The tedium and the triumph

The hearing and meeting room for the Prayer Book,
Liturgy and Music Committee.

Mark Twain once commented, "Those that respect the law and love sausage should watch neither being made."

I know this to be true. Sausage because my oldest son, Russell, worked for a while at a sausage factory. The law because the primary focus of General Convention (though certainly not its only focus) is legislation. As a Deputy to Convention and a member of the Prayer Book, Liturgy and Music Committee I am participating first-hand in the making of laws for The Episcopal Church. The process isn't always tidy. Sometimes it's downright tedious as we haggle over what sometimes seem like inconsequential details. But the focus on the minutiae is a direct result of the care that my fellow Deputies and our Bishops bring to the task at hand.

That being said, our committee spent quite a bit of time considering again a resolution to provide Holy Communion for communities that lack a clergy presence. As part of our deliberation, a substitute resolution was considered, amended, and eventually rejected. Another member offered a new substitute amendment, much shorter version that was passed. Here it is:

Resolved, The House of  Deputies concurring, That the 78th General Convention direct the ecclesiastical authority in each Diocese to discern and implement ways in which small congregations within their Diocese who are without benefit of clergy may receive Communion on a regular basis.

This will go first to the House of Bishops for debate and possible amendment, so our conversation on this resolution is hardly over. But we spent a great deal of time on an issue about which many witnesses testified with great passion, identifying an issue that demanded a gracious response. I do hope the Bishops accept this opportunity to exercise the discretion offered in this resolution as they deal with the particulars of their own circumstances.

Oh, and above in today's title I said something about "triumph." General Convention is considering issues related to marriage. It is fitting that in midst of our preliminary discussions (as yet still in the process of being considered by a special committee and thus not yet on the floor of either House) that today the Supreme Court announced that marriage is a constitutional right that extends to same-sex couples. While not everyone sees this as a good thing, many (and probably most) of us at Convention do. And we are working diligently and faithfully to ensure that all couples seeking the sacrament of marriage may do so in our church.

God bless all those whose lives will be forever blessed by today's ruling. God bless all those who celebrate today's news. God bless all those who mourn today's news. May we never fail to see each other with God's eyes of love and grace.