I have a favorite sweatshirt that I often wear. It’s a black hoodie and on the front is printed: Deacon, because full-time multitasking ninja is not a real title. My twitter profile describes me in this way: High-tech supply chain journalist, deacon, and mother…almost never in that order. And I will confess to you, my…
Category: General Convention
The Plumb Line of God: Moving Beyond Politics & Scandal to Holiness
I don’t know if I’ve ever shared the story of how I came to be an alternate deputy to 78th General Convention of the Episcopal Church. The Deputation is elected very three years—a panel of four ordained people and four lay people to act as deputies and another eight (four each ordained and lay) to…
Sacred Voices, Holy Tears
When I was elected as an alternate deputy to the 78th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, no one warned me about the tears. Who would think that the business of the church would make me cry every day, and sometimes more often? These are not the terrible tears caused by being irrevocably wounded or…
The Both/And of Addressing Homelessness
I saw something new to me here in Salt Lake City: Bright red parking meters scattered across the sidewalks, positioned well away from their normal curbside location. These parking meters accept nickels, dimes, and quarters—and each has a sign “Give a hand up, not a hand out.” It’s really an innovative idea. The coins tossed…
Observing the Rituals of the House of Deputies
We in the Episcopal Church love nothing better than a good liturgy. It’s no surprise then that the work of the House of Deputies is another example of great liturgy—a Greek word that original referred to public duty but is translated now as “the work of the people.” Although I have only been here for…
The Megachurch Experience of the Episcopal General Convention
If I didn’t know where the opening Eucharist of the 78th General Convention of the Episcopal Church was being held, it would not have mattered very much. A stream of people headed in a single direction–pointing toward the huge convention hall that had been appointed with 2,000 or so chairs, giant and colorful banners depicting…
The Big World & Small Town of the Episcopal General Convention
The first day of my very first General Convention of the Episcopal Church felt a little bit like the first day at a new school. I worried that I wasn’t dressed right, that I would get lost, that I wouldn’t find my meetings, that I wouldn’t have anything intelligent to add to the conversation, and,…