The 162nd Council of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas convened in The Woodlands last weekend. Council is a strange beast. On the Friday night of Council, throngs of Episcopalians, both lay and clergy, descend upon a number of unsuspecting bars and restaurants. Our poor waitress’ refrain was, “You want another bottle of wine?”
Of course, before the merriment commences, the Diocese gathers for a service of Holy Eucharist. It was very cool to see Episcopalians from across our Diocese gather together for prayer and for the sharing of the bread and wine. Sitting with the other clergy was neat for me as I sat between two people I had never met before. This service afforded me the opportunity to connect with other clergy. Very cool.
The business meeting takes place on Saturday. I won’t bore you with legislative details concerning resolutions and canonical amendments. They are what they are.
The Bishop appointed me to the Committee for Supervisors and Tellers. This is fancy church-code for counting ballots. So I used a Scantron machine to count ballot after ballot. It was one glamorous job.
The most compelling and inspiring part of Council was the Bishop’s address. It was truly a manifesto for the Church of the modern era. I encourage you to read it!
http://texasbishop.blogspot.com/2011/02/address-at-2011-episcopal-diocese-of.html
the rev. jimmy abbott 