We Are Celebrating! - Day 2 of the Convening General Conference

Day two of the Convening General Conference (CGC) was about getting down to business. The legislative committees began the work of recommending, refining, or rejecting the petitions assigned to them. Nearly 300 petitions were submitted for the CGC with each being assigned to one of seven legislative committees. Petitions that make it through the legislative committees are then presented to the whole General Conference to approve or reject.

A benefit of my role as an alternate delegate is that I was able to observe all the legislative committees for a time. To be sure, the deliberations included the whole spectrum of consensus, compromise, and disagreement. This type of work will always include those who continue to disagree or are disappointed with something along the way. Still, the overwhelming attitude that I have observed is celebration. There has been general celebration of the work (not always the specific outcome) in the legislative committees after a vote and always after motions to take a break!

Celebration has not been confined to the committee rooms. The delegates and guests gathered in the hallway between the committee rooms for singing and communion in the afternoon. Offering communion at this time was planned, of course, but the spirit of celebration was organic. It was not the solemn event it sometimes is, but a loud, informal, and joyous act of experiencing the sacramental grace of Jesus in the midst of the work of the day.

Even as some committees continued to work after dinner there was a buzz in the air. Delegates who were entering the evening sessions did not have a laborious attitude, instead they were excited about what they had accomplished and the work that was still ahead of them. After more than ten hours of work the delegates were celebrating the few more to come! There bodies and minds were tired, but their spirits were energized!

I would not describe my experience of many similar church governance conferences as “celebration”, so I notice it with gratitude at this conference. The very fact that this convening conference is underway deserves it own celebration and we have! It has taken many sacrifices, prayers, and hours of work to get here, but being here is only the beginning. We seem to be celebrating at every moment and transition. I invite you to celebrate with us!