"Here's the situation right now..."

"In the conference room on the Oregon all the seats were filled. Hanley entered last and walked over to a podium and set a file on top. 'Here's the situation right now,' Hanley began. 'We believe we have the bomb pinned down to the general area of the West End of London." This brief excerpt from Clive Cussler's novel, Sacred Stone, seems to match the general situation we are facing today as your deputation arrives to fill all the seats and take our place as your designated "operatives" in the unfolding of the next edition of General Convention 2009.

Cussler is a favorite "airplane reading" novelist of mine. Since I bought this particular book of his in the Minneapolis airport on the way to General Convention, I have enjoyed the thrill of the hunt for the bad guys and the anxiety of the hunt if it goes wrong. In fact, London is in danger. And on New Year's Eve while a concert of Elton John is being offered to the people of the Anglican Holy Land, there is a plot afoot to blow up London with a "dirty bomb." This is what many are fearing about General Convention 2009. I think otherwise. I am still holding out for the Holy Spirit to "lead and guide" us into "all truth."

An optimist? Yes. And at the same time, I am a realist. "God is working his purpose out..." This is what I believe is and will happen at General Convention 2009. I also believe that this is the appropriate expectation to have for the work of the Holy Spirit in our midst. I can believe nothing less and still be a person of hope and commitment.

Today was a day of meetings. I met all the chairpersons, vice-chairs, and legislative aides for another "orientation." When I get home, I want to research the etymology of orientation. I think it has something to do with the Orient. Once again, I find myself looking to the East. Hmmm. If this is the case, I wonder what such an orient-ation will reveal. In the course of the meeting, I found out that our own Brad Foster has been given many extra responsibilities beyond his day in and day out work as our Chancellor. For example, in addition to serving on the legislative committees related to Constitutional and Canonical changes being proposed at the Convention, Brad also had the important task of being one of a handful of people authorized to "sign off" on certain legal matters that will move the legislation of Convention along to its Spirit-inspired conclusion. I am confident that Brad will represent the Episcopal Church quite well in this newest assignment.

Toward the end of the evening, your deputation gathered in our hospitality suite (hosted quite effectively by Reynolds and Stephanie Cheney.) To date the members of our deputation who have arrived include the Johnsons, the Cheneys, the Somodevillas, John Leach, Andy Cobb, Brad Foster, Candace Welch, and Kevin Brown. We are looking forward to Patti and James Newsom and to Colenzo and LaVerne Hubbard joining us. We also are looking forward to our Episcopal Church Women representatives, to Ann McCormick and to the Rev. Ron DelBene joining us as well. These last listed folks have been invited to join your deputation for our evening gatherings and for other ways of being part of our West Tennessee presence as best they are able. If you happen to be traveling through this part of the country and the Convention is still going on, come visit us in the Cheney Hospitality Suite, Anaheim Hilton room 151. There is room in the inn for you.

At the end of the evening, Jeannie and I set out in different directions. Jeannie went with her friends from Education for Ministry (EFM). They were completing last minute plans for the EFM presentation to the spouses of the bishops, The House of Spouse as they are lovingly known. For my part, I had a meeting to attend that had to do with my responsibilities as one of the members of the Court of Review for the Trial of a Bishop. This group has only met twice since it was established to consider matters referred to us. For now, we have taken the time as a Court to review the status of a current matter on our agenda. At the end of the evening, our part is to wait expectantly.

So the evening draws to a close. We move up to the cusp of the Convention's official opening session. Tomorrow the various legislative committees will meet for the first time to organize and begin preparing for the legislation that will be handled by their respective groups of bishop and lay/clergy representatives. In the meantime, know that the work that is beginning to unfold tomorrow is part of our "situation right now" and that this is a good thing. Our Episcopal deputies are a committed lot, and the work that General Convention is about to accomplish will undoubtedly reflect this situation in a way that will ultimately prove to be faithful.

In Cussler's book, the key to understanding what is going on is to understand "the situation right now..." General Convention is not much different than this summing up of the process that brings us together every three years to determine the thrust and vision for ministry that our Church is embracing. The situation right now is that we are starting on solid ground and we are beginning to walk toward what Jesus would have us do. We all stay tuned in to what ever this will ultimately mean in real time and concrete terms. However, it is not a vision that is born in a vacuum.

We are getting ready for God to speak to and through General Convention. Truth be told, we are holding out for this gift. This is not a decision by our Church to let "majority rule." This is an attempt on behalf of our Church to say, "Here's the situation right now..." To be part of this unfolding message of God's promised Spirit who will lead and guide us into all truth is a privilege to encounter and a calling to embrace. I hope you will keep us in your prayers as we seek to follow the Spirit's moving. If we can do this, there is no decision coming out of General Convention that will undermine our faith in Christ and our desire to serve God in ways that might challenge our limits while at the same time directing our energies. In fact, given this context for the decisions we will make together, there is little that we can do that will not speak to God's own plan for "the situation right now." Pray that our hearts, minds and souls will be open to God's plan. Blessings, +Don