Back to our roots and being fed for the work that lies ahead….

My perch for the next 10 days. Pictured here with Twila Rios, 

member of the General Convention Staff. 

Photo credit: Bishop Adams

I traveled to Austin via my childhood home in Baton Rouge, with my two kids in tow. (They are staying at Camp Nanna and Grandpa for the duration of GC'79. God bless my parents!) I had not spent four days in my hometown in far too many years, so I soaked up every single second as I headed back to my roots, back to the places and people that helped shape me into who I am today. Those places and people and traditions that molded me and helped me discover how I would learn to see the world, act as a part of a community, and find the strength to be myself in the middle of all sorts of crazy. I spent last weekend being fed and nourished, both emotionally and spiritually, and definitely with some delicious Louisiana food! Those times with friends, late nights up with my parents talking, a Sunday service at my childhood church (Methodist, at that!) – these times have reinforced and encouraged me to stay the course I have chosen as a parent with my husband for our family, to keep teaching my children of all their history and their heritage, to encourage them to embrace those cultures as they grow, to be good students, but to be kind above all else, and to seek to see and serve the needs of others. It was a wonderful experience with my children and precious time spent with my family in my childhood home, but it was exhausting! I had fear of missing out and not knowing the next time I’d be back, so we stayed up until 2 am three nights in a row, recalling great memories, talking and treasuring the time together, and speaking of what’s ahead for our family. I was completely wiped out as I boarded the plane to Texas, beignets and café au lait in tow.

As I sat yesterday in the Secretariat and in the House of Bishops, preparing for a busy 10 days of General Convention, it occurred to me that this gathering, this convention, is kind of like ‘returning home’ for thousands of Episcopalians who have chosen to gather here in Austin. Though the locations of General Conventions change every three years, the purpose is the same. We gather together to be fed, to grow as individuals and as our church. We gather together as our large family, from all over the country and our non-domestic dioceses. We gather to return to our roots, to come home and spend precious time with friends, family, teachers, spiritual mentors, and also strangers, to celebrate our history and our traditions, while we continue to look to the future and learn from others. To look forward and see how we, as individuals, and as a church grow into our communities, our nation, and the world while we embrace our Anglican traditions and Episcopal heritage. To discern how we can and should and will be present in our own communities, as a part of this Jesus Movement, to meet the needs of people where THEY are, not where we choose to be.

And my hope and prayer is that we all leave Austin as exhausted as I was when I left Baton Rouge. That we will be wiped out and rejuvenated, spent and engaged all at the same time. That we will have had hard discussions, but maintained respect and acceptance for those whose opinions differ from ours, and that when the gavel sounds at the close and we are done, we can say we have given our best. And that as a result of our difficult, but rewarding work, we will have a guide for the near future on how we as Episcopalians and as humans will continue this Jesus Movement, and how our church will adapt to the world that the future holds, while we hold fast to the traditions and heritage that mean so much to us.

I hope that you will join me in this prayer for exhaustion and lift up this great gathering in your prayers.

I'll be in the HOB if you need me!

- Lauren

Lauren Kinard is Executive Assistant to the Bishop and Diocesan Administrator for The Episcopal Church in South Carolina.

                                       A panoramic view from the platform out to the House of Bishops before meeting today.