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