Man I am tired. I love traveling but this is starting to catch up with me.
My first trip was to Newark NJ for the Province II Youth Ministry Network followed by reporting to Provincial Council. It's a long (and fairly boring) drive from Jamestown to Newark. The meeting was good. We had two new folks from Rochester in attendance. It was some great conversation about a wide variety of issues. The Youth Ministry Network operates as an information sharing and mutual support group for those of us working at the diocesan level (or near diocesan. Both Rochester and Central New York are trying a new model). I always enjoy meeting with my fellow diocesans and hearing about the different challenges facing us all. I'm also happy to report that my report to the Council was well received. So it was a good trip.
I did a report right after I arrived at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, CO. The facility is beautiful but the program was even more astounding. The conference, called "Everyone, Everywhere", is a mission conference. It was held 3 years ago in Baltimore for the first time. But it wasn't a "nuts and bolts" kind of mission conference. There was some of that but the real thrust was getting people to think differently about the word "mission". It's impossible to sum up 4 days of the conference in a paragraph or two. In a nutshell mission is the essence of what it means to be God's church in the world. One speaker referred to it as a posture of living. Literally EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE. The phrase that really got me was "The church was not created for mission, the church is created by mission". I'm typing up my notes from the conference and would be more than happy to talk with anyone (individual, group or parish) that would like to think a little more deeply about mission. It's not the mission talk you it is, that's all I can assure you.
As I write this I'm in Salt Lake City Utah. My first time in that city AND that state. Since I'm in meetings from 9AM to 9 PM I haven't seen much of the city other than what I saw on my way in from the airport. From that I can say it's very clean and modern looking. It also seems to rise suddenly out of the ground. I've noticed this in a couple other cities as well. Buffalo is always clearly a city set in the middle of large urban area. Salt Lake City is kind of like Oz. The folks here are super pleasant and helpful. We're staying at the Wasatch Retreat and Conference Center which also houses the diocesan offices of the Diocese of Utah. It is an absolutely gorgeous facility (and the food is really good)! It sits right next to the cathedral. There's an historic marker out in front of St. Mark's cathedral that notes it is the oldest non-Mormon church in continuous usage in the state. Pretty cool.
Why am I here? I serve on the Standing Commission on Ministry Development which is a Commission of the General Convention. That means I'm serving with folks from all over the church. It includes 3 bishops, 4 priests and about 6 lay people. It's a very intelligent and articulate group and I enjoy the work we're doing. In preparation for next year's General Convention we are looking at a change to the canons (the laws of the church) that would offer a method for a diocese faced with extremely severe disagreements with its bishop(s) to dissolve that dysfunctional relationship. Our hope is that it would never be needed but there are a couple times when it would have been useful over the last 10 years. We are also looking at resolutions concerning the education of the clergy and a separate resolution looking at the growth and development of lay ministries as well. I chair the sub-committee on lay ministry. It's been a fascinating look at what works, what doesn't and how we should be doing a better job. It's a challenge but it feels like I get the chance to work on some important ideas for our larger church. I'd be more than happy to talk with anyone about any of these issues too.
The down side on this trip is on the first full day here I came down with a big honking cold. I'm trying very hard to not spread it among my friends here. Hopefully I can keep it under control for the 4 hour flight east on Thursday.
Back in WNY Thursday afternoon and then Diocesan Convention starts first thing Friday morning! I think I may collapse next week. It'll be good to be at home for a while (still one more trip to come! But not for two more weeks)
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Western New York's Where's Waldo?
In this case it isn't some goof in a striped shirt but your Youth Missioner who is wandering widely. Right now I'm in Estes Park CO attending the "Everyone, Everywhere" conference on Missions, sponsored by various organizations of the Episcopal Church.
View Larger Map
What, you may ask, is there in Estes Park CO? Well just outside this small town is the YMCA of the Rockies which is this amazing retreat/conference center set in the midst of Rocky Mountain National Park. The view is stunning but we're also over 8,000 feet above sea level. The air here is thinner than back home and it takes a couple days to get used to it. I feel a little out of breath most of the time right now. At the same time there is less humidity up this high so there's no haze. The view is crystal clear the whole way to the horizon. Needless to say the views are spectacular!
Yeah, THAT kind of spectacular. This is looking west towards the Rockies. Just amazing.
So why am I at this conference? A couple reasons: First because it's a chance to bring back more information on mission trips and the resources that are out there. I've signed up for workshops on:
The second reason I'm here is that through my work with Province II my costs for this trip are being picked up by outside funding sources i.e. NOT the Diocese of WNY. So for us it's a freebie learning experience.
In the meantime I've already had two close encounters with wild animals. Mule deer and a herd of elk are wandering around on the campus of the YMCA. Elk are enormous but they make this rather peculiar high pitched tiny little noise. I'm told the male elk can be quite loud and aggressive so I've given them a wide berth.
Well at this point it's only 9 PM local time but my internal clock says it's 11 PM and I've been up since just before 4 AM. So I'm going to call it a day.
See you next week (I'm HOME all week!)
Peace
View Larger Map
What, you may ask, is there in Estes Park CO? Well just outside this small town is the YMCA of the Rockies which is this amazing retreat/conference center set in the midst of Rocky Mountain National Park. The view is stunning but we're also over 8,000 feet above sea level. The air here is thinner than back home and it takes a couple days to get used to it. I feel a little out of breath most of the time right now. At the same time there is less humidity up this high so there's no haze. The view is crystal clear the whole way to the horizon. Needless to say the views are spectacular!
So why am I at this conference? A couple reasons: First because it's a chance to bring back more information on mission trips and the resources that are out there. I've signed up for workshops on:
- Transforming Worship: Energizing "Everyone, Everywhere" in Mission
- Communicating Mission: How to Share Your Mission Experiences
- Engaging Young Adults in Mission
- The 4 P's: Building a Strategy of Mission in the Local Church
- Infusion: A Model for Engaging Youth in Social Justice Issues
The second reason I'm here is that through my work with Province II my costs for this trip are being picked up by outside funding sources i.e. NOT the Diocese of WNY. So for us it's a freebie learning experience.
In the meantime I've already had two close encounters with wild animals. Mule deer and a herd of elk are wandering around on the campus of the YMCA. Elk are enormous but they make this rather peculiar high pitched tiny little noise. I'm told the male elk can be quite loud and aggressive so I've given them a wide berth.
Well at this point it's only 9 PM local time but my internal clock says it's 11 PM and I've been up since just before 4 AM. So I'm going to call it a day.
See you next week (I'm HOME all week!)
Peace
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Tidbits from my travels
Just got back from my first ever trip to Charlotte NC. A few thoughts:
Perhaps it was just enjoying the Spring like conditions as compared to what I knew awaited me at home but Charlotte strikes me as a lovely city. Cities with dedication to civic green space, fountains and public statuary always appeal to me. Charlotte also has an incredible array of eating establishments. Special notice goes to Mert's Heart and Soul Restaurant which is right next to the hotel where our meeting was being held. Didn't get a chance to try any of the soul food other than the banana pudding but loved the decor, loved the pudding, the service was great and everyone ELSE who did get the chance to try the Low Country and Gullah foods loved them. Everyone in Charlotte was pleasant and helpful and wonderful. Really enjoyed what little I experienced of the city.
Continental Airlines - We were 26 minutes EARLY getting into Charlotte and 50 minutes EARLY getting into Newark on the way back. What can I say? Wish all my air travel was this efficient.
It is great to be back working with the Provincial Youth Ministry Coordinators of The Episcopal Church. I only knew 2 of them at all well when I walked in the door but they were wonderful. Good folks and I'm looking forward to working with them.
Likewise I enjoyed meeting and hanging out with folks from ECCE (Episcopal Council of Church Educators), Campus Ministry and Ministry for Young Adults. We had a GREAT time bowling at Strike City Given how Buffalo LOVES to bowl someone explain why we don't have someplace like this. Think Sports Bar meets upscale bowling alley. It was a blast! The fact that I rolled a 182 with a beat up house ball probably colors my memory. That and the $2/pint beer special (relax I had only 2 over the course of the entire evening)
I come back with some very interesting ideas about bringing the spirit of cooperation of this meeting back home to the Province and the Diocese too. More on that later.
Perhaps it was just enjoying the Spring like conditions as compared to what I knew awaited me at home but Charlotte strikes me as a lovely city. Cities with dedication to civic green space, fountains and public statuary always appeal to me. Charlotte also has an incredible array of eating establishments. Special notice goes to Mert's Heart and Soul Restaurant which is right next to the hotel where our meeting was being held. Didn't get a chance to try any of the soul food other than the banana pudding but loved the decor, loved the pudding, the service was great and everyone ELSE who did get the chance to try the Low Country and Gullah foods loved them. Everyone in Charlotte was pleasant and helpful and wonderful. Really enjoyed what little I experienced of the city.
Continental Airlines - We were 26 minutes EARLY getting into Charlotte and 50 minutes EARLY getting into Newark on the way back. What can I say? Wish all my air travel was this efficient.
It is great to be back working with the Provincial Youth Ministry Coordinators of The Episcopal Church. I only knew 2 of them at all well when I walked in the door but they were wonderful. Good folks and I'm looking forward to working with them.
Likewise I enjoyed meeting and hanging out with folks from ECCE (Episcopal Council of Church Educators), Campus Ministry and Ministry for Young Adults. We had a GREAT time bowling at Strike City Given how Buffalo LOVES to bowl someone explain why we don't have someplace like this. Think Sports Bar meets upscale bowling alley. It was a blast! The fact that I rolled a 182 with a beat up house ball probably colors my memory. That and the $2/pint beer special (relax I had only 2 over the course of the entire evening)
I come back with some very interesting ideas about bringing the spirit of cooperation of this meeting back home to the Province and the Diocese too. More on that later.
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