You may not be familiar with the goings-on of the Episcopal Church's General Convention, but I was an alternate clergy deputy this year in Indianapolis.  "What does that mean?" you may ask.  Well, let me share some of how the Episcopal Church governs itself.  General Convention meets every three years for 8-10 days to pass legislation and resolutions regarding a variety of things in the church and the world.  There are two "houses" (sound familiar yet?), the House of Deputies-HOD (the older of the two) and the House of Bishops-HOB. The HOD is made up of four elected lay people and four elected clergy from each Diocese in the Episcopal Church, which is itself comprised of 16 different countries.  There are elected alternates for each "order" as well. The House of Bishops is, obviously, all the Bishops in the Episcopal Church.  Each house has legislation that must be passed in both houses, which, as you might guess, causes delays in the process. Funny thing, people don't always agree on things.

As an alternate, I filled in on the floor of the HOD several times for deputies who needed a break, which meant I had to be ready to come in from the bullpen. There were over 350 pieces of legislation with which we had to deal and almost every piece had to go to a committee for hearings and revision before it came to the floor. Each day there was a wonderful Eucharist with a variety of languages, music and preachers.  I found the worship to be spiritually fulfilling and extremely moving.  Again, there were so many resolutions that I can only share the highlights here.

Many were defeated, but one that passed unanimously was a resolution to form a task force to restructure the church's business (from where the church center is located to how General Convention operates).  We voted to continue trial use of the "Holy Men and Holy Women" saints book, provide liturgies for the loss of pets and multiple liturgies for daily use. 

An important piece of legislation which passed was the liturgy for the "Blessing of a Life-Long Covenant".   This liturgy is provided for those who would like to have their relationship blessed in the church.  Lelanda Lee was a lay deputy and is on several committees at the national church level.  She and I will find a time to make a fuller presentation on a Sunday morning.  In the meantime, please feel free to ask either of us questions.  It was an honor to be a reliever at General Convention, especially with the caring, articulate and knowledgeable people who represented the Diocese of Colorado. 

What a blessing,