Reflections from Synod Day 2: Andrea McKellar

As many of you know, Kanuga is a special place. It is away from the hustle and bustle of my daily life with two young children. It is away from cell phone rings (because service is not great here). It is a place to feel closer to God.


Andrea, Holly, and Amanda at the top of Eagle Rock!

Holly Behre, Amanda Keith, and I chose to wake up early and take a “moderate” hike to Eagle Rock. It is 3 miles round trip. There were times that my Lowcountry legs, used to flat terrain, did not feel so “moderate”. After trekking through beautiful forest, we made it to the top in 30 minutes to a beautiful vista covered in morning fog that made it feel like we had reached the end of the earth. It was awe-inspiring and spiritual and the perfect way to put us in the right state of mind for a day of meetings on governance and structure.

Today we were given introductions to General Convention by the Presiding Bishop, President of the House of Deputies and the Executive Officer of General Convention. We learned about the virtual binder that the Blue Book will be on for the first time. I am comfortable with technology so I am not concerned with learning how to use it, but I am concerned about our access to wi-fi during and after the sessions. They assured us that they are working on these issues and I am anxious to get to Salt Lake City and see how it will all work. After lunch, we heard from a number of committees with reports on budget, marriage and reimagining the church.

The most interesting part for me was a presentation by Jake Dell, Digital Marketing Manager for The Episcopal Church. Jake talked about how he is using Google to help people that are searching for answers to find The Episcopal Church. I was thrilled because he tied in social media marketing with Christian Formation. I am hoping that we may be able to work with him to do some of this work in our diocese.

Tonight we have discussion groups to talk more in-depth on some of the major issues that will face us at General Convention – marriage, TREC, and budget. I look forward to healthy, respectful conversations as we envision how we can move our churches forward in mission by the work we do in Salt Lake City.