Discovery Center/Exhibit Hall

Although General Convention is primarily a legislative session, it is much more than that. I’ve already mentioned the family reunion feel to it. General Convention is also a chance to experience the breadth and depth of the Episcopal Church. One of the places that this is most evident is in the Exhibit Hall, a huge area highlighting the work of hundreds of official and semi-official Episcopal Church organizations and causes. One of the big exhibits that has been a part of the last four General Conventions is a large area dedicated to sharing the best in Christian education and formation resources and practices. It has become the responsibility of the hosting province to organize the Discovery Center. Since Anaheim is in Province VIII, Western Episcopal Educators, the Province VIII Christian Education network, accepted this challenge. My colleague Stephanie Wight and I were invited to serve on the design team for the Discovery Center, and we, together with our Christian Education counterpoints from around the province, have been planning and working on it for almost two years. Today we began to see all of our hard work come to fruition.

At 8:00 this morning, we were there when the doors to the Exhibit Hall opened for set-up. In conventions past, I have arrived after the Exhibit Hall was all set up and, while it is a thrill in itself to walk into a gigantic room filled with all things Episcopal, being there today to see the whole thing literally grow from the ground up was quite an experience. Framework, curtains, boxes, forklifts, ladders, and people scurrying everywhere. Because our Discovery Center is large, it will be a two-day set-up. Today the giant framework was erected, curtains and some of the signage hung, electrical connections and carpeting laid, furniture arranged, and many boxes unloaded and unpacked. Tomorrow will be spent arranging books and other displays and making final preparations for the grand opening of the Exhibit Hall on Tuesday.

Theme for this year’s Discovery Center is Studio 8 and the focus is on Lifelong Christian Formation. The days will be organized around the following themes:

Tuesday and Wednesday, July 7-8, 2009 - WE ARE FAMILY
(Diversity, peace and tolerance, reconciliation, and the Face of Province 8)

Thursday and Friday, July 9-10, 2009 - THE GLOBAL VILLAGE
(MDGs, mission, world health, global development)

Saturday and Sunday, July 11-12, 2009 - CROSSROADS
(The intersection of culture, media, technology with faith and religion)

Monday and Tuesday, July 13-14, 2009 - HEALING OUR PLANET EARTH
(The environment, Genesis Covenant, care for creation, our relationship with the physical world)

Wednesday and Thursday, July 15-16, 2009 - GOD’S ECONOMY
(Consumerism, stewardship, kids and money, and simple living)

Each day will feature speakers and presenters from across the church including our own Hispanic Missioner, The Rev. Roberto Arciniega, who will be working with the Province VIII Latino/Hispanic network. For a complete description of Discovery Center activities, go to http://www.provinceviii.org. I’m really proud of this cooperative venture between the Evangelism and Congregational Life office of the Episcopal Church Center, Province VIII, and its member dioceses. To me it highlights three of the many things I love about the Episcopal Church – our connectedness, our love of learning, and the experience of being a part of something bigger than ourselves.