Recapping: Friday, June 26

Wow!  Wait, let me say that again: WOW!!!!!  What a day!

My morning started very early indeed (no time for hotel breakfast - it was grab & go) with a meeting of committee 20 at 7:30 a.m.  Shortly after 8 a.m., I got a text message informing me of the Supreme Court's ruling, that same sex marriage was to be considered legal on all 50 states.  A buzz began to spread throughout the gallery of the meeting room, and it was clear that several other people had received similar messages.  A few moments later, one of the committee members interrupted the meeting to share the news more widely, at which point a cheer went up in the room.  The chair asked if anyone had any information, and a member of the gallery stated that while he didn't yet have complete details, he understood the ruling to be based on the 14th amendment, and added that he supposed this meant that he was now married in Michigan.  The committee chairs called for a moment of prayer, and afterward, recessed the meeting early, in recognition that those present may wish to react privately to the news.

Singing, dancing, and celebrating, as we gather to worship.

The next event of the morning was daily Eucharist, which was accompanied by a jazz band.  There was announcement shortly before we began, that due to the news today, the planned prelude would be dispensed with, and we were instead invited to sing, dance, and celebrate, as the band played "We Are Marching in the Light of God."  The service itself, and the theme of the Prayers of the People were centered around themes of thanksgiving, which felt so incredibly appropriate and wonderful.  

After Eucharist, the Bishops (at least, some of them!) came into our House for the formal nominations of the PB candidates, and a joint discussion on structure.  My table found ourselves in a very interesting discussion with part of the deputation from the diocese of Tennessee, which left us both with 4 new friends, and some things to think about. (Their province seems to work much better than ours!  Or at least meet more frequently.)  

Here we all are.

We sat with Bishop Franklin for lunch, pausing at the end to take a photo of our deputation.  (Thank you to Bishop Singh of Rochester for facilitating that!)

In the afternoon, there was additional legislative committee time, and while committee 20 again broke into subcommittees, this time the chairs explicitly informed those in the gallery that we were welcome to stay and listen to their discussions.  I spent some time listening to the subcommittee on Canons perfecting amendment language, and then the Deputies half of committee 20 recessed, while the Bishops half met further on what sort of language might be included in resolution A054 to allow bishops to make pastoral provision for LGBT members of their dioceses, while not approving same sex marriage on a wholesale basis.  

To me, this felt a bit like a cop out, but I recognize that parts of the church move more quickly than others, and if these provisions will allow the passage of canonical changes that will allow the majority of those in our church to experience marriage equality in our churches, then lets take the steps we can.

Blue hair at GC!

This was followed by a legislative session, in which the House of Deputies had our first dance with the Consent Calendar, before considering and voting on several other resolutions.  One highlight of my afternoon outside the House, was definitely meeting Kori Pacyniak, with Secretariat, and being asked to take a selfie with her.  I'd noticed that I wasn't the only person at GC with blue hair, and up close, her hair is stunning, with green and purple mixed in on top.  Love it!

Once we adjourned for the evening, it was time for Catherine Way and myself to head over to the Radisson for the UTO Sharing Dinner.  At this General Convention, I have the honor of representing Western New York during the UTO Ingathering at the Eucharist on Sunday, and Catherine had this honor at the last General Convention, in 2012.  In recognition of this, the UTO chair of our diocese had made provision for us to attend the UTO Sharing Dinner, being held as part of the Episcopal Church Women's triennial meeting.  (Thank you, Lynne!)

What we hadn't counted on, when we arrived, was that this dinner appears to be a social highlight of the ECW meeting, and that we would be walking into a room full of very loud, very drunk church ladies.  (We'd arrived in time for dinner, but had largely missed the cocktail reception preceding it.)  When questioned as to whether "nice good church ladies" can get rowdy, I shall never again be in doubt! (Not that I'm sure I ever was...)

Things calmed down a bit once dinner was served, and the evening's program began.  Presentations were given about three of nine UTO grants awarded to young adults in the last year.  One of which, A Moveable Feast, from the Diocese of North Carolina, is a project that I first heard about at the Kindling conference in Minneapolis last year.  It was interesting to hear about the project's progress, and what has and has not worked over the last year.

So cute!

Following this, the Bishop of Navajoland and two members of his diocese were introduced to present the basket that will be used on Sunday to collect the Ingathering.  They explained a bit about the symbolism within the basket, and said prayers for its use.

Finally, we were to the main event of the evening: the keynote speech given by Bishop Michael Curry!  Just as he had done during the walkabout on Wednesday, he spoke incredibly powerfully, reminding me (as if I really needed reminding!) what a wonderful choice he would be as Presiding Bishop.  He has such a gift for capturing people's attention, and inspiring them, and I believe he is exactly the person we need, telling us to "Go!" And "Keep Going!"

After he spoke, the event broke up fairly quickly, and we headed back to the hotel for the night.  Tomorrow morning will see the election of the next Presiding Bishop.

Best Exhibit Hall Swag of the Day: Squeezy stress penguin, from GTS

Recapping: Thursday, June 25

Morning arrived before I knew it! After a tasty breakfast at my hotel (I always love hotels that offer fresh waffles!), I headed to the convention center for the first legislative session.  The House of Deputies was called to order, and at the direction of President Jennings, we sent our youngest deputies (those born in the 1990's!) to convey our greetings to the House of Bishops.  They sent back 2 bishops who noted that they were born in the 1950's.

This barely does justice to the size of our worship space!

Then we all headed to the worship area (big giant hall!) for the opening Eucharist, where the Presiding Bishop both celebrated and preached.  The structure of the worship is very interesting.  It's presented in our service bulletins in both English and Spanish in parallel, and the celebrants switch back and forth between both languages.  It is my usual custom that when the lessons are read, that I refrain from reading along, and instead, actively listen to the words of the reading.  I find I can't do that here if I want to know what I'm hearing!  But it's been a helpful "check" for me, reminding me that I'm somewhat spoiled that so much of what goes on here is automatically presented in my native language. 

After worship was concluded, there was more legislative committee time, and so I headed over to see what committee 20 was up to.  They discussed and then approved some amendments to the language of A037, and then split into two subcommittees (Canons and Liturgy) for further discussion during the morning session, and continuing in the afternoon.  When they split, they moved into separate areas across the room, speaking in low tones, and those of us in the gallery left.  

I then grabbed some lunch, took a longer wander through the exhibit hall, and located a Starbucks! (It's the little things. :-) )

Deputy Earle King, of WNY,
doing something other than calling the question!

When the House of Deputies reconvened, late in the afternoon, it was to debate, discuss, and vote on, our revised Rules of Order.  Two observations about the House of Deputies: our chaplain is awesome, and President Jennings sets an energetic and fun tone in our House.  More on both points as Convention progresses, but I highly doubt the Bishops are enjoying themselves anywhere near as much!  Anyway, the process of passing our revised Rules was a nice introduction to the nuts and bolts of debate, the electronic queuing system, and voting, both by voice, and electronically.  Following the passage of our Rules, we also passed a resolution expressing our grief at the recent shooting at Emanuel AME church in Charleston.

Following adjournment, I joined two of my fellow deputies for a quick bite to eat, before heading to the next hearing of committee 20, which had been moved to a larger space at the Radisson.  Up for testimony at this hearing were resolutions A036, and C017/C022/C024/C026.  There was a great deal more testimony at this hearing than Wednesday's hearing, and several people spoke very movingly, including Bishop Gene Robinson, retired bishop of New Hampshire.  Once all those who had signed up to testify had done so, the committee recessed for the evening, with the intention of meeting early the next morning.

Once again, I joined some folks across the street for some tasty food and drinks, before heading back to my hotel for the night.

Best Exhibit Hall Swag of the Day: Golden Halo flying disc, from Forward Movement

Recapping: Wednesday, June 24

Part of our deputation on Wednesday!

Wow! I knew I would be busy, but finding the time to sit and blog has been a bit of a challenge. (As has finding decent wifi - my iPad decided not to play nicely with the network at my hotel, and the open network at the Convention Center bears a strong resemblance to molasses.)  So I'm composing posts offline, and will upload as I am able.  :-)  Once I sort out connectivity, I hope to get back "on time".

I started out my day on Wednesday with breakfast at my hotel, and then walked over to the Convention Center to receive my credentials and Virtual Binder.  At 9, everyone gathered in the House of Deputies where we were greeted by both the Presiding Bishop and the President of the House of Deputies. Afterward, the Bishops went across the hall to their House, and we had an orientation session that covered the basics of how the Virtual Binder works, how to queue to speak, and how to vote.  There were some small hiccups, but overall, the tech aspects seemed to be working well.  Nothing crashed, nothing burned. 

What we see when we enter the Convention Center.
Um, good???

Once Orientation was over, we had a break for lunch, where several members of our deputation sat with Bishop Garrison, who retired from our diocese in 2011.  After lunch, we all gathered again in the House of Deputies to meet the four candidates for Presiding Bishop.  This was done through a number of avenues, as we first started out by watching the videos that each candidate had created. After this, they made statements, and answered a series of questions that were posed to them, falling within various subject categories. (Each bishop drew different questions; no two answered the exact same question.) 

Personally, my preference is definitely for Bishop Michael Curry, of North Carolina.  He spent a lot of time talking about Jesus and the Gospel, and the things that the diocese of North Carolina has already accomplished.  He spoke about going out in the world and being evangelists, and to be perfectly honest, I can't fathom anyone not wanting to follow, in a church he is leading. (Opinions vary, I know, but that is mine!)

Once the presentations were over, we had a few minutes free for a quick swing through the exhibit hall, and then a number from our deputation visited a restaurant nearby for dinner.  

Afterward, there were legislative committee meetings and hearings. Because I don't have a legislative committee assignment for this Convention, I was assigned to monitor the proceedings of committee 20, the Special Committee on Marriage. As they were holding a hearing, that was where I headed.  The resolutions being discussed at this hearing included A037, C007 & C009, and D026.  Most of the speakers testifying to each of these resolutions was speaking in favor, and the testimony proceeded pretty quickly.  

After the hearing was concluded, the committee began to discuss A037, which proposes that the work of the Task Force on the Study of Marriage be continued.  There were a lot of interesting viewpoints, including the suggestion that in light of the fact that more and more millenials are entering deeply committed relationships without seeing a need to become married, that instead of studying only marriage, perhaps we should be studying intimate relationships.  Food for thought, regardless of one's opinion.  Ultimately, the committee decided to recess and come back on Thursday with suggested amendments to consider.

Once the committee was in recess, I headed across the street from the convention center to meet up with some folks for a bite to eat and some drinks, and that headed back to the hotel to pour myself into bed.

Best Exhibit Hall Swag of the Day*: Silly Putty at the Forma booth, because Silly Putty is awesome!

* For a couple of years during and immediately following my library degree, I maintained a membership in the American Library Association, and attended several conferences.  A highlight was always visiting the exhibit halls for whatever free giveaways ("swag", or "Stuff We All Get") were being offered by the exhibitors. So I thought it might be fun to share some of the fun things on offer in the exhibits at GC.

A Brief Introduction

So, who are you?
My name is Liz Brauza, and I'm a first-time deputy to the 78th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, from Western New York. (And because I might not be busy enough - I thought it might be fun to blog my experiences!) Glad you're along for the ride. :-)

At home in my diocese, I'm a member of St. Aidan's Episcopal Church in Alden, NY, and the Parish Administrator of St. Paul's in Clarence, NY.  I serve on the mission council at St. Aidan's, the Diocesan Council in Western New York, and about half a dozen other boards and bodies that I won't bore you with the list of.  And I'm a PK, though I was already an adult when my mother was ordained.  A good portion of my life is dedicated to various parts of the church, and I enjoy it a great deal.

Elsewhere in my life, I'm engaged to a wonderful guy named Mike, a devoted cat lover (I have three), and an avid player of several outdoor games, including letterboxing and Munzee.  When I have time for creativity, I carve my own rubber stamps, and create art projects for swapping online.

I'm a lifelong Western New Yorker (apart from a brief dalliance with Maine for a few summers on staff at Camp Bishopswood), having grown up in the suburbs of Buffalo, and lived in both the city and several nearby communities.  The picture at the top of this post is indeed me, sitting with "Shark Girl", a piece of the public art collection on display at Buffalo's Canalside district.  I love my area, and the recent resurgence of life and activity at Canalside has been a visible sign of progress and renewal for all of Buffalo.  So Shark Girl gets a hug.

So, "blue haired"?
Yup! At the moment, I'm rocking an extremely bright shade of blue in my hair.  (Sometimes I tend more towards navy, but it's summer!). Blue is my favorite color (I've never seen an ugly shade), and over the years I've experimented from time to time with streaks of blue, but they're difficult to maintain, so awhile back I took the plunge and went entirely blue.  The awesome thing about hair is, it grows back.  :-) Why not enjoy it?

In the Episcopal Church, from time to time you hear mention of our being a church that's "full of blue haired church ladies".  It's usually meant with some degree of derision, a way of noting that as a church overall, we might be trending older than we'd like to be.  Here's the thing, though: our "blue haired church ladies" are awesome!  They serve on Vestries, arrange events, encourage our young folks, coordinate our outreach, act as our institutional memory, and a million other things that keep our churches running.  Without them, we would be so much poorer.  So really, blue haired church ladies are where it's at, and I like to joke that I'm simply sporting a brighter shade.  But really, may we all be so faithful!

This blog will serve as a chronicle of my experiences and impressions as a first-time deputy.  After that, who knows? But I'm glad you're here.  Welcome!

Liz