Long day. We spent almost the entire day, barring the second and third ballots for vice president, discussing the recommended changes in ministry policies. They were amended to consider the 4 resolutions in a slightly different order, then adopted as amended. They passed (since they were considered separately) 771-230, 619-402, 559-451,and 667-307.
It’s funny, because I came to the assembly with a good idea of how I wanted to vote, and that didn’t change, and the vote went the way I wanted, but the hours of debate (though good) and considering the implications of the changes was so physically, emotionally, and spiritually draining that I was exhausted and stressed out by the end of the day, not really happy or unhappy, but weighed down.
There is healing through music, or at least there was for me, as I went with a couple hundred people to a Peter Mayer concert, which was fantastic. The joy in the music was uplifting, the words of the songs were healing, the music was great (violin/mandolin, guitar, bass, drums, kind of country-ish?), and there was one song where at least half of the audience joined in a giant conga line. (Also, ways you know you’re an MIT student: you’re distracted from music at a concert by the lights and think “Gee, it would be awesome if I knew stuff about lighting” and completely miss the words to an entire verse while thinking about them.)
I am filled with great respect and thanksgiving for Mark Hanson as presiding bishop in his role as chair of the Churchwide Assembly and as pastor to the entire church. How he manages to separate his personal feelings and act as unbiased as possible so that he can facilitate discussion, as well as explain RONR to people who clearly have no idea how it works. (Apparently I’m one of the few geeky enough to try and learn RONR for the express purpose of going to Churchwide.) In addition, he listened to a suggestion a voting member offered yesterday and stopped the assembly every 20-30 minutes to pray, which was good. He also offered thoughts and prayers at the very end of the session, after voting was over, that were just wonderful. I don’t think I have a good way to paraphrase, but I doubt you want me to quote the entire thing, so I strongly urge you to go watch it, especially if you’re a member of the ELCA and are reacting to the changes in ministry policies. (If you lost track, I think I’ve recommended you watch everything Bishop Hanson says, the Secretary’s report, and any highlights of worship that you can. The debate is also interesting, but I’m not sure you want to sit through hours and hours of it, though you can see New England synod people talking, if you’d like.)
Today was also a day for meeting people. Among others, I met:
- Jessica Crist, Bishop of the Montana synod, former pastor of UniLu (Mom and Dad, she says hi)
- R. Sally Moldwin, voting member from Southeast Michigan Synod and mother-in-law of my pastor at UniLu
- Yolanda Tanner, voting member from Delaware-Maryland Synod, MIT ’78, Course 14
- some bishop who had Grandpa as a professor, but I forget his name
- someone who taught with Grandpa and went along on the trip to Israel in ’74? He says hi, but I’ve forgotten his name already
- Paul Rajashekar, who apparently had Grandpa as a professor, served with Mom on candidacy committee in New England, and works at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia with my uncle
Wow, the church is a really small world. I’m still looking for a pastor from the Sierra Pacific synod who went to MIT, and I think there may be another, so if for some reason you know them, tell them I’m interesting in finding them.
Off to sleep, because we have another full day tomorrow, including a couple things that have gotten postponed multiple days, and so far, we’ve extended every session (usually 15 min in the morning and 45-60 minutes in the evening). 8 hours of plenary session every day is a lot, even if I’m enjoying it.
Personal reminder: I really want to write a blog post about the awesome worship we’ve been having this week, but it never seems to fit in the day’s wrap-up and I always run out of time.
August 22, 2009 at 09:16
Dear Rebecca,
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your thoughtful, caring words, as well as your delightful sense of humor as you report on the CWA. (I can totally hear Bishop Hanson’s dead pan response to the comment about blue cards being raptured.). I’ve been to two CWAs and echo your awe and respect for the ways in which RROO can keep a discussion fair and orderly, as well as the ways in which one’s understanding of *church* expends at such an event. You don’t have to have gone to MIT to be a RR geek (I’m an Eli myself).
Last night I tuned in to the webcast right before the Press Conference following the adoption of all the resolutions. I know what you mean about emotional exhaustion after such an afternoon, as well as the compassion one feels for those on the “other side.” Somehow the CWA enables us to love ALL the members of this church, even those who don’t always act as lovingly as they might.
Not having been there this year, however, I have to tell you that I wept at the news-with joy and relief- after years of praying for, working for, and even being arrested for this result. I had no idea how disconnected I’ve been feeling from the ELCA until the blockade was lifted and the ministries of so many will finally be accepted.
- I remember Phil Knutson, who gave his life to campus ministers by staying in the closet and fighting fearlessly for our work, who died by his own hand when he didn’t want his family to have the burden of caring for him as AIDS progressed through his body
- I remember sitting at a table with women who had resigned their calls because they could not bear to serve without being open about who they were: wise women, thoughful women, whose voices I yearned to have access to as a newly ordained woman
- I remember Jane Ralph, who left the church, and Anita Hill, who didn’t, and whose ordination was one of the most joy-filled events I ever had the honor of attending
- and I remember Tim Haas, who was my mentor when I was first ordained; two years younger but ordained years befor I was, and whose heart broke when he was outed and forced to leave the ministry.
There are so many more, but I end with Tim because of a box in my closet that I will open for the first time in 10 years tomorrow. 10 years ago, I joined a group of pastors who decided to put their liturgical stoles in a box and wear a rainbow stole instead- as a witness to our support of GLBT clergy, and in protest of the ELCA’s policies about people in same-sex relationships. In my box are three sets of stoles: the set given to me at my ordination nearly 23 years ago, each one given by a different person or group; one set from Guatemala, bought when I was on a Habitat for humanity trip there, and one set given to me by Tim Haas following his removal from the ministry. I have moved that box from Virginia (twice) to Chicago to Virginia to New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and two homes in Massachusetts. I’ve always known where it was, but never opened it. Tomorrow, as I celebrate a baptism and reflect on the passage from Joshua that was read as I joined the Lutheran church and again at my ordination (“Choose this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my house, we will serve th Lord”), I will once again wear the green stole that my parents gave to me at my ordination.
So thank you, Rebecca, for sharing your reflections, and for all your work as a voting member for our Synod. Some day perhaps I will be able to thank you in person, but in the meantime, here’s a virtual hug and a prayer of blessing:
Loving God, enclose Rebecca in your loving embrace, in thanksgiving for the love and work she has given the ELCA this year, particularly this week at the CWA. Jesus, bless her ministry, that she might know how vital her voice, reflections, and compassion are to your church. Spirit, lead her in the dance of love and discernment, as she continues to reflect on her vocation. Holy One, let her know how much her witness has meant to all those she touches with her words and her hope. Amen.
Gratefully,
Pastor Daphne Burt
Chaplain, Williston Northampton School
Easthampton, MA.
August 22, 2009 at 16:00
It is amazing how physically exhausting intellectual and emotional efforts can be. The concert sounded great. I’m guessing that today and tomorrow interesting, but less intense
June 1, 2010 at 17:15
Rebecca:
I remember how excited you were at the Assembly and hope that your joy continues. The good news is that God uses OUR hands, despite our weakness, as long as we claim His power.
I trust you are well.
Peace!