My husband John and I are both delegates from our home parish of
St. Andrew’s Episcopal
Church (Saratoga, California) to the Convention of the Diocese
of El Camino Real. This weekend was our annual meeting and the first
after the ordination of our new
Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves. There were many references to the
Year of Wonder declared by Bishop Mary during our last convention.
A
Baldachino or hanging of the word WONDER was a feature of the
stage during the entire convention.
Convention takes place over a day – from late afternoon Friday through
late afternoon Saturday. The last few years, we have met in Salinas.
Our Central Coast diocese is very long and thin – running from Palo Alto
in the north to Nipomo in the south. Salinas is more-or-less convenient
(or equally inconvenient) for most delegates. There were presentations,
dignitaries, music and dancing, much prayerful discussion, knitting by
delegates, and extensive debate over the difference between majority
and plurality voting. We passed the budget in record time as well as
passing resolutions on conservation, gang violence, the
Millennium
Development Goals, Marriage Rites in Civil Jurisdictions that Permit
Same-Sex Marriages, Consents to Episcopal Elections, and matters of
pay and governance. Full texts are on the
Diocesan Convention 2008 web page.
WONDER Baldachino
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Bishop Mary
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Mariachi Eucharist
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Anthony Guillen
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Fiero Nuevo Folklorico
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Fiero Nuevo Folklorico
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Santa Maria Urban Ministry display
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Lambeth Conference Report
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Garza Family Delegates
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Giraffe Presentation
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Bishop and Giraffe
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Holy Child Delegates
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Rev. Vincent Raj speaks
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Jennifer Ezell speaks
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John Plocher speaks
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Images Copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
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