General Convention Day 5

Sunday is a slow day at GC.  We got to sleep in!  First event is the United Thank Offering in gathering for the whole church which is always impressive.  The service was very good with some Taize chant added in so it was better.  After that it was a free event at the ballpark.  Everything was free, food, games, various kinds of "stuff".  You could make a donation or several donations and all the money went to three dioceses - Haiti, one in Brazil and one in Africa.  It was actually a lot of fun.

Still had a good walking day - 15,672 steps so just over 7.5 miles.  I'm happy to report that my feet and legs are holding up well.

The weather remains hot but it's dropped down into the high 80s more often so that makes it a bit more bearable.

After the fun outside it was back inside for a single legislative session.  So an easy day as far as the work goes.  Afterwards various dioceses and provinces had evening parties.  I went with the Province II youth to the provincial dinner.  Introduced them to various folks until they were tired out (took about an hour) and then we went home.

I was so tired I was sent to bed.  I complied.

One of the things that folks don't realize about GC is that it is both long and hard.  The days start at 7 AM with committee meetings many days and can go until 10 PM.  For a couple days that's fine but for 9 days in a row it's just brutal.  There is a real need to pace yourself but even then by Monday or Tuesday people really begin to drag.  If you're not careful you can even get sick.  We've had a variety of folks have exactly that problem at the convention so far.  For the Deputies if they really start to drag they can have an alternate take their place on the floor.  The GCOYP don't have alternates so we adults try to keep our eyes and ears open for when they need a break.  The young people are pretty good about admitting when they need to stand down.

By the way the performance not only of GCOYP but of the young adult deputies this year has been tremendous.  Articulate, prepared and confident they are taking their place as leaders early.  And that is great news.