An Alternate View: A Day of Hospitality, Love, and Legislature #GC78

Today began with passion fruit tea as it was early and HOT. I don't know what I was expecting today, but I headed out to try and catch the shuttle from our hotel to the Salt Palace and....success!

LOVE WINS!

The biggest news of the day for many was the Supreme Court Ruling that Same-Sex Marriage is now legal in all 50 states! I'm so glad for sooooooooo many people!! It has affected things here today as there are many people on either side of the ruling. We must be sensitive to that fact as we move forward in conversation here, especially because of legislative motions on marriage within the church and also rites within Liturgy & Music. Still, here is my favorite picture of the day, from Hilary Clinton's FB page:



The first item on my agenda was the daily Media briefing. Neva Rae Fox is amazing! I'm super grateful to have media credentials and to have a place to go to either catch up on various social media fronts (like the Instagram and Pinterest accounts been ignoring fo a few days!), type up my reports and blog, and it's also a room where I can chill between things if I need to or if I don't see anyone I know between sessions. Here is friendliness!

Having the morning briefings also helps greatly to plan the day. The overall GC schedule is clear, but as a first time alternate, I'm not exactly always connected to the main deputation and their schedule. This is also true because as Media, I have a separate bunch of things to be doing and that I can attend.

I had the great fortune to sit with my bishop this morning during the worship service. The music was a jazz combo and soprano and they were FABULOUS. I must say that I enjoyed ot very much. Not too far away from the written melodies and they even alternated the Widor toccata postlude with jazzy Widor interpretations! The sermon was by The Rev'd Gay Clark Jennings, the president of the House of Deputies and it was terrific! She has a great sense of humor too!

Here's my Bishop Morris K. Thompson singing the first hymn :-) I love my bishop! LOVE!
                                    
After the service, the Young Adult Service Corps missionaries and their Bishop Pierre Whalon. These folks have spent lengthy amounts of time aboard in extremely tough situations. They truly help make the world a better place and have been in front lines providing on-the-ground help and relief to refugees, the homeless, and the marginalized. I was only able to spend 25 minutes there, but it was packed with hope and refreshing willingness to make a difference.

                                 

Now to the joint legislative session! Today, it was about Governance and Structure (GAS, rather than SAG)...there was MUCH discussion regarding what shoud be kept and what should be changed. Alternates were watching people discuss and some of us were indeed discussing the same items amongst ourselves, but....there was verily a great need for snacking.
                                   
There was a nice and thorough introduction to the historical structure and current structure of the Episcopal Church. I was impressed and actually, as an aspirant for the priesthood, and smack dab in the middle of discernment, it was awesome for me to hear it all. I tweeted this out and this was the result!
                                        

Indeed, EVERY coin has two sides :-)
Deputies to tweet lists of what they thought were essential programs, structures, etc, in GC to keep and what to change. Not seeing any tweets from EDOLA, of course I tweeted my opinions.

I left the session a wee bit eatly to return to the cathedral with the media for a special tour and to take photos with my "good camera". I again ran into one of mah best frrrrrrrriends, Chuck Robertson, who asked me if I wanted to do lunch. He was thinking of dropping by the CEEP (Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes) lunch and I had the media session. We realized both events were at St. Mark's Cathedral and we decided to drive over there. This was a most excellent free ride as it was officially --- one million degrees ---

Once at the cathedral, the hospitality was again amazing. Yesterday, I blogged a bit about the exhibits and the church, but here are some more cathedral facts and pictures:

- It's the oldest continuously worshipping house of worship in Utah
- gathered 1860, cornerstone laid 1870
- St. Mark's was the first church in Utah with a bell.
- There are at several Tiffany windows in the sanctuary and they are each worth $1.2 million!

- History of the cathedral
- This is probably THE most hospitable church I've visited. Seriously, they've got it right! :-)
- There's a retreat center at the cathedral and if you're ever in Salt Lake City, go visit!

Afternoon held a legislative session and re-electing Gay Clark Jennings as president of the House of Deputies.There is such appreciation and love in that room and Gay Jennings' re-election without opposition is an example of the bond that has formed over the years with her and the HOD. It was great to see. There were several resolutions and amendments discussed including those from Stewardship & Development. One, A089 (Approve Donor Bill of Rights) is very interesting. Lots of good testimony for and against amending the resolution regarding the rules and situations when donors giving funds for specific gifts and the particular body (church, diocese etc.) cannot fulfill the desired use. "To be assured that their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given" was left without the amendment "to the extent possible". It's really quite eye-opening for me, rarely having witnessed debate and testimony on amendments to resolutions, to see the depths to which each side can interpret the *possible* future repercussions of each line of text!

  
Today, with the Supreme Court ruling, singing alongside my fantastic bishop in morning worship, seeing dearest friends, laughing at #GC78 tweets, sharing food at St. Mark's with new Media friends, and stopping by the calm & quiet prayer chapel in the Salt Palace has shown me greatness, reminded me of the strength of lifelong friendships, and the power of hospitality  :-)
Thank you for reading!
Stay tuned,
Caroline
Previous posts:
1. #GC78 - An Alternate View: 'Twas the Night Before Synod
2. An Alternate View: Heading to #GC78
3. An Alternate View: Arrival Day - IT'S ALL GOOD
4. An Alternate View: Orientation and Presentations, June 24 at #GC78

5. An Alternate View: #GC78 The First Official Day of Convention

An Alternate View: #GC78 The First Official Day of Convention!

Today marked the opening day of #GC78, the 78th Convention of The Episcopal Church!

I began with a short media briefing and I'm excited to say that Friday, the media group will visit the Cathedral Church of St. Mark where the election for the new presiding bishop will take place on Saturday morning. We will have a chance to take photos and hear about the history of building and the Episcopal presence in Salt Lake City.
Next, I attended the opening worship service where the Presiding Bishop celebrated. The program bulletin for the service is here and you can watch it online here. Each day, these 9:30 AM MDT services will be live-streamed via the Media Hub. Check out THIS link for daily worship bulletins and information!

video of verse of hymn coming soon!

My comments about the music are:

- I liked the selections and the cantor, nice soprano voice, good articulation

- I did not like the chants sung slowly with no word stress!

- I did love hearing so many people singing together in well-done harmonies!

(Lots of folks have been asking me if I am going to be doing anything with the music. I'll just say that I am unknown in the wider church and I'm quite sure there are a ton of connections and procedures through which to go before being selected for any liturgical or musical participation. I did look for volunteer opportunities in advance with this in mind, but I think it's safe to say that it is in great hands and that it takes looooooooong prep time and selection. Maybe next time!! I'd love to! :-)

The liturgy was in both English and Spanish. I liked the way they did communion with tons of stations. My station was made up of all young volunteers. 

After dropping by the media room for a little while, I decided to return to the Standing Committee on Prayer book, Liturgy & Music Legislative Committee session. IT WAS PACKED so I sat on the floor and listened to the testimonies for and against amendments to resolutions. I had my first iced coffee ever.....and enjoyed it!

The hearing ended early so I went downstairs where I met up with my one of my dearest friends, The Rev'd Dr. Canon Chuck Robertson, the Canon to the Ordinary. He introduced me to one of his close friends, The Rev'd Canon Michael Rusk, Team Rector for the Parish of St. Peter & St. Paul, Oadby in the diocese of Leicester. I also met the Episcopal Primate of Pakistan, The Most Revd Samuel Robert Azariah and his wife who is a prist in California. They are all amazing people! I would very much like to explore Pakistan one day and see historic ruins and documents and to meet the Anglicans there! We talked briefly about music and there is a remote possibility that we may chat again tomorrow or Friday.
I chatted with Rev'd Michael for about an hour and we shared our India experiences. It's was fabulous to meet someone else who shares a love for India and also music - here at GC! For the early afternoon, we decided to walk over to the Cathedral Church of St. Mark. It was a very, VERY hot walk. I think it may have only been 90 or 92 degrees, but the sun.....it was insanity.
Once there, we were met by two volunteers who welcomed us and then we had a chance to look around. It is a GORGEOUS cathedral!

                  

                               

This high altar contains two Tiffany windows

                   

                                  

In the chapel to the left of the chancel area, there is an exhibit featuring replicas of beautiful books of the Illuminated Saint John's Bible. The Saint John's Bible is holy scripture with illuminations, special lettering, special materials and it has unique works of art. It is actually the first illuminated Bible commissioned by a Benedictine Abbey in more than 500 years. It took fifteen years to create and used Chinese black ink with feather quills of goose, turkey, and swan. The books also contain writing in gold, silver, and platinum. One book, containing the psalms, has a digital voice print painted in squares. When played (and I'm not sure how), these markings form tunes to which some of the psalms can be sung. Mistakes are few, there are something like nine in the whole set of 15 books. Mistakes are shown by illustrated birds carrying parcels of text and arrows up to where the corrections should be placed. It's an absolutely lovely exhibit and I encourage all to view it if at St. Mark's.

Downstairs is another exhibit featuring selections from a major exhibit by artist Andrew Kosorok. His work is called 99 Most Beautiful Names of God. Here are the 99 names
Because of copyright, I didn't take photos of his pieces, but here is some info for you

                     

There is also a wonderful set of prints from the last International Olympic Committee showing religions of the worlds. The IOC was required to include religions of the world in the commission.
Everyone we met at St. Mark's was so friendly and they have a veritable army of hospitality volunteers!

The afternoon legislative session began with introductions of foreign dignitaries and distinguished guests. Next, the legislative process began with the report and proposed changes to the Rules of Order. Things got pretty "nitpicky" at times, but truly, minor details to some are major events for others. The debates regarding amendments to the usage of applause were very interesting. I was glad to see people discussing whether or not to allow applause from within the House after certain testimonies. It could in some cases be detrimental to following arguments and showing partiality. The Rules of Order have now been updated!

Tonight, I skipped dinner and came back to my hotel. We have a Deputation mtg at 9:00 PM. I will be typing up my interview with Rev'd Rusk Michael Rusk and posting it soon.

Thank you for reading!

Stay tuned :-)

Previous posts: 

1. #GC78 - An Alternate View: 'Twas the Night Before Synod

2. An Alternate View: Heading to #GC78

3. An Alternate View: Arrival Day - IT'S ALL GOOD

4. An Alternate View: Orientation and Presentations, June 24 at #GC78