Live... From Corpus Christi!

Well not yet, but I am leaving this morning.   Day one at conference is usually fairly uneventful.  The clergy meet in a session to vote on a number of things including election into full connection for those who will be ordained later in the week.  Our own Kit and Leslie Tomlinson need to be elected into full connection in the conference by the body of elders and deacons before they can be ordained by the Bishop on Friday evening.  We will also receive new provisional members working toward ordination and new local pastors.  We actually deal with a ton of stuff but those are the highlights.  

While the clergy meet the laity have their own gathering which orients new delegates and reviews some of the items before the conference.  (Someone can correct me if I left something out of that.  I have only been a lay delegate once and it was a while ago.)

Normally after those sessions everyone goes to dinner and comes back for worship.  But this year there is an additional piece.  We will all be gathering to have a discussion of the constitutional amendments that will be before the body to be ratified.  I am not quite sure how this is going to work.  There are 32 amendments.  It will take most of that hour just to read them.  I am not quite sure what the discussion will look like.

After that discussion is the time when many of the seminaries hold their alumni dinners.  I imagine Pastors Kit, Leslie, Ryan and Adam will be heading off to visit with their old friends from Asbury.  I have yet to make it to an Austin Seminary alumni dinner.  Maybe next year.

Wednesday evening ends with worship and important worship at that.  We begin our time together with a memorial worship service where we remember and celebrate the clergy servants who have died in the past year.

I will try to get logged on tonight and let you know how it all goes.

peace,

will