Some thoughts about Portland that I never got around to writing about… Portland reminds me of Austin, Texas or Denver, Colorado.  It’s a city that feels young, lots of millennials out on their bikes or walking, dining at some of the non-snootiest places I’ve seen and generally being happy. VooDoo Doughnuts really are that good […]

Some thoughts on General Conference that I never got around to writing about… The diversity was amazing.  We had delegates from six continents (Antarctica was not represented) and we had seven official languages.  Live proceedings were translated into these five languages and we all had headphones like in the U.N.  At one point Bishop Streiff decided […]

I gave myself five days before writing this post as an intentional time of reflection.  As I sat in the Portland Airport (the picture above is me waiting for my plane) I was exhausted, demoralized and skeptical.  After a rigorous schedule of naps, I am no longer exhausted.  I remain, to some extent, demoralized and […]

Wednesday morning before we were to consider the Bishops’ proposal of a way forward we did something different.  We prayed together.  No, praying together wasn’t that unusual, in last ten days we prayed more than an unprepared college student taking an Organic Chemistry final. We were asked to pray with folks we don’t usually talk […]

Each morning and most evenings I walk the mile and a half or so from my hotel to the Portland Convention Center.  I zig zag through downtown streets, go along the East Esplanade, an old industrial dock along the Willamette River.  Then I take the Steel Bridge across river then up the ramps and stairs […]

Kay Panovec and Rev. Gary Henderson pray during a plenary session.  Photo Credit:  Rick Wolcott, East Ohio Annual Conference.   At the request of the General Conference, the Council of Bishops came back this morning with a proposal for a path forward.  They proposed that:  Form a special commission to conduct a complete examination and […]

Photo Credit: Sue Zakovec, East Ohio Annual Conference In yesterday’s post I lamented the protests I had seen the day before.  They were, I wrote, unnecessary because General Conference bends over backward to make sure everyone has a chance to have their voice heard. In a world of social media I had enough “likes” and […]

Photo by: Rick Wolcott, East Ohio Annual Conference General Conference has become known for many things:  incredible worship, a diverse audience, the chance to rub elbows with United Methodist thinkers and authors with names like Schnase, Hamilton and Slaughter. And in recent years, protests have been added to this list of things to be expected. […]

As I went to bed Saturday night I knew I needed to worship Sunday morning.  But I also knew that five days of more than 1,000 United Methodists was at least enough, so Google and I discussed my options.  I found a promising Presbyterian Church half a mile from my hotel. As I got to […]

I had dinner last night with some other members of the East Ohio delegation after we all had a busy and at times frantic day in committees trying to get through our legislation.  They had heard the news about the Trust Clause but they all wanted to know the answer to the same question:  what […]