As we move along, it's obvious we have much work ahead of ourselves. The hearings are longer, the legislative sessions are longer, and we've only begun to edge into the controversial issues. But more on that later. The day began with legislative committee meetings. These were followed by the second session of the Public Narrative project. In this session we shared our experiences of faith; what events were "change points" in our lives, how did they affect us, and what followed. People were candid. I found the experience very moving and thought provoking. This session was "The Story of Me' in the parlance of the project . The next session, scheduled for Day 7, will be "The Story of Us".
Next on the agenda was a community Eucharist at which Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, gave the meditation. Being part of two thousand or more voices raised in worship and praise is an experience that I find difficult to describe. It is deeply moving and at one and the same time humbling and uplifting.
Lunch, visits to the Exhibition Hall, and committee meetings followed. The final legislative session of the day addressed a number of issues, mostly of adminstrative importance, but then took the unusual step of suspending the normal rules of order and meeting as a committee of the whole to discuss Resolution B033 from the 2006 convention. The resolution is widely seen as a moratorium on consecrating gay bishops. The chair of the committee recited the history that led up to the resolution and the steps taken since. The vice chair presented five options for the Deputies to consider: 1.Take no action, leaving B033 in place. 2. Reaffirm the action of the previous convention. 3.Specifically disavow B033. 4. Affirm the existing canonical structure for elections of bishops and disavow any extra-canonical restraints, thus negating the effect of B033. 5. Draft a new statementaffirming the full participation of partnered gay and lesbian members in all orders of ministry, including ordinations as deacons, priests and bishops. We were the asked to find someone we did not know from another diocese, and for one-half hour discuss three questions: What is your story with respect to B033? 2. What is our story as a church with respect to B033? 3. What is God calling us to do now? The House then stood in recess until the next day, when again we would meet as a committee of the whole to hear delegates speak on the issue.
After that we all needed downtime, and for Long Island that came in the form of a wonderful dinner with Father and Mrs. Provenzano. In addition to the deputation there were staff officers, ECW delegates and others, in all 30 people from Long Island there to rejoice with the Provenzanos and look forward to the consent of the House of Bishops to his election.
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