ISSUES
2009

THURSDAY JULY 16

Who welcomes the Episcopalians?

The Episcopal Church Welcomes You, we proclaim. But who welcomes us? Since 1973 the answer to that question has been Artie Meyer. The grandson of Jos. T. Griffin, Artie took over the family business and later sold it to George Fern Co. But he has been the force behind the welcome we have known in the Exhibit Halls of General Convention for almost forty years! This is his last General Convention, as he prepares to retire and turn his attention fully to his other loves.

A member of the board and chief fundraiser for The Healing Place in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, Artie will continue to work with this model program that provides housing and recovery for homeless addicts, at the moment 300 men and 200 women. A new village for women and their children is rising on a plot of land to serve more people with housing and food and clothing; and recovery programs based on the Twelve Steps of AA.

And for a special annual event, Artie manages the Patriot Game, a basketball game between Louisville police and firefighters, that happens close to 9/11 each year to raise some money and give inner city kids a chance to see these public servants as people and heroes, not the 'pigs' they might learn of from the streets.

Did I mention his farm, where he grows vegetables to feed the hungry and wildlife to delight the eye? The two are kept apart by a high electric fence, so all thrive! Oh, and there is always dry panning for gold in Arizona, when life gets old in Kentucky.

Artie has been our welcomer for many years, and we wish him Godspeed in the next phase of his life!

Mike Shirley, ISSUES

Why “UBUNTU in New Orleans”?

You may have noticed a plethora of purple “I Found Ubuntu in New Orleans” buttons on Monday. I hope you received one, and I hope that you’re still sporting it today.

Why? As a church, we should celebrate what a spirit of Ubuntu has accomplished along the Gulf Coast, and can accomplish elsewhere. In Louisiana, the 10,000 volunteers coordinated first through our Office of Disaster Response and now through our new Episcopal Community Services (ECS) have gutted 900 flooded houses, and so far have rebuilt 55. As I write, volunteers are hard at work on houses 56, 57, and 58. Our case managers have helped 2,500 families put the pieces of their lives back together. This means that your church has directly aided almost 3,500 families in their journey home, in addition to the 23 new homes constructed for affordable sale by our sister organization, Jericho Road. Meanwhile, congregational ministries have provided food, health care, and counseling to tens of thousands more.

A spirit of Ubuntu, though, does not stop at the individual level. Citizen organizing and advocacy efforts led by ECS have unlocked millions of dollars in resources for struggling storm survivors, and built bridges among disparate communities throughout South Louisiana. As urban and rural, black and white, Cajun and Native American leaders find common cause together, Ubuntu begins to come alive!

It is stunning to witness the sustained commitment of volunteers from around the country to return again and again to continue rebuilding the Gulf Coast, and I believe that most keep coming because they have experienced the “I in you and you in I” in their encounter with the lives of those whom they are serving. Countless volunteers have recounted the ways in which they have been touched and transformed as they discover commonalities and a sense of shared fate with those they have come to help.

Bolstered by this visceral experience of solidarity, and compelled by their encounter with suffering, many of these volunteers have gone on—in a spirit of Ubuntu—to seed new ministries touching the lives of people near and far. Some have returned home with fresh vigor to seek and respond to poverty, racism, and exclusion in their midst. Others have renewed their commitment to addressing global poverty. Many of the young persons who have served in our ministries—almost 60 interns in the past 18 months alone—have gone on to pursue life paths that will allow them to keep serving and keep giving. A spirit of Ubuntu changes lives.

Meanwhile, we on the Gulf Coast have gratefully accepted the gift of Ubuntu, and are embarking on our own journey to live into its promise. Our new ECS is charged with serving the poor, speaking for justice, and building what Dr. King would call “The Beloved Community” throughout our Diocese, our region, and indeed our church. Come and discover Ubuntu with us!

Nell Bolton, Executive Director,
Episcopal Community Services of Louisiana

Consultation exhibits shut down early Tuesday as exhibitors joined hundred of other conventioneers for a prayer vigil sponsored by ENEJ, CLUE Anaheim, and local labor and church organizations. The crowd of Episcopalians were then joined by over 1,000 area hotel workers. At least 12 bishops then joined labor leaders to march to the main entrance of Disneyland to protest cutbacks in health benefits for Disneyland hotel workers. Union, CLUE, and ENEJ spokespersons were joined at the speakers dais by Bishops Jon Bruno (LA), Sergio Carranza (Mexico), Barbara Harris, Gene Robinson (NH), Greg Rickel (Olympia), Wilfrido Orench-Ramos (Ecuador), Mark Beckwith (Newark) and others. The Rev. Henry Atkins of ENEJ helped organize the coalition that put the prayer vigil together. Dianne Aid, ENEJ president, addressed the crowd in both English and Spanish. “I am proud of the Episcopal Church,” she said. “I am proud of the bravery of the workers. The Church is standing in solidarity with the workers. We are finding here the God who expects his people to do justice.” Bishop Gene Robinson said, “We all deserve a fair wage and benefits. We all deserve health care.” If current Disney proposals are accepted workers would lose over $500 per month.

Mike Maloney, ENEJ

Jesus Rocks—U2charist with Pavel Sfera, Thursday, July 16, 7:30 pm
Hilton Anaheim – Pacific Ballrooms C & D
Offering to benefit E4GR and ERD

Taking Something Home?

This morning is the last chance to shop; the Exhibit Hall closes at Noon. Many of the vendors in the Exhibit Hall are selling fair trade items and or items made by communities throughout the world. Money from sales in part goes back into the community. Consider checking out the following vendors:

Booth 825 China Ethnic Craft handmade items by the Miao ethnic minority in China.
Booth 809 Far East Handicraft – handmade items from Nepal and Vietnam associated with the Stephen Novak Foundation.
Booth 701 Betty Wood Enterprises – Handcrafted jewlery and other items from Guatamala and Mexico.
Booth 718 Diocese of Chicago Episcopal Church Women –Handmade items by the indigenous Kuna of Panama.
Booth 557 Bethlehem Christian Families – Hand carved olive wood
The Episcopal Bookstore – Bishop’s Blend Fair Trade Coffee and Teas.
Booth 522 Diocese of Arizona Peace and Justice Commission “Just Coffee”
Booth 415 L’ Eglise Episcopal D’Haiti Children’s Medical Mission Handcrafted items.
Booth 357 American Friends of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan – Handcrafted items.
Booth 214 Handmade shawls and jewelry from Jerusalem.

Booth 200 Friends of Sabeel, North America
Booth 233 Maendelo – Handmade African baskets and clothing.
A good way to support a variety of communities –

Dianne Aid, TSSF, ENEJ

Racism is still with us

Many in the United States are quick to say, “We have an African American president; there is no more racism, and there is no more racial tension.” As most readers of Issues know, however, this is simply not true. There are innumerable ways that systemic racism affects people of color, not simply African Americans. Before this convention are resolutions that call for extending other resolutions which ask dioceses, parishes, and the national church to examine their roles in slavery and the lasting impact that has had on their communities and broader society.

At the 75th General Convention in 2006 descendants of the United State's largest slave trading family presented a rough cut of the documentary Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North. At this General Convention they screened the full film twice and a follow-up short film, “Repairing the Breach” about the work The Episcopal Church has done during the last triennium. After each screening this year, the audience was invited to participate in dialogue about how their reactions to the film.

After Traces of the Trade the audience was invited to share one word that they were feeling. After as many wanted to share had shared, participants were invited to the microphone to explain why they chose the word they chose. Finally, participants were asked about what they could do in their parish, community, diocese, state, etc. to raise awareness about the role slavery played and its lasting impacts today.

Despite the resolutions that passed last General Convention calling for intentional exploration of this issue by dioceses, only about 13 dioceses have engaged in following through with these resolutions. As these resolutions come to the floor to be renewed, please consider ways that you can work to have them truly implemented in your diocese.

Joseph Mathews is a member of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship's Young Adult Presence

Friends don't let friends miss ISSUES

ISSUES and other publications than the Convention Daily are restricted by Convention and City of Anaheim policy to be distributed in front of the main Convention Center entrance, on a table near that entrance, and in the Red Lion, our Hotel. Look for ISSUES in our hotel lobby, on the Convention Center literature table, on line at www.theconsultation.org or the blog, ISSUES-TheConsultation.blogspot.com or at The Consultation area in the exhibition hall. Or ask a friend.

The Moral Challenge of Our Time: Let's Stay Home

A couple weeks ago I heard Bill McKibben speak about climate change. Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the associated impacts of climate change is one of the greatest moral challenges of our time. Those impacts connect us to everyone -- farmers in Bangladesh; fishers in Tuvalu and Kiribati; species edging toward extinction; rainfall patterns; food security; those residing in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward.

General Convention’s Greenhouse Emissions Prior to Convention I spoke with Owen Glubiak. Owen works at NativeEnergy. General Convention staffer Lori Ionnitiu worked with NativeEnergy to offset some of the GHG emissions connected with General Convention (GC).

Owen/NativeEnergy based their measurements of the GHG emitted at GC on the following:
the energy used at the convention center itself (425,000 ft.²)
the energy used from hotel "accommodation stays" (equal to 21,200 room nights over the course of the GC) 
the waste generated while at GC (GHG emissions related to waste are based on the emissions, especially methane, released as the waste breaks down in a landfill)

Based on NativeEnergy’s carbon calculator tool, we will emit 259 tons of emissions and use approximately 1,035,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity. The Episcopal Church is offsetting GC emissions by purchasing emission reductions from the Greensburg Wind Farm project and the Hillcrest Family Dairy Farm Methane project. Our purchase helps provide essential funding for these new projects. In addition, all the electricity that will be consumed at the convention center and accommodation stays is powered by wind energy through renewable energy credits.

This estimate of carbon emissions does not include travel associated with getting to convention. (NativeEnergy was not asked to include travel in their calculations.) But Owen did some quick calculations: assuming some drive and some fly, some short hauls, some long hauls. He determined we would emit 2,811 tons traveling

That is more than 10 times the emissions generated from the convention center itself, our hotel stays, and the waste stream! This is a striking and helpful number as it makes abundantly clear how impactful travel, especially air travel, is.

These days cutting down on travel makes a lot of sense when considering our financial situation and the toll travel takes on staff and members of CCABs. But reducing travel, even when the financial situation improves, will be a necessity if we are going to meet, as a church and as a society, the carbon emission reduction goals required of us if we are to slow down climate change's momentum.

PS: If you would like, you can offset your individual travel emissions at www.nativeenergy.com. 

PPS: It is crucial to note that the numbers above are based on 3,000 people, the approximate number of those attending the entire convention. So, those who attend for only a portion of convention are not counted.

Michael Schut, for ENEJ
Economic and Environmental Affairs Officer
The Episcopal Church

An End to Appeasement

Last night I had dinner with friend who is just ‘coming out’ and we talked about the reactions of those she has so far told that she is lesbian, and her fears of how most of her family will act. For many LGBT people ‘coming out’ is an act of courage as there are few families who relish the news that a beloved son or daughter is called to a different and often socially unacceptable path. It is not unusual for LGBT people to choose to ‘pass’ as straight – to appease their conventional family and friends by laughing at gay jokes and nodding to homophobic references. Even when the family knows, there is often a period when the LGBT family member doesn’t bring their friends home, carefully talks about neutral things, tries not to upset the applecart any further and even tries extra hard to remember birthdays and to be helpful at family events. A period of appeasement.

Finally the LGBT person says enough is enough, if they can’t accept me as I am I’ll get on with my life and hopefully they’ll get over it. Often after a period of adjustment the family regroups including the LGBT member. Sometimes it doesn’t.

In 1997 there was a move by conservative Primates, led by the then Archbishop of the Southern Cone, to exclude the Episcopal Church from the Lambeth Conference. Why? Because for over a decade our conservative wing had been trying to persuade the church to formally exclude LGBT members. When in 1996 an Ecclesiastical Trial Court declared that there was no ‘core doctrine’ which prevented the ordination of LGBT Episcopalians they took their case to the global south bishops. So for twenty-two years the Episcopal Church has been ‘coming out’ in the Anglican Communion.

Finally, in the passing of D025, we have ended the period of appeasement. Of course we have concerns about how it will be received. But we are no longer looking over our shoulder, moving furtively around, trying to appease the family. Will the Anglican Communion regroup and include the Episcopal Church? I believe so.

Let us not forget that the Episcopal Church existed for almost one hundred years before the first Lambeth Conference, long before the Anglican Communion began to come into existence. Our existence and our flourishing depends on the dancing triune God, not on Canterbury.

Caro Hall, Integrity

Gentle hints may not be enough!

ISSUES and The Consultation are at Convention to share in the fellowship, to greet old and new friends, and to help the Legislative Houses in their deliberations. None of our constituent groups have deep pockets; they are all dependent on the kindness of friends. ISSUES, particularly, is intended to help our friends see the work of Convention in a different way, and to perhaps shine light on an overlooked aspect of the discussions. There is no angel funding ISSUES, life would be easier if there were. So, we need your contribution, large or small. (Large is preferred, but we don't discriminate by size, either.)

Please drop by The Consultation booth in the Exhibit Hall and tell us what you think; at the same time you can make a contribution; Envelopes are available there. YOUR help will make a difference.

The Editors