INTRODUCTION TO GENERAL COUNCIL 40
The theme of this year's General Council is "... down to the potter's house ...". The theme, part of a well-known passage from Jeremiah is very suggestive of the changing church. In the words of Moderator David Giuliano, present Moderator, "Together we will imagine how we are being shaped as a community of faith; how we are being called to respond to Christ in the world."
General Council will run from August 9 - August 15 in Kelowna, British Columbia. There are 16 Commissioners attending from Newfoundland and Labrador Conference who will join with hundreds more from other Conferences in our church. Orientation begins on Saturday, August 8th so we will be flying to BC on Friday, August 7. Meetings end on the evening of Saturday, August 15th - and, I guess, we'll be heading home the next day.
Hopefully I will find the time, despite a very tightly packed agenda, to write a daily log of what's happening at Council. Due to the agenda and the time difference I won't begin to predict what time I'll do the writing! Our agenda begins with Morning Prayers every morning before breakfast (7:00 - 7:30) and ends with Vespers most every evening at 9 pm. The time in between is either spent in the gathering of the large group (Commons) or in smaller group work (Commissions). There is one afternoon in which Commissioners are given some free time to take in some local experiences.
Here are the 2009 General Council Commissioners from Newfoundland and Labrador Conference:
EAST DISTRICT:
Rev. Russell Small NL Conference President
Rev. Karen Thorne Alternate
Ms. Fanny Hudson GC Executive Member
Ms. Jocelyn Cook UCW Representative
Rev. Don Stiles Elected Ministry Personnel
Rev. Wayne Blackwood Elected Ministry Personnel
Ms. Karen Critch Elected Lay Person
Dr. Roy West Elected Lay Person
WEST DISTRICT:
Rev. Paul Vardy Chairperson
Ms. Angela Hann UCW Representative
Rev. Andy Wright GC Executive Member
Ms. Lisa Parmiter Youth Commissioner
Rev. Kathy Brett Elected Ministry Personnel
Rev. Heather Sandford Elected Ministry Personnel
Ms. Yordest Andrews Elected Lay Person
Mr. Don Lockhart Elected Lay Person (Labrador)
While I'm not looking forward to the travel, I'm looking forward to the experience. Please remember to pray for us as we discern God's will and direction for the church.
August 4, 2009:
STILL NOT THERE YET ... but starting to get nervous! It's a strange week already - still officially working on the charge but feeling almost as if I've already left for GC40. 
On Sunday we prepared this prayer flag to join with the others which will be brought to GC. While the idea came originally from the planners of GC40 it has already become a symbol of "home" - and, in a strange sort of way, I feel as if those who signed the flag will accompany me on this journey. It is an amazing and powerful experience to feel prayed for - and as folks left worship on Sunday I was assured of their prayers for me and all of the GC Commissioners. I was filled with a sense of what we call the Holy Mystery - filled with a sense that, in the words of our Creed, "We are not alone ..." Perhaps that feeling is an indicator of what's to come.
I don't know what to expect at GC - and perhaps my expectations are way too high - but there's a sense of "something" happening, and I have learned to be open to that movement of the Spirit. Now if I could only bring myself to get out a suitcase .....
August 8, 2009:
We made it! After almost 24 hours with no sleep and very long plane rides, I am sitting in the Similkameen residence on the Okanagan Campus of the University of British Columbia! The air surrounding the city is still quite smokey and smells terrible! I'm sure there is no smell quite like that of a forest fire. However we have been assured that the fires present no danger - other than the smell. As I sit here we have just finished our first supper in Kelowna and made our way back to our rooms - and I realize that, at home, it is now midnight! What a strange feeling!
Not much of anything happened today - we got here about lunchtime and registered before being given a bagged lunch. For those of us from NL it was really suppertime! In the afternoon we had a couple of hours of orientation before supper. I find it difficult to believe that I'm so far away on the other side of the country. I've never been this far west before. However, I've still come across people I know - Russel Small figures it's only his mother and me who knows someone wherever we go!
To be honest I was too tired to even appreciate the orientation - and nodded off twice as people talked! It started with a bang as the members of the Youth Forum made their way across campus singing to the beat of various drums. Those of us who were waiting outside the gym followed them into the building singing "Siyahamba!" I did manage to stay fairly alert as Moderator David Guiliano welcomed everyone to GC40 with the words "God is good!" to which everyone enthusiastically replied "All the time!" After his welcome my energy levels dropped off the scale altogther - the result of no sleep, long days and lots of travel. I was quite pleased to return to my non air-conditioned room and just mellow out. At this point my eyes are beginning to close on their own.
Tomorrow starts bright and early - morning prayers and breakfast at 7:30 am. I am quite looking forward to the Opening Worship at 10:30 am. With so many people here the singing should be fantastic! I hope I won't be disappointed.
Anyway, I am soon going to call this a day - two days actually! Looking forward to tomorrow. Blessings to you all.
August 9, 2009
Well, if I thought my eyes were going together last night, tonight is beyond description. As I noted last night the day begins early - I was up by 6 am and gone to breakfast by 7 am. And speaking of breakfast - bacon, eggs, sausages, ham, hash browns, hot cereal, cold cereal, bagels, fruit - need I go on? With a breakfast like that it's hard to complain about a bagged lunch - so I won't!
The day, I think, was about getting to know each other a little better - and while a lot of time was spent revamping the agenda and dealing with what I consider to be petty political differences, there were highpoints. By the way, the music is good - great actually - but the singing with this many people could be much better! I've had to control the urge to jump up and tell people to sing! The opening worship did a good job of introducing, what I consider to be, a very appropriate theme for this gathering of our church - "down to the potter's house." A highpoint for me was the actual presence of two potters onstage during the Moderator's reflection of the theme. As he talked, they created - and for those of us who need visual stimulation, a very effective means of creating a holy time and space.
One of the Moderator's comments struck me as being, perhaps, very prophetic. He asked us to remember that the potter's house, prior to new creations, can become very messy. He also asked us to consider the possibility that the Potter may move us to create something which could very well be considered ridiculous. How would we react to that? How open are we to discerning and acting on the voice of the Potter? In our own context I might ask how willing are we, as members of congregations, to allow ourselves to dream God's dream? How open will we be to the prophetic voices among us, inciting us to dream new dreams and break new ground? The good news is that we will not travel to the potter's house by ourselves! I'd better stop this because I feel a sermon coming on!!!!
One of the most exciting things around GC40 is the presence of the youth - one man reported that he was the only participant at his table over 30! Isn't that amazing! We seem to spend a lot of time in our own churches lamenting the absence of young people - and I very firmly believe that as long as we invite them on our terms the absence will continue to grow! It's time, my friends, to appreciate the youth we have and free them to experience the holy mystery which cannot be kept hidden in our own traditions and experiences. Heaven forbid - we might learn something about how God really works among us!
To be honest, right now I'm having trouble seeing the screen of my laptop! Tomorrow is coming soon - actually, with my NL body it's already here! Hopefully I'll get a chance to write again soon.
May we each learn to experience the Potter who forms us in new and amazing ways. Blessings to you.
August 10, 2009
Ok, I have to admit, I'm just too tired to write tonight! I left my room at 7 am and returned at 10 pm. Believe it or not, I'm going to bed! Before I do though, just to mention the wonderful music here at Council - we are being led by an amazing Christian band called "rEvolve." The songs are not all new - most of them are coming from "More Voices" - and actually, we've already done a lot of them at home. What we haven't done much of is the actions and movements - and it really adds something to them. Tonight, at Evening Vespers, we did a new one with hand movements. At one point everyone stopped singing and simply did the movements to the quiet music. It was the most awesome and spiritual experience. One of those days I'll show you.
That's it for tonight - I'm turning in! Blessings to you and yours.
August 11, 2009
Last night I was beat and couldn't even see straight! This has been another long day - I got home about 10:15 pm. But I don't feel quite as tired. Maybe the jet lag is beginning to lessen.
The business part of the day gets a little tiring. As in most meetings of this sort there's always a few people who seem to like the microphone. Thankfully those who are presiding keep things moving fairly well. Up to today we have all met together in what is called the Commons. This afternoon we split into three different Commissions - Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic. The names have nothing to do with our geograpical homes - simply that the proposals sent in by the various Conferences have been grouped together and split into three groups. This way more business can get done within the time constraints of General Council, and less will have to be referred to the Executive when Council finishes. I am in the Atlantic Commission and we have to deal with, along with many others, a number of proposals dealing with the Israeli/Pastinian situations. Emotions and passion are running quite high, and I really don't know what to expect. I'm sure the media will have a field day whichever way we decide to handle the proposals. This seems to be the most controversial issue of this year's Council.
Last night and tonight we were expected to take advantage of different workshops called "Learning Options." The one I choose last night was "Intergenerational Worship" and, for me, was not what I expected. Tonight I attended an event called "It Takes a Village." The strange thing is that I had not planned on attending this one - but all the "good" ones were gone! I guess the Creator had a different idea - and I was blown away. The workshop was centred on the history of our aboriginal sisters and brothers and the Residential School situation. What an amazing, awesome, holy, emotional, life-changing experience. I wish I could bring it home to you - but I don't think I could. The presenter placed the participants in the various roles of those who lived within an aboriginal village of pre-European times. She led us through the coming of the Europeans and the eventual destruction of the native way of life, even to the point of the children being taken away to the Residential Schools. The experience was one of raw emotion among those of us who were there - not one I will forget for a long while - hopefully never! I'm sure you will hear more of this later - after I have had a chance to process it a little more.
I'm really looking forward to tomorrow - our half-day off! To this point none of us have even had the opportunity to leave the campus. Hopefully tomorrow we'll get a chance to appreciate a little of the local colour.
Don't expect anything written tomorrow night - we'll be celebrating our time off! Blessings to you, and may the Creator continue to transform our living!
August 14, 2009
Yesterday went well - a bus-load of us toured the area for a few hours. While we are in a very fertile valley some of the landscape is very desert-like. The hills and mountains are wonderful and a little scary as you travel in bus. It's a long way down.
Today we spent our final day in the Commissions. It was a very long and busy day. Chances are you already know some of the decisions since the media presence is quite large. They were certainly interested in the Israeli/Palestinian proposals. One reporter caught me as I was entering the building after our break - but I really didn't want anything to do with that!
Tomorrow promises to be a little easier on the nerves - and the body. The biggest news tomorrow will be in the election of our new Moderator. There are eight persons in the running and the results will be interesting to watch. Again, that will probably hit the news as soons as it happens.
I could write more about the day - but I just received news of the tragic accident which has forever changed the lives of the Rose family. No words can even begin to alleviate the pain and sorrow which such a tragedy brings. No person can ever begin to lessen the sense of desperation which must be faced. Please take care of each other and offer what you can to those who need to be held in your care. I wish I could be there, knowing I can only offer what you can. But hold each other carefully and lovingly, knowing that, even in this darkest valley, the Creator God is by your side. May God bless you all.
August 16, 2009
Good morning/afternoon. Just back from breakfast and getting ready to walk down those 60 steps for a final time - carrying lots of luggage! Our bus leaves for the airport in a half hour.
Will be back in NL at midnight and then on to Salmon Cove. My heart is very heavy with the knowledge of what is awaiting me. It will be another long and arduous day. Blessings to you all.
August 18, 2009
General Council is over - and I am so glad to have been given the opportunity to attend. It was amazing and totally inspiring. The adjectives are just not there to describe the experience - but you will hear much more over the coming weeks and months.
Yesterday's funeral was, as expected, heart-breaking. I am still amazed that people experiencing such loss find the strength to carry on. One of my theological professors continuously used the word ambivalent in describing her emotions - I know now what she meant. I was in BC longing desperately to be home to deal with the tragic death of Sarah and Zack. On the other hand I really didn't want to have to face that when I got here.
The funeral itself went better than I expected it would. It was certainly a fitting tribute to two well-liked teenagers in the area. The church was filled with young people who held each other tightly as they remembered their friends. When the service was over they continued to celebrate their lives. We could all learn a lot from them.
Vacation starts today - well actually, I worked today. We'll leave here tomorrow and will return following Labour Day. Take care of yourselves and be safe. Blessings to you all.
Here are some pictures from General Council.
Most of the NL Conference contingent!
The view from my bedroom!
A lovely breakfast greeting!
Worship
The Potter at work!
Aboriginal Drummers at Opening Worship
General Secretary & Former Moderator at Opening Communion
Lunchtime!
Part of the pottery display
Two of our four Youth Forum delegates!
Table setup in the gym
One half of the band rEvolve which supplied the music
Coffee Break
TeePee from one of the reports
Myself and Chris Giffen from rEvolve - an old friend from Halifax!
Acknowledging the apology to the Japanese Canadians
Hayride through a fruit orchard on our afternoon off!
Pyramid for storing wine at a winery - we sang inside!
Sampling Goat Cheese!
One of three fire alarms in the one night!
Former Moderator accepting Sea Buckthorn jelly from Salmon Cove!
The hugs were free!
Laying on of hands for the new Moderator, Mardi Tindal
Moderator Mardi and former Moderator David preside at the Table