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Day Zero (Monday June 12, 2006)
Go to Day One
by the Rev. Donna Ross, ECR Communications Coordinator
The first day of the General Convention is
exciting, confusing, exhausting and inspiring.
Think of the largest family reunion possible –
imagine that each of your grandparents had a dozen
children and then multiply that figure by 1,000 –
and you will have some feel for what General
Convention is like.
On this day when real debate has not yet begun,
strangers on the shuttle bus become instant
friends, and old friends from long ago are greeted
with great joy. The hope expressed, again and
again by people from all points of view, is that
the Holy Spirit might move among us, and that we
might listen and allow the Spirit to bring our
church together in common purpose and focus for
the future.
In his opening remarks, Presiding Bishop Frank
Griswold spoke to this common hope, telling us
that “seeking the truth is a communal exercise.”
Griswold also pointed out that deputies come to
Convention with many different images of the
church, and reminded us of the danger of making an
idol of any one of those images. (This wisdom
applies to the Diocese of El Camino Real as well
as to the national Episcopal Church.)
Referring to the issues over which the national
church debates this week, Griswold said, “to
put holiness and justice in opposition stops all
conversation.” To come together and move
forward, our image of the church must conform to
the image of Christ – the One who embodies love
and who combines both holiness and justice in his
nature.
If you wish to read comments (from all points of
view) on General Convention, follow the link to
http://gencon06.classicalanglican.net/.
Go to Day
One
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