Live From Anheim I

After an uneventful drive to Anaheim, it has been good to see people -- good to see Nevadans and good to see freinds from around the Church gathered here. Last night the Province 8 people gathered; then Linda and I went to a Native Ministries reception at a nearby Church, but were too late for the main action.

I spent most of today working with the Stewardship & Development Committee. I am not very patient with committee process. We spent a long time working on process this morning, then heard a lot of heartfelt testimony tonight -- particularly about Millennium Development Goals and offering support to persons with disabilities who are sent to conventions, etc. as church reprtesentatives. We readily passed a resolution to support a development office for the Church. However, the MDG resolution is on hold for redrafting and the Persons With Disabilities resolution has been defeated as presented but may come back in a redraft. As I say, I lack pateience with such things. These do not seem to me to be matters for nitpicking. But maybe they only look like nits to me.

In the afternoon, we heard inspiring opening addresses by Bishop Katharine and the President of the House of Deputies. We then got an introduction to the Public Narrative Process by the professor at the Kennedy School of Government (Harvard) who first developed it. We will be doing Public Narrative conversations during our time here. The idea is to link our stories to our mission.

I do have to say there is something surreal about a church convention so near Disney Land -- you can see the fireworks each night at 9:30 -- and beginning on the day of the Michael Jackson memorial. But who am I to say such a thing? I get my mail in Las Vegas.