Dear friends in Christ,

If you follow news of the Episcopal Church, you will know that leaders from across the church gathered recently in Louisville, KY for our triennial General Convention. Just about 1,000 lay leaders, deacons, priests, and bishops from 16+ nations spent a little over a week deliberating matters important for our common life as Episcopalians.

We also worshiped together and enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting new ones in fellowship time. There was much joy.

For the first time, I was dreading General Convention before I went. I was worried that the bitter and angry discourse of our wider cultures would permeate our conversations. But I am pleased and inspired to report that, though at times we sharply disagreed on important things, all the conversations I heard met the standard to which we hold ourselves, to “respect the dignity of every human being.”

Perhaps this is because we spent plenty of time in prayer. It turns out that when we open ourselves to God’s presence, the Holy Spirit really does lead us. It’s a good lesson to ponder.

The President of the House of Deputies, Julia Ayala Harris, asked me if I would take photos for the House of Deputies, since I was sitting there with my camera anyway. I was glad to play my small part in the process, and you can have a look at some photos of General Convention (mostly the House of Deputies) on my flickr album.

Some of my Forward Movement colleagues came to staff our booth in the exhibit hall, and I know they had some wonderful time with lots of folks. We always learn so much when we listen to one another.

But the thing that excited me the most about this convention is our willingness to embrace our calling in a challenging time. We’ve chosen a new Presiding Bishop who has said he will lead our church to realign its resources for the mission God has given us in this time and place, not for an age that no longer exists. We chose new ways of doing things at several points.

It won’t be easy. But the Gospel is never about making our lives easy. Just when we need him, Jesus always shows up. And if we can have the strength and courage to embrace our calling, we can offer our Lord’s saving message of mercy and grace to the whole world.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

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Dear friends in Christ,

I write this from Louisville, KY, where I am serving as a deputy to the 81st General Convention of the Episcopal Church. About 1,000 bishops and deputies gather every three years to worship together, enjoy fellowship with one another, and deliberate on matters that affect our common life as a church.

Sometimes it looks messy. Debate gets heated. Mistakes are made. Coffee queues are lengthy. Results may go differently than we hoped.

But, despite all these things, the Holy Spirit shows up.

My hope always is that when any group gathers to make decisions, we pray for guidance and listen attentively for the still, small voice of God. It’s never easy, but sometimes— despite ourselves—it happens.

At our service of Holy Eucharist this morning, the Rev’d Yejide Peters-Pietersen preached a brilliant sermon about how we can trust God to be present. Yejide is Associate Dean and Director of Formation at Berkeley Divinity School, and she’s a former Forward Movement board member. She reminded us all that the world does not depend on our striving but on God’s providence and action.

Please pray for the General Convention and our work. Pray today, especially, for the bishops who are voting to select our next Presiding Bishop as I write this. Pray for the laypeople and clergy in the House of Deputies who will discern whether to confirm the the bishops’ vote.

The Spirit does amazing things when we make room, whether at the local, diocesan, or churchwide levels. And this is true for our daily lives, too. Come, Holy Spirit, come.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

P.S. I’m posting some photos from the floor of the House of Deputies throughout the convention. Have a look if you want to see what our governance looks like.

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Dear friends in Christ,

As I write this, I am on a plane on my way home from the 80th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, where I was honored to serve in the House of Deputies. Normally, I would have spent some time in a Forward Movement booth in the exhibit hall, too, but the convention was downsized and shortened this year due to the pandemic.

I’m still mulling over the results of convention. We acted on over 400 resolutions. If you’re curious what all happened, you can read a quick summary of the convention over on the Episcopal News Service. And I was one of the photographers for Deputy News, and I posted some snaps on my Flickr album.

A couple of quick thoughts come to mind. I wish we spent more time and energy considering how our church can more fully carry out the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations. We need to do this not because our churches are in decline, but because the Good News of Jesus Christ can transform lives and change the world.

There was plenty of Good News at the convention, however. I always marvel at our democratic process for making decisions as a church. Lay people are essential—and involved—at all levels of church governance, along with bishops, priests, and deacons. In our deliberations, there was careful listening even when we disagreed.

It was a joy to be together, even for a brief time, with people who are united in their passion to make our church better. Our vision of what “better” looks like might differ, but each person is there because they love the church and the Lord Jesus.

Sometimes people say General Convention is disconnected from the lives of our congregations. If you only look at the content of some of the resolutions, that might seem true. But General Convention manifests something essential about our identity as Episcopalians: we believe that the Holy Spirit still works in the church, and we believe that lay people, bishops, priests, and deacons together discern where the Spirit is calling us to go. That charism is true at the churchwide level, at the diocesan level, and in our congregations.

Let us give thanks for the Spirit’s work. And let us pray for the grace and courage to be even more open to the winds of the Spirit and the winds of change.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

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Dear friends in Christ,

Tomorrow I leave for the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. Originally scheduled for the summer of 2021, the pandemic has forced us first to postpone and now to shorten and simplify the convention. Instead of the usual two-week gathering of voting deputies, bishops, exhibitors, youth, young adults, Episcopal Church Women, and visitors, we are limited to four days of just those who will be deliberating on legislation for our church.

The General Convention is a sometimes unwieldy but truly lovely part of our church. It’s not hard to criticize its excess, but it’s also important to recognize what it shows us about our church. At this gathering, lay people, bishops, priests, and deacons all work together to deliberate. Our church involves lay people at all levels of governance. The gathering will be live streamed for all to watch, and you will witness the careful procedure that is followed to protect the democratic nature of the work.

You can follow along online at the General Convention media hub, and if you’re bored, you can read some of the 412 resolutions that will be considered. But more than that, I hope you will pray for this gathering. Deputies and bishops will be voting on resolutions concerning racial healing and justice, our liturgies, discipleship and evangelism, and many other matters. Pray that we have the courage to follow the Spirit’s will in all things. Pray that we know God’s grace in our lives and in our beloved church.

And those of us who are gathered will need grace of other kinds, too. The necessary precautions to keep us safe during the pandemic are sensible, but they will be challenging. Many of our usual patterns have been upended, as we all have to learn new ways of doing things. Some of what is planned will doubtless unfold in ways that were not planned. We’ll need grace to forgive, to laugh, to apologize, and to be open to new ways.

Isn’t that like the whole church though? General Convention is, in many ways, a microcosm for all our churches, big and small. So much has been disrupted by two years of the pandemic. We grieve those who have died and all the things we have lost. And yet there is also a blessing in disruption. We are necessarily focused on what is most important. We are knocked out of our complacency. We are forced to consider how the church of 2022 can bear the Good News of Jesus Christ in a world that desperately needs to know God’s grace and mercy.

Pray for those who gather in Baltimore.

Almighty and everliving God, source of all wisdom and understanding, be present with those who take counsel in the General Convention for the renewal and mission of your Church. Teach us in all things to seek first your honor and glory. Guide us to perceive what is right, and grant us both the courage to pursue it and the grace to accomplish it; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

If you’re going to be there, please say hello. You can find me during legislative sessions in the House of Deputies or outside when the convention is on break.

Yours faithfully,

P.S. Forward Movement doesn’t have a booth in the exhibit hall this time, but we’re still offering a discount for General Convention shopping. You can use code GC2022 on our website or for phone orders to save 10% throughout the month of July.

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