Three years ago when I returned from the General Convention in Anaheim, I wrote that I had been amazed at the vastness and complexity of The Episcopal Church, my ignorance of it all, and my place in it as a pew sitter, or kneeler. This year's experience, leading the deputation from the Diocese of New Jersey, in a different city, Indianapolis, while it was not as overwhelming, was just as awe-inspiring, and spirit-filled. There were the huge daily Eucharists, celebrated in Spanish, the Lord's Prayer sung in Hmong, the Sunday process ion of bishops, resplendent in purple, the Lessons read by youths, the encouraging sermons, the lifting up in song of so many voices, swirling all around, hundreds, the many Eucharistic stations, ministered by legions of volunteers, lay and clerics, the steelband playing the hymns, Trinity on Easter morning times ten! And there were the long, formal, Legislative sessions in the House of Deputies, the debates, evening celebrations, late-night caucuses.

The President of the House of Deputies, Dr. Bonnie Anderson, had appointed me this year to serve on the World Mission Committee, and in the months leading up to July 3, in my email there had been many Committee discussions and questions for study and preparation before the start of Convention. Starting from the first day of General Convention,  July 4, committees met daily at 7:30 a.m. , discussing, word-smithing, discerning and listening to testimony around Resolutions; and in the case of World Missions  as all of the committees , considerations and decisions were prayerfully made, using The Five Marks of Mission for The Episcopal Church.  As well, there were the more well-known, and widely publicized decisions concerning the Anglican Communion and Covenant, the place of The Episcopal Church in the world as others of our denomination still struggle with issues of the ordination of gay, Lesbian and transgendered clergy while we, both the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops, overwhelmingly approved liturgies for same-gender blessings.

As a member of Trinity, I am proud that my fellow parishoners are committed to working side-by-side with others in Ecuador, Malawi and at our own One Café. As a member of the World Mission Committee, I was struck by the breadth of commitment of the Episcopal Church to mission and care for others, but I see clearly that our local parish has accomplished so much, touched so many lives without fanfare or the super-structure of the wider church. When I listened to the testimony of those requesting funds for Mission work, talked with Episcopalians doing mission "from Kansas to Kenya" and shared in my working group, I could not help thinking: "We have done almost as much in Trinity!"

At the Cathedral in Trenton, a friend is leading the programs and volunteers who work with Urban Promise youth - she was sitting with a child under a picture of the Presiding Bishop Katherine, our Bishop George and the Cathedral Dean, Rene. When I said something about the Presiding Bishop, she looked at her picture and wondered who she was and when had she been to Trenton. A committed and involved Episcopalian, my friend, like many of us, is busy doing the Lord's work. Then this is my dilemma, almost the same as it was the last General Convention:  The Episcopal Church as an institution is so far away from most of us in the pews, praying, volunteering, serving.  The major debates and resolutions at GC12 had to do with the structure and future of the Episcopal Church. Most of us know of and pray that we are doing God's will as we work in our local parishes.  But I wonder: How connected are most of us to the wider church?  How does the Episcopal Church affect our parish and diocese decisions? My having served as a deputy, representing the Diocese of New Jersey and identifying as a member of Trinity, Princeton, is perhaps one small way to bridge the gap between the larger church and the rest of us laboring in the vineyard.

One love,  

NLD