Whenever the General Convention of the Church meets, we usually make the newspapers. Sometimes it’s for really nice things. Sometimes, the stories are shocking. I don’t want to attack the media, but I do want to make sure that everyone remembers one very simple fact about coverage of the General Convention.
Church meetings are totally unlike what is reported day in and day out. We are not a political body, with “winners” and “losers”. We elect deputations, who cannot be instructed on how to vote when they go to Convention. This is on purpose. As a group, and at the moment, we gather to pray, listen, speak with one another, and see if in the midst of our busy human lives, we are able to discern the calling of God. While matters of the Prayer Book, and even marriage and sexuality may garner headlines, there are a couple of task forces from the General Convention who have been working quietly behind the scenes on matters of the treatment of women, the creation of safe places for children and the weak within the church, and equality and fairness for those employed by the church. These matters, quite frankly, will have at least as great an impact upon our day to day lives as any headline grabbing activity.
Just like Christ Episcopal Church, the larger Episcopal church is made up of folks from all walks of life. We come from every conceivable point on any spectrum that you may imagine. We sometimes fuss, we often get heated in our disagreements, and we are all too often slow to apologize or forgive. We are truly human. But the wonderful grace of God does not leave us here. Whatever happens in General Convention (and you and I will both be quite proud, and at least once or twice deeply concerned), God does not abandon the Church. And I am convinced that the will of God cannot be defeated by the sin of humanity. Even in the Church.
Based on a publication by The Reverend David Krauss
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