Ready, Set, GO!

It was a beautiful day in the Anaheim Convention Center neighborhood ...

... for Integrity to put out the welcome mat for our traditional "launch" of our General Convention witness with a reception and briefing for bishops and deputies.


Greeting some early arrivals ...

... at what quickly became a GREAT cloud of witnesses!

And WHAT a delight to have Fort Worth's Katie Sherrod among them as DEPUTY this year ... here's Newark's Marge Christie, admiring the badge that will give her access to the floor of the House of Deputies when the business of convention starts on Wednesday morning at 8:00 a.m.

It was a reception for deputies AND bishops and we were delighted to welcome Francisco Duque-Gomez, Bishop of Colombia ... (posing here with Integrity volunteer, Esteban Giron) ...

... among the diverse crowd of Integrity friends and allies.

And this is me ... hoisted up on a stool and using my "outside voice" to welcome, thank and update everyone on our hopes and expectations for the work ahead..

What did I say? Nothing I haven't said a dozen times before. We are confident -- but not complacent -- that this Episcopal Church will live up to its 33 year commitment to the full and equal claim for the gay and lesbian baptized and move beyond B033 and forward on marriage equality.

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The details are here ... in the FAQs we put together and distributed last night ... but here's the "executive summary:"

We are here to witness to the Good News of God in Christ Jesus made present in our lives, our relationships and our vocations.

We are here to call the church we love to live up to its high calling to be a beacon of hope, compassion and justice and to move beyond not just B033 but beyond allowing our mission and ministry to be held hostage by those who insist our differences have to be divisions.

We are here to welcome the Archbishop of Canterbury and to offer him our witness to God's abundant love and our challenge to the false dichotomy that the Anglican Communion has to choose between inclusion and unity.

Because we believe that God has called us to this place -- the place Frederick Buechner names as "where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet."

We believe the world's deep hunger is for the liberating message of God's love, compassion and justice available to ALL ... and that is the message we have come to this place to proclaim.

To incarnate.

To celebrate.

To legislate.

And then to take that message back out from this place -- to our congregations and our communities -- as we move forward into God's future.

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Here endeth the "Report from Anaheim." Let the games begin!

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