One Perspective The Reverend Marti Dalby
I suppose everyone who has not been to General Convention wonders what it would be like to attend. When I was elected to be the United Thank Offering Delegate for Arkansas, I was elated. Not only would I get to see what went on at our national convention, but I would get to visit with Episcopalians from around the world. Also, GC 2006 certainly had the makings of an historical event. No one was quite sure what the outcome would be with the election of a new presiding bishop and the responses to the Windsor Report.
But with all the impending excitement, I found out that the issues that had everyone sitting on the edge of their chairs were not the ones that got my attention, because I was seeing our national church for the first time. I was seeing the Church at work in the world. It was an experience in how many different ways we live out the mission of the Church.
The great exhibition hall, with over one hundred kiosks, was the setting for many of our ongoing projects locally, nationally, and globally. I learned about the Millennium Development Goals that were set forth by the United Nations and now adopted by our General Convention as goals that we as the Episcopal Church in the United States will strive to attain. These goals include eradicating world poverty, extreme hunger, and serious illness. They also include equal rights for all people and empowerment of women, assistance in global development, better maternal care, achieving universal primary care, and reducing child mortality.
Episcopal Relief and Development provides relief from emergencies around the world. Many other outreach programs across the United States and beyond were represented at the General Convention, as well.
As a delegate for Triennial, I certainly have a new viewpoint of our Episcopal Church Women. The National Board is responsible for such mission efforts as United Thank Offering (UTO) and Church Periodic Club (CPC). We are not just groups of women who host events at our local churches. UTO funds three million dollars in grants to new mission efforts every three years. Their goal is to triple grant monies available.
If I were to report everything that we do as the Church that I encountered while in Columbus, it would take several pages. This just skims the surface. The fact is the Episcopal Church in the United States is alive and well because we are doing what Jesus asks us to do. We are caring for those in need and we are supporting the mission of the Church on a day-to-day basis.
One final note – every day started with Holy Eucharist. Both General Convention and Triennial attended with lay persons, bishops, priests, and deacons all gathering at the same tables for worship. We prayed, sang, and listened as several languages and variations of music were incorporated into each service. It was incredible to witness the depth of our Church as represented by the diversity of the people who were there.
I continue to thank God for all the blessings of this life, but especially our wonderful church.