My impressions of Diocesan Convention

On October 29 and 30, I attended Diocesan Convention at the Sea-Tac Hilton, along with our delegates Bill and Elisabeth Demmon, Maggie Scott, and Tovi Andrews. Here are my impressions:

• It was fun seeing old friends and making new friends. This is always the best part of convention for me.
• The convention was shortened this year in the interest of saving time and money. The result was that we packed a lot of agenda into a short time, which I found exhausting.
• We ordained two deacons in the Friday Eucharist. It's hard to have an impressive Eucharist in a hotel ballroom.
• We passed a flat budget, with a slight decrease in the assessment for parishes. This seems appropriate.
• We debated two resolutions to make congregations more accountable to the diocese. We passed one and tabled one. I'm generally in favor of both.
• We had three Indaba sessions (small group conversations). I think we need to re-invigorate the Indaba groups because they're losing their impact.