166th Diocesan Convention

Bishop Marc Andrus kicked off proceedings on Friday.

Your humble observer again represented his parish at the 166th Annual Convention of the (Episcopal) Diocese of California. This year's convention was devoid of fireworks--nothing like 2011's rejected resolution to divest companies doing business in the West Bank--but the progressives finally did manage to pass a version of 2013's resolution to banish fossil-fuel companies from the church's portfolio.

The church's mission: progressive "Justice".

Apparently natural gas, oil, and coal are all substances more deadly than tobacco, alcohol, and drugs, against which nary a resolution has ever been proposed. The inconvenient truth is that fossil fuels are necessary to power the furnaces that enable millions to survive the winter. Well, we in sunny California hope we made them feel guilty about turning up the heat, and have they tried solar panels?

One lady mentioned how she is so devoted to the anti-fossil-fuel campaign that she is flying to Paris to attend a climate-change conference. I just smiled and nodded in agreement. As they say, you can't make this stuff up.

There are small signs that a half-century decline in the Church's attendance may have bottomed. Youth are drawn to the Church's non-judgmentalism (unless you're talking about guns, conscious and unconscious racism, patriarchal attitudes, Western values, wealthy Republicans, Israel, and global warming unbelievers), and one mission was upgraded to Parish status. The new Skellig Celtic Christian Community of Marin County decided to join the Episcopal Church and was welcomed by acclamation.

The Christian-themed music by the Theodicy Jazz Collective was beautiful, as was the majesty of Grace Cathedral. Yes, aspects of the Episcopal Church continues to provoke me ("comfort the afflicted, afflict the comfortable"), but I will be a member until the day I die.