The view from here

This is the view from where I sat in the House of Deputies the other day. Way up in front you may be able to discern a raised platform, with flags draped behind it and people sitting on it. Those people are the leaders and staff of the House of Deputies, which comprises so many people that it can be physically quite intimidating. What you can't see is the hundreds of other deputies, seated behind and to the side of us. The giant screen in the front is one of two that allow the deputies to see whoever is speaking at any given time.

Here is a photo of a typical deputy's binder. By now, many more papers have been added, resulting in a very heavy burden to carry around! All of it is necessary to the process, however, and this process is one of the ways in which the Holy Spirit is moving in the church.

Here you see some of the deputies you have elected doing their work: listening carefully to testimony and deliberation as they ponder their votes on the pending legislation. Cookie and Stephen, our Senior Deputies, are knowledgeable about the legislative process and helpful to those of us with less experience.

A Few Photos from Megan Anderson

Hannah and I at Lunch with Bishop Gene Robinson



Me with Deputies Ashley and Pia from Spokane

Too Much to Do With Just Two Days to Go! by Megan Anderson

Monday morning I attended the Structure Committee hearing. Resolutions on Convention management and committee appointments were discussed. I testified on D049 which asks the President of the House of Deputies to strongly consider appointing young adult Deputies to the committees of Convention. Currently first-time deputies are barred from serving on committees. I testified in support of the resolution; I believe that assigning some of the younger deputies makes the legislative business more diverse and rich in perspective. I also pointed out that young adult deputies have prior experience through things like Youth Presence, Peace Fellowship, and Diocesan Leadership. I think that many of my peers have these qualifications; they would be wonderful committee members. Luckily this resolution passed today on the consent calendar in the House of Deputies.

This morning I sat in on the House of Bishops session. It was so interesting to observe how this House conducted business. The Bishops seem to be faster in pushing resolutions through! I enjoyed hearing their discussion on the access of the discernment process to ALL people. Sitting in this morning was very enlightening; it made me realize just how much perspective is lost when resolutions move from house to house. It saddens me that we cannot share more perspectives among the two houses.

At noon, my sister Hannah and I had the pleasure to have lunch with Bishop Gene Robinson. It was great to get to meet with him in a relaxed environment, away from the crowds and media. We had great conversation on the Diocese of New Hampshire and his ministry there. I feel that we are so quick to focus on the negatives that we do not appreciate our blessings. For instance, I think that it is a shame that the media relentlessly covers conflict in the church while failing to mention that the Diocese of New Hampshire has actually grown in numbers over the past couple of years. Convention is a wonderful place to catch up with old friends while also making new ones. It was great to be able to let Bishop Robinson know what a great witness he is in the church and the world. It was a fun and grace-filled meeting.

This afternoon a joint session met to review the PB&F triennial budget. While this presentation was painful given all the funding cuts, there was also hope. Creative and resourceful solutions were proposed to deal with our lower income. Such ideas included shortening Convention, making Convention paperless, and having less in-person meeting for CCABs. On a very positive note, 0.7% was restored to the budget to fund the Millennium Development Goals. I think that this is incredibly encouraging. While we are all receiving cuts to specialized ministries, we are also looking beyond this to fund common mission that we can all invest in! We are being very resourceful with lack of resources!

Later on in the afternoon I went back to the House of Bishops to hear deliberations on C056. This resolution deals with blessings of same gender couples. For an eloquent description of the resolution, I refer you to Dean Baker's post, After nearly two hours of debate, discussion, amendments, role call votes, and prayer, the House passed the resolution with a few minor amendments. I am excited to follow this conversation in the House of Deputies.