Day 9: Dress Like Gregory Straub Day!

Today, as declared by the young adults of GC, was the first triennial Dress Like Gregory Straub Day. Straub is the Executive Officer and Secretary of the HOD and he keeps us on track and ensures we get all our paperwork promptly and correctly. He also has the most beautiful announcing voice in the world and the crazies, most delightful style of dress ever. He wears loud sport coats with bow ties every day. Some examples:





So, in honor of him, many of us (and I mean nearly 20 by the time the day was over) dressed in decorated sports coats and bowties. We also gave him a "Best Secretary" Oscar award which he displayed on his desk for the rest of the day.

The creative deputies, volunteers and the Secretary himself.

We were pretty darn productive today, passing the budget and other legislation. I also completed a knitting project for the Seaman's Institute which provides gifts and knitted items for sailors at sea around Christmas time. Pia and I both knitted hats and now I'm working on a scarf. This is a project I have always wanted to do and i am so glad to have finally done it. I look forward to continuing it because I'm always knitting but with no one to give my completed items to.

This was my last full day of legislation here at Convention. I leave to go home tomorrow after the first session, during which we are going to tackle a resolution that addresses liturgies for the blessing of same-sex unions. It has already passed the House of Bishops and even though debate is scheduled for a rather short time (because we have so much work we absolutely must complete before we go) I expect it to be lively. The wording for the resolution focuses on looking into the theological and liturgical resources behind such blessings and giving bishops in dioceses where same-gender marriage is already legal the chance to provide a generous pastoral response. That is, until rites are created for the whole church (assuming they someday are), bishops in states like Connecticut, Ohio and Massachusetts where gay marriage is already legal would have the ability to bless those unions if they see fit, though they would not be required to. I think it looks like a good compromise in that no change has to be made but can be, and it complies with our current plan to explore marriage as a church and explore the development of potential rites. It would start a long process if we voted in the affirmative, but at least it would start it.

Anyhow, those results remain to be seen! Until then, I have enjoyed my time here immensely. I have learned so much and have re-committed myself to my love of my church and faith. I adore our polity, the way the governance of my church is so much like the governance of my country but with a clearer commitment to social justice and mission. If this were a job, I would want it. As it is, I have found new ministries to pursue and met people from all over the country who love the Episcopal Church as much as I do. I even met a retired priest from Washington, DC and assuming I get a job out there like I hope, I now have someone out there who is willing to help me get connected with a church home in that diocese. Sweet! So, there's more work tomorrow along with terribly sad goodbyes and the ever-annoying airplane travel, but for now... packing!

Day 8: You're a Heartbreaker

Wednesday we had a joint session of both houses for the presentation of the proposed budget. I was expecting great excitement as our bishops joined us on the floor for what I thought would be some time for great debate and lively conversation.

Bishop Jim, joyful not only to be joining us, but that his sciatica was immensely improved.

But, the presentation of the budget was one of the most sobering moments of my life. The Presiding Bishop joined our President to facilitate the meeting. We opened in prayer - intense prayer, for the work of the committee who came up with the budget (PB&F), for those who will be disappointed in the budget because it reflects hard times and loss, for the mission we pursue.

Praying

The budget is still just a proposed budget; we will vote on it this morning. In nearly all areas, the proposed funding is less than it has been, but to help just a little in the current financial times, diocesan asking will be reduced. If passed, asking in 2010 will be 21%, 2011 20% and 2012 19% in an order to assist everyone to more easily meet their asking. There is also an effort to assist dioceses who are involved in litigation with congregations or dioceses who left TEC and are now in dispute over property.

There are many details I could share about the specifics of the budget, which has not yet been passed. The most important part about yesterday for me was realizing how many people want national money and how many are going to be crushed by what is being offered. I hope we find that we will be able to live into our mission effectively, particularly as funds are allocated towards dramatic service to latino populations in an effort to grow our church. We'll find out more later this morning when we put it to a vote.

Today could be a very long day. We'll have our normal legislaive sessions, but with an option to extend it to complete all the work we need to get done. There's a legislative session tomorrow afternoon, but it's mostly (usually) reserved to deal both with resolutions of courtesy and working with pieces referred to us by the House of Bishops. Should be an interesting time...

Special Report: Bishops, bishops, bishops!

My friends Megan and Hannah have run into Bishop Gene Robinson several times during convention and have struck up a bit of a friendship with him - so much so that Hannah suggested they have lunch sometime, and the three of them are now off enjoying some lunch together! They introduced me to him just before they left and I feel extremely honored! I didn't ask for a picture at the time (though I have one of me with him from several years ago when the House of Bishops met in Spokane anyway) but hopefully later we'll get another opportunity.

Megan, Gene and Hannah at their lunch. What a kind man!

Relatedly, Pia and I are playing Bishop Bingo. ERD (Episcopal Relief and Development) is selling Bishop Bingo cards for $2 with 4 different playing cards to chose from. If you get a bingo, ERD will give you a prize. We're going for bishop blackout so we can meet as many as possible. Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Presiding Bishop, is on our card, in the same line as our Bishop Jim. As such, he will be working to set up a chance to meet her. Hopefully pictures will follow! So too will an update this afternoon after the bishops join us in the House of Deputies for a joint session to receive a presentation on the finalized budget. Should be exciting!

UUUGGHHH!!!!

I was going to write about the last two days but when I was uploading the photos from my camera, my computer was freaking out so I took the SD card out to avoid it somehow getting wiped. In doing so, I ruined it some how and had to format the card, losing all the images. Then I used the camera again to make sure everything was fine, which it turns out is exactly what you're NOT supposed to do because you can evidently recover photos as long as you don't use the camera again. So now they're gone, including an incredibly moving video of 3 cantors from the 3 Abrahamic faiths chanting a prayer, first one by one and then all together at the end, in harmony - from my seat in the front row. It was unbelievably moving and I was dying to post it but now I'm so crushed it's gone along with photos with friends and of famous folks. I am so mad right now. I almost wish I didn't have a camera because then I wouldn't have the images to miss, and I wish I hadn't tried so hard to fix things without reading online FIRST to see what I should and should not have done. tihoeohuijhdncjkvhcxor3w9wpk

Special Report: The Spoils of the Exhibition Hall

General Convention means lots of legislation, but it also means plenty of exhibitors from various ministries around the church, including vendors. I've found tons of great stuff from around the world and thought I'd share a bit of it with you!

This tshirt was around last time for Katharine Jefferts Schori. It makes me super happy! Thanks to the Episcopal Women's Caucus.
Thanks to the EWC also for this fantastic pamphlet that explains the history of women's involvement in the church. Good information to know when you weren't there for the events themselves.
Why are Episcopalians so wishy-washy? Who are the most famous Episcopalians? Why all the stained glass? If you want to know the answers to this or any other questions related to being an Episcopalian, check out this book published by Church Publishing. It's set up like a survivor's guide and it's hillaaaarious!
There are tons of wares from the Holy Land. This is a rosary made from the wood of an olive tree in Bethlehem with a Jeruselem cross on it. I've already used it quite a bit...

Finally, this necklace and earring set is from Africa and the money goes to support mission work with orphans there. It's always nice to do a little good when buying something that's just plain pretty!

Day 5 - Truth and Love

The following is a word-for-word copy of what I posted to www.spokanediocese.net because I think it's pretty good and I just don't want to blog twice since it's already quite late. Enjoy!

***

Love without truth is sentimentality; truth without love is brutality. This was a quote shared with us in prayer by Chaplain Frank Wade during our afternoon legislative session and I resonated with it deeply. Fr. Wade lead us in prayer with these words by special request prior to voting on resolution D025 "Commitment and Witness to Anglican Communion". I am so grateful he did so because it speaks to the context in which we should be living out mission every day, but especially here at General Convention.

Resolution D025 was drafted in response to B033 which was passed at the last General Convention and which urged restraint concerning the election of bishops whose "manner of life" would cause offense to the wider Anglican Communion. Many resolutions were proposed to address B033, some which specifically repealed it, some which proposed alterations to our cannons which would effectively negate any previous resolution, and one which took a "via media," a middle way. D025 was this middle way. (The text of this resolution can be found here: http://gc2009.org/ViewLegislation/view_leg_detail.aspx?id=986&type=Current . This version shows both the original language and the perfected language offered by the Committee on World Mission.)

So, we in the House of Deputies found ourselves addressing a very sensitive and important issue. I knew it was coming because we have been talking about it extensively over the last 5 days, both in committee hearings where testimonies were given and language perfected, and in a special committee of the whole where the entire house had the opportunity to discuss B033 and related issues and then testify to the entire house. We even had the honor to hear from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and other leaders from around the Anglican Communion, from Brazil to Canada to South Africa and beyond. The longer we all spoke, the more I tried to listen. I don't mean hear, I mean listen, and listen prayerfully. This was extremely challenging because my personal experience leads me to want immediate and unequivocal inclusion of all God's children while avoiding the inevitable conflicts. Unfortunately for me, God's will tends to supersede my own and it is generally not fulfilled within the time frame I might hope. Perhaps more importantly, as I have learned firsthand so far this week, God is reflected in all of us and it is in listening prayerfully to others that we discern God's will.

Thus, with prayer beads in hand, I listened and prayed. And then I voted. I voted in favor of the resolution. I voted in favor of it because I think it clearly and accurately states where we are as a church and it celebrates and reaffirms our commitment to our fruitful relationship with the rest of the Anglican Communion. It recognizes what I think is the most beautiful characteristic of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion: that although we are not of one mind on such matters, we are all Christians of good conscience, which to me means we value and love and will continue to commune with one another. Some expressed a fear which I expect is prevalent within our church – that taking any action on this matter would cause further schism within the Anglican Communion and we should maintain the status quo until a better time. I agree with the Archbishop on this matter; as he said in his sermon to the convention a couple of days ago, if the Anglican Communion thought they could continue on perfectly well without the Episcopal Church, we wouldn't have a problem. D025 only passed the House of Deputies and has yet to be considered by the House of Bishops, so the ultimate effect remains to be seen. It is my fervent hope and prayer that this decision, even if the resolution is defeated by the bishops, will continue to fuel deep and prayerful discussion, debate, and discernment. Personally, I hope also that it passes because I feel it has great potential to heal our church and renew our relationships worldwide. More than that, though, I hope the Holy Spirit will continue to work through us here at GC so that we may discern God's will and carry out the mission we have been called to carry out. There is much yet to be explored, many people to meet and issues to address on the house floor. Please, keep us in your prayers as we strive to discern the truth and live it out in love, to love others while speaking the truth – for love without truth is sentimentality, and truth without love is brutality.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Beyond legislation, today was a wonderful day of learning for me. I attended the Episcopal Women's Caucus breakfast this morning along with Pia, Kristi and Carolyn of our deputation. Being quite a young woman (not yet 23), I was not present for women's struggle to first become ordained as priests and later consecrated as bishops. As I learned at the breakfast, it was 20 years ago that Barbara Harris was ordained as the first female bishop in the Anglican Communion and 35 years ago that the Philadelphia 11 were ordained as the first female priests. First, I felt very proud to be in a church that values women and shows it through allowing them to participate fully as baptized members, but as the speakers continued I became aware of gender gaps which still exist both in pay and job acquisition. As one of my favourite songs from the Broadway show Hairspray says, we've come so far but we've got so far to go. This seems to be the case in most situations where it comes to lifting up minorities and valuing "the other," whoever the other might be. But I have a newfound respect and admiration for the women who came before me, but also for the ladies who work continually now, particularly the amazing women I met at the Episcopal Women's Caucus and the Episcopal Church Women. They work tirelessly on behalf of women, who serve God in many capacities and who help carry out our mission as a church in ways that 20 or 30 years ago they weren't permitted to. I admire all those called to servant leadership but especially the women who fought so hard to serve their church.

Clearly, this was a long day full of important events. I was very relieved to get to end the day with a dinner with most of our deputation and others from the diocese. Each day is so full that sometimes getting a good meal is nearly impossible, but the California Pizza Kitchen took great care of us! Tomorrow is yet another day likely to be filled with surprises and milestones. After five days of meetings, exactly half of the convention, I feel as though I have been here forever and that I have gained immense insight into church governance, human relationship and interactions and mission, but I am also humbled to realize how much work there is yet to do here and out in the rest of the world and how much experience I have yet to gain. Let us hope for success!

***

PS, on the superficial end of things the Verger's Guild was giving out plastic cups with the convention seal on them which turn purple when cold liquid is in them. It's basically the sweetest thing I've ever had ever! And I bought "The Episcopalian Handbook" which is basically the survivor's guide to being Anglican. A must-read for all!

Checking out the menu at the delicious CPK

A glass of merlot with good company. Dignity, always dignity.

Happy Anniversary, Bob and MaryBeth!

Episco-celeb sightings: Bishop Frank Griswold (former Presiding Bishop of TEC), Bishop Barbara Harris (first woman ever consecrated as bishop in the Anglican Communion). Not too shabby!

Day 3 - Kicking Back, Kind of

Today was my "day off" in that I wasn't on the floor. I swapped with Pia, our alternate, in order to have a day off because I had friends visiting. Audra is up from her missionary work in Columbia, Meredith came up from San Diego for the day, and later Pia's sister Katie joined us for the weekend.

For fun - a picture in front of the convention center

Meredith and I watched the second session of the committee of the whole where 15 deputies in favor of repealing B033 spoke and 15 deputies in favor of maintaining B033 or a similar measure of restraint spoke. One of these deputies was our own Carolyn Terry speaking in favor of moving beyond B033! We are all very proud of her.

I was able to snap a photo of Carolyn on the big screen as she spoke.

Deputies on both sides spoke incredibly eloquently, thoughtfully and respectfully. I was finally able to understand "the other side" and even agree with many of their worries. B033 is complex in that it has kept us in communion for the last 3 years, but at the same time prompted the Anglican Communion to make further demands, or at least to force us to have a very involved conversation about which direction to take now. It also limits the ability of LGBT brothers and sisters from pursuing ministry withing TEC, the church which they serve. To be honest, the discussion today put me in a place to really listen with my heart, which I will continue to do as actual resolutions begin to come to the floor of the house. As with the rest of the deputies and the church at large, I feel torn between fully including my brothers and sisters whom I love very much and not actively hurting our Anglican brothers and sisters with whom we have such a rich tradition and relationship. We may talk more, we may pray more, but the situation doesn't exactly get any less complicated. I feel confident that we will find an acceptible compromise since several innovative ideas have been offered up in a variety of settings.

Heavy stuff.

So after the morning HOD session, we proceeded with Katie up to the House of Bishops which is run very differently from the House of Deputies. For one, there are way fewer people (a bit over 100 I believe) so things are a bit more informal. They sit at circular tables as well. We got very lucky while we were there - as we were in the visitor's gallery, they passed a resolution to enter into full communion with the Moravian church. Upon passage, everyone stood up and applauded and burst into song, singing the hymn "Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow." It was a really lovely moment.

The loveliest part of the day, however, was in the evening. We went to the Integrity Eucharist officiated by Bishop Gene Robinson. It was one of the liveliest and most moving services I have ever attended in my entire life. It centered on our Baptismal vows and extending inclusion to all of God's children and featured incense, African drumming, abundant applause, and one of the best homilies I have ever heard by Bishop Barbara Harris of Massachusetts. It lasted more than 2 hours but we all left feeling joyous, refreshed, empowered and in community with one another. I only hope to take these wonderful positive feelings and carry them out to the rest of the deputies and bishops and infuse our work with this passion in an effort to make wise and good decisions.

The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson stands with other LGBT clergy before the final blessing.

One of the most beautiful parts of the service - the gospel displayed with incense, candles, umbrellas, etc. It was gorgeous and really helped set the mood.

Episco-celeb sightings: Gene Robinson (the first openly gay bishop in TEC), Louie Crew (founder of Integrity and GC data collection wizzard), Rev. Susan Russel (President of Integrity), Edmond Browning (former Presiding Bishop of TEC). This was a big day!

Day 2 - Taking a Stand

The days are getting increasingly difficult to remember since they are so jam-packed.

Today was the first session of the committee of the whole, which is very special because we have not had one since 1976 when the discussion and debate was over the ordination of women. We spent 30 minutes having a conversation one-on-one with someone from a different deputation whom we had never met before about resolution B033 (passed at the last general convention) which prevents anyone whose manner of life may cause difficulties in the wider Anglican Communion. This essentially bars allowing LGBT priests to be elected as bishops. I spoke with a gentleman from Minnesota named Bob who I would say is about 10 years older than my parents. We essentially agreed on all points around the issue that we were able to touch upon, which I found rather disappointing; I had really hoped to hear from someone with a very different perspective in order to better understand it, but it's fairly likely I'll hear more from the other side on Friday.

I feel proud and involved to share this next bit: in the evening, I spoke to the committe on Program, Budget and Finance (PB&F) on behalf of a resolution supporting camping ministries. The purpose of my talk was to ask them to fund a B003, which was already passed in the House of Deputies and which would provide training to staff and other camp leaders in how to effectively teach Christian formation. A picture of me signing up to speak was published in the next day's edition of The Daily, a publication put out by Episcopal Life chronicling GC. It's on page 7; here's a link to the PDF: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/documents/Daily03_071009.pdf. And here is the text of what I said based on my notes and my recollection:

"Hello, my name is Ashley Miller, Deputy from the Diocese of Spokane and I am here to speak in support of Resolution B003. I worked in our diocesan summer camp for two summers and returned last summer as a volunteer counselor where I met Cassi. Cassi immigrated here from Puerto RIco and she lives in a poor rural area of Washington. Her family has a long history of alcoholism and mental illness and she was sent for a week of camp by her DSHS caseroker. She was only able to connect through Spanish; through Spanish she came alive. As luck would have it, my major was Spanish and only through my major and my own Christian formation was I able to support her and attempt to teach her about our church and God's love.

I am very proud of the work Episcopal summer camps are doing, but we cannot let this vital ministry brimming with opportunities to serve and support kids like Cassie and young adults like me pass us by. Staff at these camps need the tools to serve all campers in both English and Spanish, which B003 would provide, helping to grow the next generation of faith while paying special attention to immigrant and under-served populations. Please support B003. Thank you."

Another highlight of the day was Eucharist where the PB presided and the ABC, Rowan Williams, gave the sermon. That man is one of the most eloquent speakers and intelligent theologians I have ever had the absolute blessing of hearing. As is required of his office, he asked (very politely, meditatively and appropriately, I think) that we not make any choices that might further tear apart the Anglican Communion. His thoughtful words inspired me to pause and look inward, as was their intent. As we continue to discuss heated issues and explore language and legislation prayerfully we'll see what the results will be.

I also ate at California Pizza Kitchen for dinner. With our absurdly busy schedule, food has taken on a new focus for me. Getting time to eat is amazing... :)


Episco-celeb sightings for the day: the PB, the ABC, and - finally! - Bishop Jim Waggoner of Spokane!

He's dealing with his back injury much better now that he has that scooter! It has turn signals and everything so he can get around in much less pain, but as he put it when I was holding a door open for him, "it takes a village". Feel better soon, Bish!

Special Report: The House of Deputies

There are over 800 deputies in attendance at the HOD (House of Deputies) in addition to alternates, members of the press, visitors, volunteers and staff. Each deputation has 2 tables and a post declaring the name of their diocese, some of which sport a mascot or other item representing the geographic area from which the group hails. There are flags representing each country in the Episcopal Church and lots of microphones, speakers, and a video system so that everyone can see, hear and be heard. The room in which we conduct business is so large (obviously, 1000 people have to be able to work there) that I couldn't get very many good photos of it, but I thought I'd show you a couple to give you a basic idea of what it looks like.

This is the view from my chair in the second row. This is about a third of the room.This is about half of the front stage. On the other side, there is an identical screen, more tables for the various aides, and on either side of the stage is the seating area for the HOD pages. If you look to the left, you can see the Secretary of the HOD who wears a new crazy sports jacket every day. I'll be sure to get a picture of that soon too. :)

Getting to work on the floor feels amazing. At the beginning of each session, I get to walk in the doors with my credentials around my neck and get waived past the volunteers carefully guarding the entrance to the floor. I'm carrying the Blue Book, my binder with updated calendars and legislation and other papers, my Robert's Rules of Order, my knitting, and other official items. There's a click-click-click of high heels and chattering of many other deputies there to serve their church, busily preparing themselves mentally and physically for the next session. It's a little like working at Congress might be, I think. I feel important and special, I'll admit it. But I hope the work we get done there is more important and special, and I think we're off to a good start. I feel very connected to and important legislative body with a rich history and I could not be prouder to be a part of this. It's a lot of work, the days are long and exhausting and sometimes it's a bit of hurry up and wait, but it's all very, very worth it.

Day 1 - Learning the ABC's

Today was the first legislative session of GC! A bunch of rather exciting things happened today.

Most excitingly: I saw the Archbishop of Canterbury (ABC) in person today! Twice! The first time was at a beautiful service hosted by the ECW (Episcopal Church Women). The second time was at a panel discussion between the ABC, the PB (Presiding Bishop), President of the HOD and other guests involved in a variety of vital ministries around the country and world. It focused on the current global economic crisis in conjunction with the environment. I felt like I was back at good old Seattle U talking about social justice and being good and faithful stewards of God's creation. It was delightful and very well done. The ABC, always a well-respected theologian and speaker, was really on his game tonight and I felt very honored to hear him.

(The PB obviously didn't know I was taking a picture... oh well! Hi Rowan Williams!)

Also excitingly today, I attended a legislative hearing on B003 which focused on camping ministries, highlighting its importance and requesting a national focus on Christian formation of leaders wtihin camps. Pia and I went together, representing good old Camp Cross and fighting for one of the most vital ministries I can think of. There were a number of witnesses who testified to this legislation, which was passed the same day in the house. I was especially impressed by members of the official youth presence and a fellow young adult deputy by the name of Sam Gould of Massachusettes who even managed to speak on the house floor, a feat acheived by few from what I understand. I'm really impressed by all the people I'm surounded by and I'm hoping to testify tomorrow to the Committee on the Prayer Book, Liturgy and Music regarding some rites for same-sex unions being put forth this time around. I'm not sure I expect that legislation to make it, but I still want to voice my support.

The other hearing I went to today was also at PBLM and was on some proposed rites regarding women and reproductive issues - pregnancies, miscarriages, abortions, adoptions, the birth of a healthy child, the birth of a child with disabilities. It seems likely that there will be some tweaking to this resolution, but I really enjoy most of the prayers so I hope it will find success.

I'm starting to learn a lot about parliamentary procedure, which is extremely well-organized but maybe not always extremely efficient. Well, it's certainly efficient given the unorganized alternatives, but some of the business simply took awhile. However, we all got quite a treat when the President of the HOD had to step out early, allowing our deputation's own Brian Prior, VP of the HOD, to take her place. Granted, we were out of business at that point, but it was great to see an old friend up on the platform!

The Rev. Brian Prior and our Parliamentarian

OH! And we had PROTESTERS today! There were just three men with very conservative views outside of the convention center around lunch time and they primarily yelled about how we don't love God because of the gays or something... their compaints weren't entirely clear to me, but they got their opinions out for a couple of hours and they were gone again in the afternoon. Overall, I really think their appearance a) makes this gathering legitimate, proving that what we decide actually has enough impact to warrant protesters and b) means we're doing good work (at least in my opinion).

The fellas outside the convention center. We'll see if it heats up in the next few days!

On the fun side of things, I ran into an old Dean of our Cathedral in Spokane and caught up briefly, and then was shown a delicious, cheap and authentic Mexican restaurant that I expect to be going to for lunch basically every day. I had a carne asada burrito with pico de gallo and guacamole - to DIE for. Yum! At any rate, be sure to check back tomorrow because there are tons of fascinating hearings on the docket and we voted today to have a Committee of the Whole to discuss 2006 B033, ie issues regarding the ordination of LGBT persons to the episcopate. Many, many, many details to follow...

Episco-celeb sightings: Rowan Williams (Archbishop of Canterbury), Katharine Jefferts Schori (Presiding Bishop), Margaret Rehberg (One of the coolest ladies ever. She's really only a celeb in our diocese though...)
Notedly missing: Jim Waggoner, aka The Bish. He's here but has been having some really tragic back problems stemming from a semi-recent injury so he's been laying relatively low and I haven't gotten to see him yet. Hopefully soon!

Day .75

Today was full of pre-convention prep as tomorrow is the first official legislative day.

First, I got up very early to go to a new deputy orientation that was supposed to start at 8am but as it turns out, this was a scheduling mistake and the event didn't actually exists. So, I ended up spending a few minutes in my room actually waking up and then headed over to a legislative committee - Prayer Book, Liturgy and Music. They mostly discussed Same-Sex Unions which is the subject of a few resolutions and which will be addressed in hearings on Thursday afternoon. This means that on that day, we'll hear testimony from witnesses (which can include me if I feel so moved to speak) either for or against the matter and then the committee may or may not make changes to the resolution(s) and then make a recommendation based on those testimonies to the House floors. It's a pretty cool processes, as open and transparent as possible, allowing for a lot of input, I think.

After that I went to In-N-Out for lunch with Bryan, Pia and Paul from my deputation. It's the quintessential California dining experience, and it was DELISH!

I went back to another hearing for the same committee later this evening, this time talking about and taking testimonies on Holy Women, Holy Men, a proposed list of people to be included in Lesser Feasts and Fasts for optional use. There was a lot of complex discussion on this one and it got sent to a subcommittee and will be brought up again tomorrow. I'll be tracking the issue and updating my deputation on it, with others.

Anyhow, I saw the House floor for the first time today. Because one member of our deputation, Brian Prior, is Vice President of the House of Deputies, we're seated in the VERY front row and in the very center of the entire ballroom. I'll be sure to take and post pictures as soon as possible because it's really quite striking. After a rather long day I enjoyed a glass of wine with Pia and am now going to get some much needed sleep! There's another huge day tomorrow, including (hopefully) getting to see the Archbishop of Canterbury!

Episco-celeb sightings today: Bishop Gene Robinson, Bonnie Anderson (President of the House of Deputies)

Day .5

We arrived in Anaheim yesterday morning with nothing in particular that needed to be done outside of checking into the hotel (the Hilton) and registering for convention. You have to wear your official name tag in order to get onto the house floor which wasn't open when we arrived, so I have yet to see it.

Without anything in particular to do, Pia (old friend also in my deputation) and I did the only thing there was to do... we went to Disneyland! It was a really great way to let loose and enjoy ourselves a little before the craziness starts. The hotel had a special deal going on a five-day pass so I went ahead and bought one, knowing there will likely be a number of evenings where I could pop by the park for a few hours, so I'm looking forward to that. Other than that, there's always reading to be done and TONS of people around to meet. I haven't even run into many folks from my own deputation since people are filtering in a few at a time, but we have a meeting Tuesday night.

It's exciting, everything is getting started!


The obligatory self-shot right in front of the park.

Preparation!

My deputation will be keeping a daily blog with a variety of viewpoints expressed; it can be found here: http://www.spokanediocese.net/sections/general-convention - in case anyone is interested!

We had our first meeting on Thursday to review logistics and give reports on our various sections. Although I had several sections, the most interesting topics were Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations, and Indigenous Ministries. This time around, SCEIR is offering up a resolution to enter into full communion with the Moravian church, which is a smaller church I had never heard of until doing this research. It sounds like we have a lot in common practices and logistics wise, but there is much to offer each other in terms of views and traditions. Simply because I read up on this heavily beforehand, I'll be keeping a close eye on it, but since we've been in Interim Eucharistic Sharing since 2003, I don't foresee any problems in passing such a resolution. Likewise, I fully expect both houses to pass resolutions banning disposable water bottles from the floor - it's all about sustainability, baby! The Prov 8 bishops sent out a public letter to this effect a couple of months ago, and I'm all for it. (It could be even better if Episcopal Relief and Development offered up their water bottles as replacements - it would certainly increase their exposure and advertisement of a very worthy cause!)

In any case, I personally still have much reading to get done before we get down to California. I am very relieved to have learned that three of my fellow deputies who are flying from Spokane will be meeting up with me in Seattle so that we all may fly together to Anaheim and share a shuttle to the hotel. I can travel by myself, certainly, but it's always a lot more fun and laid back with friends! More on preparations to follow once more reading has been completed. It's pretty pithy stuff.

Introduction!

My name is Ashley Miller. I'm 22 years old and I will be representing the Diocese of Spokane as a deputy to the 76th General Convention of the Episcopal Church in Anaheim, CA. WOO!

I am super excited about this fact because I have always been extremely interested in church governance and because I know I am very blessed to have been elected to serve as a deputy at such a young age. Only 2.7% of the lay deputies are under the age of 30 - that is to say, of the 900+ deputies, 25 of us are under 30, and 3 of those are first alternates. Needless to say, as a full on deputy I feel as though my diocese has put a lot of faith in me by giving me this opportunity and I am very proud to get to take such an active role in church formation. (Thanks, Diocese of Spokane!)

A little background on me: my home parish is St. John's Cathedral in Spokane where I served as an acolyte from age 10 to 18 (and sporadically now) and have served as a verger since 2003. (I have never been able to confirm this, but there is a very good chance I was the youngest female verger to date; if anyone can corroborate this I would appreciate being able to hold the bragging rights!) Perhaps most usefully, I was a delegate to our diocesan convention once and attended as a youth delegate several times. I also worked at our diocesan summer camp for two summers and have volunteered as a counselor many times. I am incredibly excited to apply my experience in the church to GC, but more importantly to learn from other Episcopalians and engage in dialogue and learn by experience how national church governance operates.

The easiest way to explain GC to anyone unfamiliar with it is this: if the Episcopal Church (TEC) were compared to the US government, the House of Deputies (which is comprised of lay people and clergy, 8 per diocese plus alternates) is like the US House of Representatives, the House of Bishops (self-explanatory) is like the Senate, but we only meet and vote on legislation once every three years for two weeks at a time. That's a lot of governing crammed into a short period of time combined with lots of prayer and fellowship. Some of it is rather ceremonial, some of it forms national mission imperatives, and some of it can make a big splash domestically and internationally. My goal in this blog is to document some of my daily experiences to give everyone a taste of what it will be like to be at GC, to report on facts and events of importance to me. I hope also to comment on the decisions made and some of my opinions on them. Looking at the big book of legislation (fondly called the Blue Book even though its cover is crimson this year), I fully expect to be so overwhelmed for awhile that I might not be able to process everything and understand its implications right away, but I'm sure there will be mountains of bloggers eager to contribute to that aspect.

Tomorrow, we have our first deputation meeting, which I can't wait for because it's going to give me tons of information about what to expect and what's going to happen and where I'm sleeping - you know, little details like that. :) Until then, keep checking back for updates,talk about GC with your friends, and keep all the bishops, deputies, volunteers, and visitors in your prayers. The action starts July 7!