Almost done!

Well by now you're up to date on the big news. So I won't re cap here. But we are hearing reports begin to come in: Priests that have announced they are leaving the church, individuals leaving their congregations, financial impacts both large and small. A string of conservative members got up in front of the Deputies for points of personal privilege to speak against the Robinson approval. There were empty seats (even empty tables) at the Eucharist. The "troubles" of the Episcopal church are only beginning. How big they will be is hard for me to judge from so close to the center and with as little sleep as I've had. I'll just keep praying.
In other news the dates for the next GC may NOT be carved in stone! The Bishops rejected the process and sent it back to the planning committee. There are still issues to be dealt with (like penalty clauses in the contracts already signed) but the youth are VERY encouraged by the support of the Bishops. Way to go Purple!
I promised some lighter bits. First an apology. A couple days ago I referred to a "priest from Nigeria" preaching. Ahem, that was an ARCHBISHOP. Oops. My apologies to all.

Notes from around convention:
Miles I walk - seems to average around 8 per day. Probably did a little more than that the first couple days while I was exploring the Exihibition Hall. Hundreds of boothes!
Pipes in the "Voice of Minneapolis" - For all you traditional music, pipe organ fans the Conv. Center has a resident pipe organ. Built back in 1929 it was moved to the new Center. 10,000 pipes in 123 ranks. Very impressive sounds.
Funny bits - How a bout delegates names? They tend to introduce themselves by last name and diocese only. So we got a small laugh from "Black - Mississippi" ( a white female priest) but we really liked "Snow, Alaska".
When the budget materials were handed out today they played a couple of Beatles tunes ( Can't buy me love and Hard Days Night) We were treated to several delegations getting up and dancing - picked up on the big screens too! A great light moment when we could all use one.
Best line from a deputy - Chair - For what reason does the deputy at microphone 8 rise? Deputy - To wait my turn.
Actually I've been impressed with the amount of humor on the floor. Pres. of Deputies George Wirner has been wonderful with a very light touch. There's a fair amount of laughing. The one deputy who said she was fluent in 8 languages not counting the dead ones got a nice response. Too many others to note.
Watched the Bishops on closed circuit for a while. The Deputies are much easier to bring to order (I know, you're stunned). Took the PB 5 tries to get them to settle down. He handled in good humor.
Well we are all exhausted. Some of our kids are starting to shows signs of stress so it's good that we're done after lunch tomorrow. We're blowing off the afternoon legislative session and going to the Mall of America to just hang.
I thank you for wandering along with me. I'll probably have a few more closing thoughts between now and next week. As always pray for our church.
Peace