Off and running

A post from Bishop Tom Shaw:

My nephew Will Pritchard, his wife Suzanne and their two small boys live in Indianapolis so in between meetings I have had some good time with my family.  Wednesday evening Will accompanied me to a double feature movie night sponsored by Integrity.  The movies on show were “Love Free or Die” and a documentary I hadn’t seen, “Out of the Box,” about the experience of transgendered people in the church and featured our own Cameron Partridge.  Cameron spoke eloquently of his journey and he will continue to speak as resolutions on transgender issues come before the convention.  I am always so proud to be the bishop of such a diverse and prophetic diocese.

We began our legislative work yesterday. Our diocese is well represented on a number of committees including those that appear to have the most controversial resolutions.  At this early stage of the convention most of the discussion seems to center around the structure of the church, the Anglican Covenant, the budget and the denominational health plan. I am assigned to the committee on world mission which is responsible for the resolutions on the Anglican Covenant. Tonight we hold our first public hearing and after the hearing we should have a better sense of the mind of the convention around this important topic.

There is hardly a minute to spare in the convention for wedged in between all of the committee meetings and legislative sessions are numerous receptions and events. In anticipation of the elections to the board of trustees for the Church Pension Group, Gayle Harris and I sponsored a reception for our own Solomon Owayda who is running for a seat on the board. Solomon is a member of the Parish of the Epiphany in Winchester and would bring some unique gifts to the board.  The reception was well attended and we sent guests out to canvas on Solomon’s behalf.

So we are off and running.  It’s hot here, fun to see friends from around the world, a demanding schedule and, what I hope is important work of the church.

Pray for us.