What is "Public Narrative"?

First of all, the bird of paradise doesn’t really have anything to do with this post about Public Narrative, but is a little bonus for your visual enjoyment! It is also an emblem of the fact that most of us come from a completely different setting and climate to gather in this place. Seeing these “birds” growing along the sidewalks next to palm trees is a reminder to me that I’m not in Oregon any more, and there is something much larger than me, my parish, or my diocese being formed and lead in this gathering.

Public Narrative, a process developed by Harvard Kennedy School professor Marshall Gantz, is the structure for a series of “mission conversations” held throughout General Convention. Here’s a description of Public Narrative from the Kennedy School website: “Public narrative is how we turn values into action — the discursive process by which individuals, communities, and nations construct identity, formulate choices, and motivate action. Because we use narrative to engage the “head” and the “heart,” it both instructs and inspires, teaching us not only how we ought to act, but motivating us to act thus engaging the “hands” as well. Public narrative is a leadership art composed of three elements: a story of self, a story of us, and a story of now. A story of self communicates who I am — my values, my experience, why I do what I do. A story of us communicates who we are — our shared values, our shared experience, and why we do what we do. And a story of now articulates the present as a moment of challenge, choice, and hope."

We’ve had only one “mission conversation so far,” in which a group from our diocese gathered around a table and shared “stories of self.” However, during a “committee of the whole” session in the House of Deputies, we used a structure inspired by Public Narrative to have a holy conversation with the person next to us. (See an upcoming post, “What’s up with B033?”which I hope to post later this evening.) We meet this afternoon for a second mission conversation, when we will be sharing “stories of us.”

How welcoming are we?

As has been the case at General Convention for many years, there are many resolutions under discussion relating to the development of rites of blessing for same-sex relationships. The "legalization" of marriage between same-sex couples in six states has changed the conversation somewhat. There are also resolutions relating to the ordination of partnered gay and lesbian clergy, particularly bishops. These conversations are currently happening in legislative committee meetings and hearings. Those of you who are following General Convention closely will have your favorite site on which to track these resolutions, such as http://gc2009.org/ViewLegislation or the Integrity General Convention portal, http://sites.google.com/site/allthesacraments/Home/Resolutions. I expect these resolutions will actually come to the convention floor during the week of July 12. As someone from a diocese where there are a variety of experiences and perspective on these issues, it has been helpful for me to hear the testimony of folks from all over our Church. Integrity has done a wonderful job this year of encapsulating all the issues in one message, emblazoned on their logo. This message, "all the sacraments for all the baptized," asks us to think about our own parishes, our families, and our friends. The message begs the question: are there circumstances under which some of the sacraments might be denied to baptized Christians? For some readers, this is a rhetorical question only. For others, it is a very real question. There are exciting conversations happening here that call us into deeper reflection about theology of baptism, theology of marriage, and more. Stay tuned!

The Episcopal Church Welcomes You!

As we begin the second legislative day, I think it's safe to say that General Convention is truly underway. Here's a photo of the sign Barb mentioned in her earlier post would be a good way to begin to share my own experiences. The very massiveness of the banner and the convention center on which it hangs is a good emblem for the Convention as a whole. Although it's easy to get overtaken by one's own experience of being overwhelmed--the metaphor "taking a drink of water from a fire hose" is often used to describe General Convention--more than overwhelming it is exciting and joyful to take in the sheer massiveness of convention. The world of the Episcopal Church is much, much larger than it looks from our heavenly corner of God's creation in Oregon. There are people here of all ages and stages of life, not only from all over the country, but from all over the world. This morning I simply want to share this picture and the Good News that our church is alive and well and reaching to the ends of the earth.

General Convention is…..

Today things really started to feel like General Convention. Registration opened at 9:00 this morning and I was helped by a smiling woman named Margaret Watson. Her husband, Joel, served as a priest in the southern part of our diocese. As I understand it, Margaret is now a priest in Virginia. She handed me my nametag and the big 4” deputy binder that this year is appropriately environmental rather than the usual vinyl. Margaret said it is guaranteed to withstand two cups of coffee being spilled on it, but might self-destruct in the rain or the shower. Fortunately, it doesn’t sound like we are going to get any rain in the next ten days and I will refrain from reading resolutions in the shower!

Many volunteers and exhibitors are already here and bishops and deputies are starting to arrive. By the end of our time together, approximately 8000 people will have been a part of this convention. I have been told that makes us the third largest convention regularly held in the United States, the larger two being the Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention. Sometimes I hear grumblings that General Convention is too big, too long, and too expensive; but to me, General Convention is central to what it means to be an Episcopalian because it means that we the people have a voice in how our church is governed. I wish every Episcopalian had the opportunity to attend at least one General Convention.

As I walked into the Exhibit Hall this morning, I was greeted by a giant mural featuring the many faces of the Episcopal Church with the following words: “We follow Christ, We Create, We Think, We Debate, We Do Unto Others, We Worship Together.” Each of those statements describes General Convention and The Episcopal Church. Today I am going to focus on the “We Debate” part and say a few words about the legislative work of General Convention.

Since The Episcopal Church came into being at the same time as the United States of America, and some of the same people were involved in the birth of both, it is no surprise that we are organized in a similar fashion. The House of Bishops is somewhat analogous to the senate. It is the smaller of the two houses and people tend to serve on it for a long time. The House of Bishops is also affectionately referred to as the “junior house” because it came into being later than the House of Deputies. Two of the bishops that we think of as “our bishops” will be a part of the House of Bishops this year – our retired bishop, The Rt. Rev. Robert Ladehoff and our current Assisting Bishop, The Rt. Rev. Sanford Hampton. However, because of the somewhat unique circumstance the Diocese of Oregon is in right now, neither Bishop Ladehoff nor Bishop Hampton will be officially recognized as Bishop of Oregon. As retired bishops, they will have both voice and vote - although that may change after this convention. Also seated in the House of Bishops will be close to a dozen men and women who served as priests in the Diocese of Oregon at various times. I said hello to one of them this morning, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who was an assisting priest at Church of the Good Samaritan in Corvallis before she was elected Bishop of Nevada. And Robert Morrison and I had lunch today with another, Neff Powell, who served as priest at St. Bede’s Forest Grove and Canon to the Ordinary for the Diocese of Oregon before moving to North Carolina and being called as Bishop of Southwestern Virginia. We were joined for lunch by Neff’s wife Dorothy, and their son Bingham who currently serves as an assisting priest at St. Mary’s, Eugene.

So much for the House of Bishops……..The House of Deputies is the larger and older of the two houses and it is what sets The Episcopal Church apart from many parts of the Anglican Communion. It is the House of Deputies that gives laity and clergy equal voice with bishops in determining policy in The Episcopal Church. Each diocese elects and sends four clergy and four laypeople to be seated on the floor of the House of Deputies. Because 100 domestic dioceses and close to a dozen international dioceses and convocations belong to The Episcopal Church, there will be over 800 people sitting on floor of the House of Deputies.

This year our clergy deputies are:
Anne Bartlett – Trinity, Ashland
Wes Sedlacek – St. Martin’s, Lebanon and chaplain at Good Samaritan, Albany
Sara Fischer – St. David of Wales, Portland
Robert Morrison – St. James, Lincoln City
Alternates: JoAnn Leach – Christ Church, Lake Oswego; Caroline Litzenberger – St. Michael and All Angels, Portland; Robert Bryant – St. John the Baptist, Portland; and Jim Boston – recently retired from St. Luke’s, Grants Pass.

The elected lay deputies are:
1. Barbara Ross – Prince of Peace, Salem
2. Anne McCollom – Trinity, Ashland
3. Sharon Rodgers – St. Mary’s, Eugene
4. Adam Holdorph – St. Mark’s, Medford and a student at Portland State University
Alternates: Mike Penfield – St. John the Baptist, Portland; Ann Hargraves – St. Michael and All Angels, Portland; Melaia McKinley Kilduff – St. Luke’s by the Sea, Waldport; and Ellen Nesbitt, whose husband recently retired as priest at St. David of Wales, Portland.

The word deputy is crucial. Each diocese elects deputies, not delegates. As deputies, we are not elected to serve as representatives of our diocese, but instead to read, study, pray and be open to the work of the Holy Spirit so that can honor God, follow Christ, and make decisions that are in the best long-term interest of our beloved church. We are required to vote on every issue. We cannot abstain on any vote.

Much of the work of General Convention is done in committees. Every resolution that is submitted to convention is assigned to a committee where testimony is taken; resolutions are reworked and/or combined with other resolutions, or tabled. The resolutions that are approved by committees will move forward and then must be passed by both the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies. This year, four of our deputies will be serving on committees: Anne Bartlett – Urban and Social Affairs; Robert Morrison – Communications; Barbara Ross – Education; and Anne McCollom – World Mission.

The deputies of the Diocese of Oregon take our roles seriously. We have been gathering as a group every few months for the past two years to build community, study the issues, and pray together. Tonight we will be gathering as a group for the first time in Anaheim. I ask for your prayers in the days and nights to come as we do our best to honor God, follow Christ, and make decisions that our in the best long-term interest of our beloved church.

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.

Anaheim

My trip to Anaheim was blessedly uneventful. PDX was very quiet and my Alaska flight was only about 1/3 full. I suppose most people were already where they wanted to be on a holiday afternoon. I took the shuttle from the airport to the hotel and it was great to see a huge blue “The Episcopal Church Welcomes You” banner hanging from the Convention Center as we arrived. Also on my shuttle were two members of the staff from the General Convention Office in New York City. One of them is responsible for publications and we had fun visiting about the massive job of putting together the Blue Book (the big thick book of convention reports and resolutions). She is an Episcopalian originally from the Diocese of South Carolina. We discovered we had another connection in that both of us had children who attended Dartmouth. As Bishop Sandy often says, the Episcopal Church is just one big family.

Things may have been quiet in the airport, but our hotel was booming. People were lined up all over the place. I later learned this was the last night of an international Barbershop Chorus competition. They are now leaving and the Episcopalians will start arriving in force. Anaheim provides a different ambiance than the previous two General Conventions I have attended which were held in downtown Minneapolis (2003) and Columbus (2009). This is very California (lots of palm trees, big buildings, concrete, and parking lots) and very convention-oriented. Everything will be convenient here, but I will miss the life, vitality, and variety of the big cities.

I know of four people from the Diocese of Oregon who arrived on July 4. Arlene Ullman, who graciously came back from retirement to serve as a member of the Diocese of Oregon administrative team during our time of transition, continues to volunteer at General Convention as part of the secretariat for the House of Bishops. My colleague Steph Wight and I came to set up the Discovery Center, the large interactive Christian formation area in the Exhibit Hall. More on that later. And my fellow deputy, The Rev. Robert Morrison, likes to arrive early for events and get the lay of the land. Bob is wonderful to have in a group for many reasons, but one of them is because he always knows where everything is. Bob did some exploring yesterday afternoon and watched the Disneyland fireworks last evening which he said weren’t much more spectacular than the show that Lincoln City puts on every year. I could hear the fireworks from my room, but since I arrived late, I opted to unpack and get settled in a bit. It’s going to be a very busy two weeks!

Greetings!

Friday, July 3, 2009

Greetings! My name is Barbara Ross and I am the Missioner for Lifelong Christian Formation in the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon. I also am a deputy to General Convention and it is in that capacity that I have accepted the invitation to be a part of the Oregon General Convention 2009 blogging team. I will be joined occasionally by my fellow deputies, The Rev. Sara Fischer and The Rev. Wes Sedlacek, and by Catherine Healy, our former Missioner for Youth, Young Adults, and Higher Education. Catherine and Michelle Harvey, both members of Ss. Peter & Paul of Portland, are attending General Convention as part of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship Young Adult presence. Catherine and Michelle, who some of you may remember as one of the panelists at the recent Baptismal Ministry Conference with Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, are two of the eight young adults selected nationwide for this experience which is quite an honor for the Diocese of Oregon. The five of us are among the more than 40 people from the Diocese of Oregon who will be attending General Convention in various capacities. I’ll try to highlight the work of all in the days ahead.

This will be my first attempt at blogging, but my third General Convention. My hope is that I can share with you what it’s like to be a part of such an extraordinary tradition. Today, however, I am busy doing laundry and packing as I fly out to Anaheim tomorrow. If all goes well, you will hear from me again tomorrow!