Yesterday was a long day. The plenary session ended at 9:30 p.m. Pr. Don King and I walked back to the Hyatt. We then went to the Goodsoil wine and cheese reception and evening worship service. It was standing room only! This morning I can tell you more about the pastors coming out. A press conference was held at 7:00 a.m. where 82 Lutheran pastors…
Churchwide – Monday P.M.
A full day for sure! I still have the 1st plenary session and the Goodsoil Reception tonight. I attended the new voting member orientation. It was very informative. I am meeting our delegation. It is a nice group. It seems pretty affirming; at least I must attract them. Well, my rainbow RIC pin probably helps. Opening worship was very good and uplifting. Bishop Hanson had…
Churchwide – Monday A.M.
This morning a group of LC Regional Coordinators went to breakfast off Michigan Avenue. While chatting, several people approached us seeing some of our LC/RIC lapel pins and shirts. We discovered several allies. It was nice to see. After breakfast we met in Goodsoil Central at the Hyatt, our work and welcoming space for allies. The photos are of rainbow scarves that churches across the…
LC/NA Day 1 Summary
I will try to post these email updades I will receive from Lutherans Concerned this week. Here’s the first installment… Here we are at the beginning of the 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Chicago. Temperature in the mid-80s. They called it Mostly Cloudy. Some of the day was downright wet, and not because of the 68% humidity. It rained, sparking conversations about how dry it…
Pastors Come Out… Maybe
A friend emailed me a link to a story in the Austin American Statesmen. The story told of a press conference at Churchwide Assembly where more than 80 Lutheran ministers will go public with their homosexual identity and come out to the church about their gay relationships. Wow! I haven’t been able to confirm this, but it will be quite an event. Maybe it’s the…
Sunday Morning in Chicago
It was a rainy morning and I woke early. I went for a morning walk in the light rain at about 8:00 a.m. and got back to the hotel around Noon. I did a lot of exploring. I walked Millennium Park, the bean, photo fountains and the theater district. I found a huge art show, the Gold Coast Art Fair, which went for blocks near…
Welcome to Chicago
I arrived in Chicago around Noon today. Our friends Al Keith came downtown to spend the day with me. We had a great day. I had seen the Weber Grill restaurant on the Food Network. Our friend Mike had mentioned it last week. We decided to give it a try. It was delicious and a short walk from the hotel. I had the citrus chicken….
All teched up for Chicago
Chicago and the ELCA Churchwide Assembly is less than a week away. for those of you who are not Lutheran, you can read this month’s President’s Corner in the St. Mark newsletter. I decided to give an overview of what it means to be a voting member. I’ll be going with a lot of new technology. I have anew laptop and cell phone. I bought…