Annual Conference 07

Oh, my, it is now Wednesday evening...we were home from AC by 3 or so Monday afternoon. I took a nap when I got home, got up and tried to function, then slept 8 hours, and then went back to bed and slept three more hours. I am still tired. Bishop Schnase turned around and went to the New Mexico conference where he is preaching three times this week and leading a teaching event. He's a better man than I am...Gunga Din.

Here are a couple of pictures of my wonderful district. Cana had a pretty good time. Our district lay leaders, Kevin and Linda made it just about the most enjoyable AC I have ever attended. They sat in back of us and kept up a running commentary. Plus they treat me like royalty. I kind of like it...In the pic on the left, notice the effort that the district folks are putting in to the voting process. On the right, you see my friendly folks.

Highlights of the conference for me: Seeing, at the end, the diversity of the elected delegation---diverse in theological persuasion; ethnicity; experienced/non-experienced. I am proud of us. For about an hour and a half, I imagined I might want to run for jurisdictional---at one point I had 23 votes (my high, which was reached before I started asking folks to vote for me)---and then my better sense took hold of me. I will go anyway to observe and to support rs, and I may have a book (or at least, if that doesn't pan out, I want to write a series of articles) to write. I have teenagers to mother. I have a district to superintendent. I have a blog to write. I have enough charges to keep, so to speak, already. And I really do not want to drive to Columbia to any more meetings than I have to. Really.

This feeling is a change for me over the last three elections or so. The last two times, I have gone to jurisdictional as a reserve. It was fun. I campaigned for votes (although I NEVER have attended a caucus meeting of any type, and I never intend to). I felt affirmed. This year, I just didn't feel as if I wanted to put forth the effort to work at going. Where I want to put the effort is in working on the emergent conversation stuff. I want to read, not attend meetings of delegations. I want to write, not read pages of bios of those who are running for bishop. From time to time this year, I even felt myself critiquing what we were doing (around our standing rules revisions, for instance) thinking to myself what a great modern construct this UMC denomination is. Can we adapt to the way the world is now??? Do most folks even see that we need to? What's a d.s. to do? Boy, oh, boy.

And, by the way, I have a WONDERFUL district.

Another highlight: seeing three generations of Bryans participating in ordination.

Still another highlight: Teaching a bit on how to help churches get involved with their public schools, but most especially hearing again, in more detail this time, about the Baby Grace program from Buckner. Way to go!!!

Our bishop was great, too, as a presider. Even took off his suit and wore a sports shirt during our evening business session Sunday night. Way to go!!! A good spirit prevailed, I believe, through the conference.