An Alternate View: Arrival Day - IT'S ALL GOOD!

SOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Now I'm REAEEEEEEEEEEELLY excited!!!! Upon arrival and our hotel rooms not being available, I was able to grab a mocha frapp and a tasty sausage/egg/cheese sandwich at the Sheraton Starbuck's and head off to the Salt Palace which is Salt Lake City's Convention Center. WOOT!

Panorama of The Salt Palace

I checked in at registration as an alternate. What super-helpful and nice, friendly registration volunteers! There must be thousand (or at least many hundreds) of volunteers for a convention this size and I can only imagine what it must take to get all the details done to get to this final stage in such a large place! THANK YOU to all the many volunteers - those seen and unseen and for all of the preparations underway for the past few years, months, and now days! (I did ask before I took this photo and they said yes :-))

Tons of volunteers. Today, some were training to help legislative committees and groups in various rooms

Next, and got my Virtual Binder iPad. This is what all active floor deputies, chairs, and first alternates have and hold and it contains an amazing intranet with a few apps to examine the Convention Blue Book and amendments and documents. I can't even begin to imagine the undertaking to get such a large convention to the "almost entirely paperless" stage!

Hmmm, it's upside down. Let's just let it stay that way...

Then, I picked up my Media credentials and headed out into the lobby where I immediately met several FABULOUS PEOPLE including the marvelous Secretariat Kory Pacinyak who I follow on Twitter and does a ton of communications.Then, I attended the first #GC78 media briefing. 

Featured speakers were: Neva Rae Fox (Public Affairs Officer), Canon Michael Barlowe (Executive Officer of the General Convention of TEC), Gay Clark Jennings (President of the House of Deputies), and our Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori.

ENS will put out information in tonight's Media Hub, but here are some very general highlights that I can mention:
- We are an international church and will hear many different languages here during GC
- We are a long way from our vision of wholeness
- Almost 900 in the House of Deputies in attendance (I hope I got that right)
- 200 plus in the House of Bishops
- Leaders from several other traditions will be here to share in the good work for the good of the whole that we are doing.
- We are coming together at a particularly tense moment in our nation's history. Deaths, Charleston (and let me insert that I cannot believe this is already a wikipedia link), and Bishops Against Gun Violence were all mentioned. The BAGV will be in a procession for peace this coming Sunday and I do intend to walk with them!
- God is calling us to work to dismantle issues of race and violence
- The PB answered someone's question about how she feels since we are about to elect her successor. She mentioned that it is an enormous undertaking and a privilege to see the church in action and a gift to see what the body decides and that it cannot be predicted in advance. Every time the church gathers, it is a new body and it's engaging new challenges while there will always be some changes that continue to get us - racial reconciliation, violence etc.
- Someone asked about alcohol at General Convention and what might be different or what might people want or expect to see in light of the recent Baltimore incident. Lots of good responses here. It was mentioned that there are always a wide range of responses regarding alcohol usage and there has been appointed a committee to examine policies about alcohol and drug abuse and how we as TEC handle it. There have been many studies, changes, and experiences in the field of addictions in the last 30 years. We want to examine what we do with regards to offering programs and help and how we might approach selection and recruitment and incidents etc.
Afterwards, I entered the exhibits and I'm saving the true run-through for tomorrow and some next week, BUT it looks ASTOUNDINGLY HUGE and I ran into six people I know so now I feel at ease. I also met several new people - I LOVE IT!!!!
Check it out: #EpiscoSwag collection has begun!

                   

Came back to the hotel, got bags, and did a couple of hours of work. This evening, there is an Episcopal Communicators reception, our deputation has dinner together at 8:00 PM and then I get to help pick up a Korean Anglican / Episcopal dignitary from the airport with a friend! :-)
I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!
~ Caroline
PS. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. THANK YOU!! for reading :-)

#GC78 - An Alternate View: 'Twas the Night Before Synod

'Twas the night before Synod and all through the house....
Was an air of excitement and actually some Strauss (Richard, not kidding)
As I laid out my jammies in my carry-on bag
I thought to myself, it's starting to sag...

Would there be room? I hoped it'd be so
For to Synod without it, I could not dare go
My GC ring binder, yes that big ole thing
It has to come with me, this new kind of bling.

So I made room and stuffed it, thank goodness it fits
And now, all checked in, on my sofa I sits.
Pondering GC, psyched for all things new
I plan on sharing An Alternate View :-) 

(and a-plenty of deplorably-written poetry)

It is indeed the evening before I head to my very first Province IV Synod meeting as I type this. I'm excited! Being from South Carolina and familiar with the North Carolina mountains and areas such as, Hendersonville, Asheville, Highlands, Cashiers, etc. it is amazing to be that I've never been to Kanuga. I decided to go up a day before the Province IV Synod meeting begins and have a look around, take some photos, and just chill out in the rainy mountain air. I'm very honored and excited to have the wonderful opportunity to be a first alternate for the Diocese of Louisiana (EDOLA) for the Episcopal General Convention 2015 ( #GC78 ) For the past three years, I've been involved at the diocesan level, representing St. Paul's Episcopal, New Orleans as a delegate for our diocesan convention. For two of those years, I've helped with the music and have been a member of the convention planning committee. I also had the great fortune to help out with photography and enjoyed tweeting the conventions. I have LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT! 
This year, we had an ordination at the opening convention Eucharist - wonderful!

Photo by Caroline Carson

Here's a link to a few of my EDOLA 2015 photos on Flickr
Here are some from EDOLA 2014

So how am I going to #GC78? Last year, at the last minute, my name was put in for an election of lay alternates to GC78. I wasn't elected, but I did get something like 16 votes, which was AMAZING. Rock on. The following day, there was some sort of run-off and I was not present, but my name ended up in the mix and I was elected to be a second alternate! This past January, a change in deputation allowed for me to move up to first alternate so I am ELATED to be able to go and work, officially! The money I had saved up last year to "go no matter what" is now being used to return to India on mission in Mungeli so I am truly TRULY blessed beyond belief in many ways!
The areas I chose to examine are Liturgy & Music and Communications. Because our diocesan communications officer is not able to go in person, she has media credentials off site and will be doing the bulk of the work from New Orleans. I am honored to help in anyway that I can, gathering "human interest" stories, tweeting, and taking tons of photographs. I'll also be blogging some of my photographs and moments from GC here.
I made sure to attend the Episcopal Communicators conference at The Claggett Center this April. It was truly fabulous and everyone I met has been both helpful and super friendly! I have a few interviews set up and will be interviewing our Bishop Morris K. Thompson while in NC at the Synod meeting! See? IT'S ALL EXCITING!!!!!!!!!!
Stay tuned...