Deputy Diary: Doing More in Memory of the Emanuel 9

Andrea McKellar:

My water cup. "Be the change in the world you want to see"

It is 4:30 in the morning here in Salt Lake City. No rest for the weary. Most days so far have been get up at 5 am, go steadily to meetings til 9 pm, regroup and fall into bed. The stereotype that people have of General Convention being a big cocktail party is not true or I am hanging out with the wrong people. The benefit of being younger is that I am bouncing back well so far but I will check back in in a few days.

Today will be a special day for me and our deputation. With the assistance of The Rev. Wil Keith from Pawley's Island and The Rev. Nurya Love Parish from Grand Rapids, Michigan, we submitted two resolutions.

One (D039) is to send a deputation from The Episcopal Church to an ecumenical gathering that the African Methodist Episcopal Church is sponsoring in September to discuss race in our country. It is so important for us to partner with our brothers and sisters in Christ to have this conversation.

The second (D040) is to create a Youth curricula in Anti-Racism. This resolution will receive testimony at 2:15 pm today at the committee on which I serve. I believe these materials are necessary because our youth are hungering to talk about these topics but many youth leaders and clergy to not have the resources to start the conversation. In the last 9 months in our country, countless acts of violence have been seen and people are waking up to the fact that racism still exists in our country and it is all of our jobs to name it and fix it. 

The 2015 Official Youth Presence with Bishop Katharine

At General Convention, there is a group called the Offical Youth Presence, made up of 18 youth aged 16 to 19 from each of the 9 provinces of The Episcopal Church. It is a diverse group of exceptional individuals that make our time together more fruitful and meaningful. I have asked them to speak to this resolution if they are so moved and I wait to see what the Holy Spirit will do!

I had planned on being quiet this General Convention. To observe the proceedings, being my first, and come back with knowledge on how to make a difference in future years. But at the Prayer Vigil I attended the day after the Mother Emanuel AME Church shootings, the AME bishops told us to pray, and mourn and grieve but then to get off our knees and go into our communities, break the silence, and work to make a difference in the world. General Convention is my chance to do that and I hope my voice will be loud enough for them to hear back in Charleston.