Theme & Variation

To make plain things I alluded to in the previous post

The Diocesean Convention for the Episcopal Church in Oklahoma is this weekend. Official business began this morning, and the convention ends tomorrow afternoon. The Diocese of Oklahoma includes the whole state. You may be familiar with the controversy concerning the ordination of Gene Robinson as bishop; you may be aware of the so-called Eames Report. Unless you live in (or near) Oklahoma, you may not know that our bishop voted in support of Robinson's ordination.

Oklahoma is one of those "red states" which voted for an amendment to the state constitution which not only refused to recognize "gay marriage", it also denied the possibilitiy of any sort of "domestic partnership." So, you can imagine how controversial Bishop Moody's vote was in his home state. A number of Episcopal churches have lost members because of it.

Each year, the convention is hosted by a congregation — one year, a congregation in the southern half of the state; the next year, in the northern half. This year, the Cathedral played host.

As you may recall, I was involved in a process called "Faith Sharing", in which people shared stories of how they experienced God in their lives. This was something different than your typical conversion story, or come to Jesus tent revival. The idea was to look at significant times in your life, and discern what your experience of God was during those times. I was part of the inaugural group, who then became leaders of other groups.

These groups have been very successful. The decision was made, around June or July, to offer a sample of Faith Sharing to those attending Convention. Last night was an unofficial pre-Convention dinner, and Faith Sharing was served along with dessert.

I was among the people "responsible" for coordinating the volunteers and planning for this part of the dinner. I confess that I've been increasingly anxious as the date has approached. I've been a bit of a grump, and maybe a tad testier than normal.

And now it's over. Based on the half-dozen comments I heard last night, it was a positive experience for the conventioneers (about 171 attended dinner, and most of these participated in the Faith Sharing workshop).

It seems to me a good step towards healing the rift the ordination of Bishop Robinson opened. Also seems instructive as a way for Episcopalians can do evangelism.