Of course I must talk about marriage. I would start by saying that I am so grateful for the Holy Spirit and Her ability to reach into the hearts of the Supreme Court Justices. Praise be to God! Welcome to a new world where everyone in America can marry whoever they love. It is a beautiful thing. I am here at General Convention and I am struck by the Episcopal Church and the people therein whose hearts have shifted so significantly from 6 years ago when the atmosphere around marriage felt somewhat dangerous. Yesterday, I went to the Marriage Committee hearings in the evening and heard.... I heard, consensus. We are in agreement. There were a few people who disagree and I would classify them as the "old guard." But I have to ask... what is the "old guard" guarding exactly?
The reservations are all still fear based. They are afraid of change and new things, but in the hours of testimony I was blessed to listen to, I only heard 2 or 3 people who disagree. I am so excited about the direction our Church is headed. My heart sings with joy. The only issue I generally have with the resolutions is that it puts the State law ahead of the relationship with God and one another. That is a pretty mute point at this time, but it sets an uncomfortable precedent that the law of the land comes before the actions of the Church. Why not is the Church the one leading the way and allowing people to become closer to God, whether or not the rest of society allows for equality. But truly you can see that marriage has brought us together as a society and as a people of Christ today. We are no longer separate, just equal. I look forward to a vote on the resolutions about marriage here. All people deserve access to an actual marriage rite, and that is so close to happening I can taste it!
I also went to a hearing about Structure today. The Church is considering a new way of doing things and one of the things we are talking about is doing away with the 2 house system and having just one house composed of Bishops, Lay and Clergy. The testimony was that this would maybe stifle the voices of Lay and Clergy. My thought is this. We elect the Bishops that we do because they are excellent leaders. That is a great thing, but there is the possibility of the Lay and Clergy becoming superfluous. Even today, the Bishops came to the House of Deputies and we had a kind of round table discussion. Although our voices were heard, everything that Bishop Dan said was affirmed by the people at my table. That is not a bad thing, but it just shows that Bishops hold a kind of special authority in the Episcopal Church. The new resolutions would also call from smaller Deputations. In the hearing, I heard something really loud and clear. If that happens, the minorities would be excluded by default. That not only means people of color, but it means young people, Spanish speakers and all sorts of other folks. I was the Deputy this time with the least number of votes who did not end up being an Alternate. I would not be able to go if the new rule goes into effect. That is a travesty because I am the youngest Deputy from Nevada by decades. Decades... no offense to my more Senior Deputies. You are valuable too, but a new young voice is important in the life and future of this work. Not to mention diversity in general. We need people from all walks of life to be included in the decision making process.
I am still praying that my heart and voting voice is guided in the right direction. I am seeking a big T Truth here and I have to say that today I forgot that a little bit. I got a little wrapped up in some perceived power. Canon Catherine and I wrote a resolution today and got it in just before the filing deadline, and it made me feel empowered. Being empowered is a wonderful thing, but in this case I think it made me forget why I'm here. I am not here to make myself look better. I am here to serve justice and peace. Tomorrow will be better. I need to be revived by the Spirit and get some rest, so I will leave you until tomorrow.
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