It's 7.30am and I am just getting the last things packed before I jump on the BART from Oakland as I head down to San Jose. I went to bed last night feeling very unprepared for my first experience at General Assembly. I fear there may be YADs (Youth Advisory Delegates) who know more about the issues, the Overtures and everything else that will be happening, than I do.
I've just spent a little bit of time on PC-biz - which is where you can keep track of all of the business that is happening at GA. I just went through and tagged a bunch of the Overtures that I'm interested in following, so that should be a useful resource.
While I'm still feeling unprepared (yet, how could one ever feel fully prepared for an event like this?), I do have hopes for GA.
- I hope I see many friends and make new ones - realizing that this is, in many ways, an extremely large family reunion.
- I hope I am able to experience the Spirit at work, amidst all of the business procedures, issues, dockets and debate that will occur.
- I hope I do not leave GA too cynical about the bureaucracy that exists in the PC(USA).
- I hope to leave with a better sense of the polity of the PC(USA), and how polity really does affect the church.
It's time for me to keep packing, and get ready to leave. But I'm wondering, what are your hopes for the 218th General Assembly?
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My Hopes and Prayers for GA 2008
Despite my objection to the Church being involved in politics, the overtures are laughably bad, both factually and policy-wise. I sincerely hope people will think and pray about these overtures before making them the official policy of the church.
Here's hoping
Here's my hope: that the overall mood of GA is a positive one. Each assembly ends up having its own mood, it's own feel, it's own personality. My hope is that the mood that describes the assembly is one of discernment, openness, and optimism.
http://adamjcopeland.com
PS If you see Brant Copeland, that's my pops.
I would not like to see GA get bogged down over one or two issues. Some things just grind slowly, and like the hull speed of a ship, more horsepower doesn't necessarily mean more speed. I would like to see both the desires, as well as the reasons behind the desires. Like Henry Clay, who was opposed to slavery, but for a different reason than the abolitionists. Perhaps some of the Presbyterian church can be Whig? and not all Republican? Politics is the art of compromise; can the speed of an issue be sacrificed and not the strength of relationshiips.
General Assembly means that the smallest MBTI groups - like the ENTJ's - can find each other, achieve critical mass, and go forward in new-found relationships. Similarly the Positive Deviants - http://www.fastcompany.com/mag...ernin.html can connect.
It's a chance for fouindations to form.