I am not a financial savant, but I wonder what a budget that stripped out or reduced the new spending the presiding bishop has proposed and put that money toward reducing the asking in this triennium would look like.
Still, it all seemed unnaturally quiet, unnaturally empty. The tall, wide halls seemed almost empty. The Exhibit Hall lacked, well, some hubbub. Tomorrow it will be noisy and busy and will verge at times on chaos; but today it has been peaceful and calm.
Among the highlights of the day are a “Gi-Normous Musical Chairs Contest” in stadium seats at 1:15 p.m. and an attempt to set a Guinness record for most people dancing Samba (in honor of the church’s Brazilian guests) at 1:30 p.m.
Episcopal News Service is offering a
A Facebook group has been formed to encourage prayer for General Convention starting this week.
A dozen bishops, led by the Rt. Rev. Thomas Ely of Vermont, have filed a resolution calling on the Program, Budget and Finance Committee to submit a budget to the General Convention that reduces to 15 percent the percentage of diocesan revenue to be committed to the budget of the wider church in 2016-18. I had previously reported that the bishops wanted the asking cut to 15 percent for the 2013-2015 triennium as well. This is incorrect.
I am not too good for General Convention. I don’t believe that the whole thing is such a mess that I have to stand at an ironic distance and make comments that demonstrate my superior intellect and my more refined sensibility—tempting as those activities may be.
I don’t entirely know what to expect at this convention, but I suspect that people may arrive in a state of some agitation and find that there is little immediate legislative reason to be so stirred up.
One week from today I will be heading to Indianapolis for the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, July 4-12. I will be blogging and live blogging here at the Cafe, and tweeting and live tweeting both under my own name @JimNaught and as @episcopalcafe. We will also have material appearing with more frequency than usual on our Facebook page.