Report on Friday (day 3)

Friday morning, after all the housekeeping stuff was taken care of, we entered the Committee of the Whole conversation designed to discuss 2006's B033. Essentially, the committee presented the House with 5 options on what to do about B033. first, we could take no action, leaving B033 in place entirely. Second, we could reaffirm B033 with another resolution, though no such resolution had been submitted to convention. Third, the convention could resolve to repeal or revoke B033, though typically conventions do not revoke previous resolutions, they substitute them or affirm something contradictory to them. Fourth, the convention could decide to reaffirm the existing canons of the church, which are non-discriminatory and would effectively revoke support for B033 and end its implementation. Fifth and finally, the convention could issue a separate statement not directly addressing B033 which would instead acknowledge the fact that the convention and the church is not of one mind on this issue, but in the Anglican spirit of diverse beliefs we would all agree to disagree while acknowledging the validity and importance of the contributions of the LGBT members of the church. The latter two options would essentially present an end to B033, yet do so in a way that would hopefully appease the other members of the Anglican Communion and not strain relationships further.
During the Committee of the Whole session, 30 were chosen by lottery to speak. Each person was allotted 2 min to speak, so the whole session lasted 60 min. It wasn't a debate on legislation, it was literally a discussion, and unlike a debate it was also extremely polite and civil. Overall, out of the 30 people who spoke, eleven spoke in favor of upholding B033, and 19 spoke in favor of moving beyond it in some fashion. Most who were in favor of moving past B033 mostly spoke of reaffirming the cannons or, generally, of the last two options proposed to us by the committee. Almost no one wanted to revoke B033, and many of those who spoke in favor of upholding B033 did so not because they were against the inclusion of LGBT Christians, but rather because they were fearful of alienating the Anglican Communion further. Many also spoke of the fear of becoming a "fundamentalist left" church which ignores its moderate and conservative members.
Though I didn't get to speak, another youth deputy, Ian from Chicago, spoke, and ironically he said almost exactly the same thing that I had hoped to say.
After lunch, the legislative business of the house resumed. Ironically, the first outrageously obnoxious comments of the day occurred not during the discussion of controversial issues, but the discussion of a technology audit for the Church Center. Adding to the drama of the day, heated debate arose about the election of a bishop for the diocese of Ecuador Central. Apparently there was some difficulty with this election, and since the majority of the house was very unfamiliar with the facts and the status of the diocese as a whole (plus the obvious language barrier), the issue was postponed until more facts could be gathered for the house.
On a slightly more positive note, the Charter for Ongoing Christian Education was passed, and the house was distracted by a pigeon which got loose and was flying around the convention hall.
Friday was a seriously long day, but it was continued with what I consider to be the high point of the convention and a spiritual high point for me as well: the Integrity Eucharist.
The Integrity Eucharist nearly defies description. The liturgy was innovative, the scripture was a modern translation that I absolutely adored, the music was amazing and yet simple in its beauty, and the sermon was mind-blowing. Barbara Harris spoke, and she gave eloquent and humorous testimony to the inclusion of LGBT Christians not only in ordained office, but in civil rights and civil blessings. My favorite argument from her went something like this: "if you don't want someone to be a bishop, don't ordain them to the priesthood. If you don't want someone to be a priest, don't ordain them to the deaconate. If you don't want someone in ordained ministry, don't baptize them at all. But you can't initiate someone and then treat them like they're half-ass baptized."
It was an amazing experience. I kept the bulletin so if anyone wants to see it they're more than welcome to.