions of addressing the US involvement in Afghanistan; but due to the complex nature of the situation, and our own differences in opinion we found a different approach that we thought would pass through both houses; a ban on cluster bombs (which 98 countries have already banned). We wrote the resolution, found the support of several deputies and submitted it.
More than one committee member later thanked us for our testimonies and stressed what an impact we have had on the convention. My experience at convention, as long and daunting as it seemed at times, has demystified the polity of TEC and has given me the opportunity to engage in a way that has prepared me hopefully to serve on the Anglican and International with Justice Concerns Standing Committee. I was nominated by Bishop Rickel, but will not find out if I have been appointed for a few weeks.
My perception of TEC, especially after the convention passed resolutions reaffirming our canons and emphasizing the inclusion of all people in the discernment to ministry process and the passing of a resolution allowing for the blessing of same sex unions, is that the changes many people fear are not only inevitable, but well on their way. I heard from several convention goers that there was a different spirit to this convention. The question is what will this do to the Anglican Communion? Well, TEC ordained women years ago when people resisted with many of the same fears and look what happened. Could you imagine where the church would be had we not began to recognize women called to ordained ministry? It is the same with full inclusion of all our LBGT brothers and sisters; one day we will look back and wonder how we could have conceived of not including people of all sexual orientations.
If you haven’t already take a look at the Episcopal Peace Fellowship Blog, which we updated daily and will give you another look into convention:
http://epfyoungadults.wordpress.com/
Convention was long but also rewarding. I am thankful to those at the Episcopal Peace Fellowship for supporting a young adult presence (they raised most of the money to financially support our time at convention and all accommodations, but did not raise all the money and will still accept donations to help cover these costs).
One of the highlights of convention for me was see many of the attendees, lay and clergy attend a protest against Disney, who has threatened to take away health care benefits from their employees. It is important for us to realize as we are inside the Hilton Ballroom pounding out details of resolutions that we hope will bring justice and equality to all our brothers and sisters, there are people who are suffering and could use our support. This prayer vigil presented a prefect opportunity for those at the general convention to support the local unions in Anaheim (and remember that the magic of Disney is brought to you by a struggling mothers, fathers, young and old who are fighting to receive the benefits they deserve). We also were in a position to send Disney a message through signing a pledge that promised if the workers aren't happy, we will not return to Anaheim. The vigil ended at the gates to Disneyland. There were several speakers (including our Bishop, Greg Rickel) and a framed picture of Our lady of Guadalupe was proudly displayed over the entire event. The crowd dispersed after all the clergy present spread through the crowd blessing every worker who choose to receive. (For all my pictures of this event check the EPF blog)
Other points of observation from my travels: people in California really do eat more sprouts and wear brighter clothing than anywhere else I have been. California enjoys some really bad coffee and I understand why bottled water is so popular down here, given all the tap water tasting like a foul swimming pool. Good bye California this train is about to take me 41 hours east and into the next chapter.
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