Day One in Columbus

Hello from Columbus!  My access to this computer ends in a few minutes so I just want to say that I arrived safely late last night and spent the day visiting the exhibits and seeing old friends as we ran from one place to another.  I attended the first of the “brown bag” lunches, sponsored by the Episcopal Church Center – this one hosted by Phoebe Griswold and Brian Grieves (the director of Peace and Justice) and honoring Bishop Riah of the Diocese of Jerusalem.  It was a wonderful gathering of people giving testimony about their ministry in and on behalf of the Holy Land, especially the Palestians.  It is such a painful situation, but Bishop Riah was still able to give us words of hope.  I went from there to the unofficial opening session (Day One is really tomorrow), with remarks by the Presiding Bishop and the President of the House of Deputies, George Werner.  Then orientation for the deputies (it IS a confusing process) and then conversation at small tables – how the Christian faith is important to us, how the Episcopal Church is important to us, and what we will tell our grandchildren in 20 years about this convention (!) Despite the underlying anxieties about some of the decisions we have to make in the days ahead, at our table with folks from all over the country, there were signs of great faith and great hope.  Just about everyone responded to our first question – what is important about our faith – that knowing we are already saved and loved, no matter what we do, liberates us in allowing God to do with us what God will do. Ultimately, we want to be authentic and a witness to the struggles of the world at large.  I’m off now to a quick dinner, and then legislative hearings tonight in the “national/international committee” – lots of interesting resolutions to discuss in the days ahead.

 

Until tomorrow, then –

 

Faithfully,

 

Martha Gardner