Bringing it all back home

And now it’s over.

After the roller-coaster of the last two weeks, the 76th General Convention ended quietly, civilly, pleasantly Friday afternoon. Deputies packed up their paperwork and cleaned off their tables, then headed to hotels to pack, print out boarding passes in the lobby, and line up outside the UPS store to ship home heavy boxes of convention materials.

It was the deputies’ turn Friday to vote on resolution C056, which bishops passed on Wednesday. That’s the resolution that calls for a “generous pastoral response” to gay and lesbian couples, especially in jurisdictions where gay marriage is legal. It also calls for the church to do the theological study of same-sex blessings and to gather examples. The measure passed overwhelmingly, by 72 percent in the lay order and 68.5 percent among clergy.

There was 35 minutes’ worth of spirited debate before the vote. When the results were announced, there was no reaction. The house simply moved on to its next order of business.

“This is the mind of the house at work,” said the Rev. Gay Jennings, a deputy from Ohio who headed the committee that handled much of the legislation dealing with human sexuality.

I know there will be lots of questions when your deputation gets back to Southwest Florida, so it may be worth noting a couple of points:

* This resolution calls for “generous pastoral response” to gay couples. Well, we offer generous pastoral response to everyone. That’s what we do. Nothing new here.

* No one has authorized any rite or ritual for same-sex blessings. The resolution says,  “Let’s look at them, let’s see what’s out there, and let’s do the theology behind this issue.” That’s slow, patient work. The House of Bishops, in drafting the legislation, specifically invited “theological reflection from throughout the Anglican Communion.” We want to keep talking to our Anglican brothers and sisters, some of whom have ideas different from ours.

* The resolution honors “the theological diversity of this Church in regard to matters of human sexuality.” In other words: We know that reasonable, prayerful Christians disagree on this subject.

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One of the casualties of the bare-bones, $141-million budget adopted for the next three years is the end of Episcopal Life as we know it. There’s no funding in the budget for the monthly tabloid newspaper we’re familiar with. The Church Center plans to turn it into a quarterly glossy magazine starting in 2010.

On a happier note, legislation was approved encouraging every congregation and diocese to “participate in one new or ongoing project that engages in a relationship with another part of the Body of Christ in the world.”At committee hearings, the backers of this resolution said they wanted to encourage Episcopalians to think outside the box, do mission outside their comfort zone. That could be across town or around the corner. Start thinking about what your project will be.

Another healthy piece of legislation is “The 80-Cent Solution.” If every one of us donated 80 cents a year, we’d be able to double the number of Episcopal missionaries around the world. Eighty cents is a lot less than we all spend on coffee every day. I’m hoping someone in our diocese will take this on and come up with a clever way for us all to put in our 80 cents’ worth.

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There are images from convention that will stay with me a long time. Among them: A hotel ballroom packed with young people, rocking out to the music of U2 and getting wildly fired up to support the Millennium Development Goals. The Rev. Mike Kinman, former director of Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation, challenged them all: Text somebody, or tweet, or update your Facebook status with this pledge: “I am working and praying to eliminate extreme poverty.” (I checked: They did.) When people who could be anywhere they want at 9 o’clock on a Friday night want to come to a U2charist to dance and sing about Jesus, we must be in pretty good shape.

“It’s time to end chapter 76 in the book of life in the House of Deputies,” president Bonnie Anderson said in her closing remarks Friday afternoon. It’s time for me to pack my suitcase and get a few hours’ sleep before the airport shuttle comes at 5:57 a.m. Two weeks ago, when I flew West — how long ago that seems now! — I was thinking about the spacious skies, the amber waves of grain, the beauty and bounty of our country. Now, heading home after the life-changing experience of General Convention, I’ll be marching in the light of God. — Judy Stark

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