Day One - First Impressions of a First Time Deputy

Okay, today is actually Day 2, so i'm a day late posting this, but i'll just blame that on the difference in time zones. I have just a few initial impressions about The General Convention i wanted to share with you. The first is, it's big. There are a bunch of people here. I knew that going in, but it still makes an impression when you see the whole body of the Convention gathered for our different functions. And for such a big event, things are mostly going really smoothly. Clearly, the folks in charge have done this before. That said, it's a lot more normal than i thought. From what i've heard about General Convention, i guess i expected to see people walking on stilts, or trailing shawls and beads behind them, or something, but mostly it's just folks. The people here look pretty much like every other group of Episcopalians i've seen before, and they mostly dress normally. Well, mostly. Okay, see this one in particular...

You might recognize her as Amy Seitz, one of our Deputies. She's actually taking part in a skit meant to teach us how things work on the floor of the legislative session, and here's she pretending to be Deputy Cinderella from the Diocese of Bippity Boppity Boo, trying to submit a substitute resolution about... well, never mind what it was about, it was funny and instructive. Most of the other deputies weren't wearing crowns, at least not yet.

One last thought about being here. I've heard from folks who've attended these before that one of the best things about General Convention is that you get to see all your old friends from the Church who are now spread all over the country and beyond. I have to admit that i was a little apprehensive about that, because i didn't think i'd been around long enough to know that many people. I was wrong. It's been a very pleasant surprise to see so many people that i recognize, some of whom i haven't seen in ten or fifteen years. And, as so often happen with good friends who haven't seen each other in a while, we just pick up right where we left off, as if no time had passed.

I am eager to see how the next ten days go, how many old friends i'll get to reconnect with, and how many new friends i'll meet before i leave.

kevin

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