Bishops and deputies came together on June 24, a day before the official beginning of General Convention, to hear their presiding officers' vision and hopes for this year's meeting.

In a reference to TREC, the Taskforce for Re-imagining the Episcopal Church, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori adopted language from Star Trek, speaking of journeys of exploration and the church's mission to "boldly go where only one man has gone before." She continued, "We're bound for the galaxy called Galilee and the edges of the known world, because that's where Jesus sent us and that's where he promises to meet us."

House of Deputies President Gay Clark Jennings called on the church to focus on its mission: "Let's turn down the volume on the Pew Center's statistics about the decline of the institutional church, the endless online arguments about what millennials really want and what one tweeter recently called the 'church decline industrial complex.' Let's quiet our souls."

A story from Episcopal News Service about the two presentations is here; Jefferts Schori's remarks are here; Jennings' comments are here. Video of both presentations is available here.

Deputies and bishops spent much of Wednesday afternoon getting acquainted with the four candidates for presiding bishop: Tom Breidenthal, 64, of Southern Ohio; Michael Curry, 62, of North Carolina; Ian Douglas, 56, of Connecticut; and Dabney Smith, 61, of Southwest Florida.

By the time the three-hour event was over, each candidate had had the chance to present a brief, casual video; to make opening remarks; and to answer questions about a wide range of topics under the general headings of leadership, theology and liturgy, faith, reconciliation, LGBT issues, spirituality and prayer, divestment, and church structure. They also had the opportunity to revisit any subject, and to make closing remarks -- all in two-minute increments.

David Jackson, formerly a priest of the Diocese of Los Angeles and now rector of a parish in Hawaii, was master of ceremonies. He is pictured above, writ large on the convention's big screens, calling the meeting back to order after a short break. Jackson requested at the beginning of the meeting that attendees refrain from overt reaction to the candidates until their applause was invited. Each candidate received a standing ovation as he was introduced, and the audience remained respectful and quiet throughout the extended process.

Bishop Mary Glasspool of the Diocese of Los Angeles served on the Joint Nominating Committee for the election of the presiding bishop, which planned the event. "I think it showed each candidate at his best," Glasspool told The Episcopal News after the event.

More about the bishops' presentations and answers is here, from Episcopal News Service.

Throughout General Convention, God's people near and far are submitting prayer requests in words and images through social media. All of these prayers can be read and prayed online: on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and through prayersofthepeople.org. Add your prayers using #prayersof and a hashtag for each day's theme: for example, the theme for Friday, June 26, will be #prayersof #thanksgiving.                                      --General Convention website

Bishop Suffragan Mary Glasspool of the Diocese of Los Angeles will celebrate the Eucharist on Friday, June 26 at 9:30 a.m. (8:30 a.m. PDT). House of Deputies President Gay Clark Jennings will preach, and the Rev. Andy Barnett, bishop's chair for environmental science &vfood justice at Campbell Hall, and his group Theodicy Jazz Collective will provide music. Worship services are live-webcast on the Media Hub here.

Mary Bruno and Bishop Jon Bruno are pictured at left at the end of the day's proceedings on June 24. Mary Bruno took part in two events for bishops' spouses. The first was a visit to a prison ministry that is teaching inmates gardening skills that will help them reconnect with their communities after they have served their sentences. The second was a trip to a refugee resettlement program. Jon Bruno, with Bishop Diane Jardine Bruce and the entire Los Angeles delegation, attended the afternoon presentation of the nominees for presiding bishop. Bishop Mary Glasspool was present in her capacity as a member of the Joint Nominating Committee.

Stephanie Spellers, canon for missional vitality in the Diocese of Long Island and chaplain to the House of Bishops, is taking advantage of the scooter that helps her get around the Salt Palace convention center in spite of an injured foot to remind the convention that "Black Lives Matter." She joins the many voices at convention remembering violent incidents involving African Americans; the murder of nine people in Charleston, South Carolina, especially has been mentioned numerous times in various contexts. In the House of Deputies, each deputation's table is identified by a pole on which is written the name of its diocese. It is traditional for each deputation to choose a symbol of its state or region to be placed atop the pole; this year, several have chosen to place a "Black Lives Matter" sign there.

Above: Canon Susan Russell, alternate deputy for the Diocese of Los Angeles, testifies in favor of same-sex marriage at a committee hearing on June 24. (Photo / Diocese of Rochester).

At left, Canon Michael Bamberger, Los Angeles deputy and rector of Church of the Ascension, Sierra Madre, stops outside the Convention Center after testifying at a hearing about Resolution A090, which calls for updating and streamlining the canons governing the General Ordination Exams (GOE) required of all candidates for ordained ministry. Bamberger is a candidate for election to the Board of Examining Chaplains, which administers the GOEs. Photo and reporting / Pat McCaughan


Johnna Dominguez of the Seeds of Hope staff at the Diocese of Los Angeles and a member of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship's youth delegation, and Diane D'Souza, director of the continuing education program at Episcopal Divinity School and director of the Mission Institute, a project of EDS, the Episcopal City Mission (ECM), and the Diocese of Massachusetts, were traveling the Exhibit Hall taking and Tweeting photos of booths that featured food -- chief among them Episcopal Relief & Development, which has established a new partnership with Equal Exchange to offer fair trade gourmet coffee, chocolate and other foods produced by small farmers. More about the new partnership and how to order products is here.

Christian Kassoff of St. Wilfrid's Church, Huntington Beach, and Wanda Arcos of St. Cross Church, Hermosa Beach, are helping to staff the Bread for the World booth at General Convention. Bread for the World is, according to its website, "a collective Christian voice urging our nation's leaders to end hunger at home and abroad."







At right, Nancy Frausto, priest-in-charge of Trinity Church, Los Angeles, and assistant at St. Mary's Church (Mariposa), Los Angeles, is part of the Latino Ministries communications team at General Convention.


 


At left: Patsy Brierley, a member of St. Cross Church, Hermosa Beach, is a volunteer supervisor, a role she has filled at several meetings of General Convention. She is pictured near the information and registration booths in the Exhibit Hall.







Changing of the guard
Bill Slocumb and Canon Peter Bergstrom, retired director of Camp Stevens, pose together at the booth of Episcopal Camps and Conference Centers. ECCC announced on June 24 that Slocumb, longtime director of operations for the organization, will succeed Bergstrom as director in 2015. Slocumb, a former staff member at Camp Stevens in Julian, California, has visited every camp and conference center in the Episcopal Church. Rob Watson, president of the ECCC board, says, "Bill is the right person at the right time for ECCC. He knows the organization inside and out and has excellent relationships with our centers and center directors." Bergstrom retired in 2012 after four decades as executive director of Camp Stevens.