Well, here we are at the end of our last day of General Convention.
There have been laughs and tears during this convention. You may have read that part of the deputation from South Carolina left the day after both houses passed the same-sex blessing resolution. I will share with you that their bishop left also, which saddened me greatly. Their voices are greatly needed at the table -- and even with the provision that "you don't have to do this" -- they still felt that they needed to leave to think and pray about this.I am praying for them all -- and for everyone involved in this convention.
Bishop Sean Rowe is a friend and favorite of mine. He is witty and smart, and consistently steady in his work as Parliamentarian. I admire him greatly.
I have this shot of the dais and the flags behind it -- you can see this below.
It has been the most amazing time here. The "five marks of mission" were talked about in many of our works together. At the end, five Bishops who just so happen to be named MARK came up with a song to "mark" the occasion:
Five
Marks of Mission
(to the
tune of “We all are one in mission…”)
We are five Marks of
mission, though not all spelled the same;
The Good News of the
Kingdom to all we proudly proclaim.
We teach, baptize, and
nurture believers new and old,
By loving service responding
to human needs untold.
Society's unjust
structures, we five seek to transform.
From New York to Alaska,
we labor for the Lord.
In dioceses from coast to coast and ’cross the great
Midwest,
We are Marks of God's
mission, seeking to do our best.
Integrity of creation,
we're striving to safeguard;
To sustain Earth's life
and renew it, we five are working hard.
We disagree on many
things, but of this we are sure:
We are five Mark's of
mission, committed to the core.
If you feel that God's mission
is calling out to you,
Marked as Christ's own
forever, there's plenty you can do.
We have five marks to
guide our work, to keep our efforts true;
We are five Marks of
mission, and surely you are one, too.
Performed by: The Rt. Rev.
Mark Hollingsworth, Jr. (Ohio)
The Rt. Rev. Mark S. Sisk (New York)
The Rt. Rev. Mark A. Lattime (Alaska)
The Rt. Rev. Mark M. Beckwith (Newark)
The Rt. Rev. Marc H. Andrus (California)
Words: The Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth, Jr.
A short snippet of the video of this event can be found here.
The closing prayers by our chaplains were, as always, appropriate and wonderful -- here is the text of the closing Litany from Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero:
It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view.
The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confessions brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about: We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for God's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
but that is the different between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
It was a long convention in many ways, although shorter in time than the last. I leave you with a picture of the dais and the flags of all the countries represented at our General Convention below. I am very tired, but happy to have been here and been part of the House of Bishops for this important time in the life of our church.
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