Nancy Beck

After attending our Diocesan convention for the fourth time I found this one to be especially meaningful. There seemed to be a real connection and communication between our Grace delegates and other attendees from parishes around the diocese. I was glad to learn more about a variety of activities that different parishes were involved in through display tables located around the convention center.

There were two workshops scheduled on Friday’s session that were interesting and informative that I attended. The workshop titled “Potluck for Democracy” was one that I thought Grace might be interested in. It promoted communication with diverse cultures, traditions, and identities in local areas by sharing food and conversation together. The other workshop was on LGBTQ issues that promoted understanding of why the use of pronouns is important and further understanding of transgender issues. Both might be topics that would be appropriate for our parish to investigate further.

Molly Ryan

Here are a few of my observations and experiences from the convention.

  • It was well organized and run in a smooth and punctual manner throughout.
  • The choices of breakout sessions on day one were fairly varied. I attended three that were of particular interest to me. 1. Learning about the Diocese of Olympia’s Refugee Resettlement Program 2. Ways to go about organizing a Climate Fair with emphasis placed on practical aspects of the process 3. Learning about congregations “of color” in the diocese. This was very interesting to me and gave me a baseline understanding of how the church is broadening its scope in some parts of Seattle. It made me think about how great it could be to have a “sister church” or some way to connect meaningfully with a congregation that looks different than Grace.
  • It was a pleasure to participate and to represent Grace this year. And our group of Gracie’s were wonderful.

 

Wendy Tyner

My overall experience was good and look forward to next year. I’m disappointed that it will only be virtual. It’s vitally important that various parishes meet and greet. I learned so much from the workshops, Diocese meetings and interacting with folks throughout our region, and hope they will reconsider. We need more opportunities for fellowship and a zoom meeting will not satisfy that need.

Sessions- I found them to be valuable in general.

The first session on the Diocese budget was not as described in the schedule. It was about various parish budgets and how the grant funds are now consolidated and go to one church to be disseminated (St John in Olympia) to partner with, for land stewardship and development.

The session on AI was disappointing as it didn’t address the non-tech person’s thirst for what to expect in the future.

John Kydd’s session on Creation Care and Climate Justice was good. It was great to have Grace Church representation. There are practical solutions that Grace and other parishes should consider.

I noticed there are many volunteer positions throughout the Diocese that Grace should embrace. Because Grace is so forward thinking, we should consider volunteering either to learn from others or to pass on our knowledge. I loved seeing our very own Scott at the altar!

The best part of the conference was spending time with our Grace family. We had enriching conversations about each other and about Grace.

Jim Quitslund

The business of the convention was run with clarity and good management of time. The Bishop was a good CEO and also personable and available. The music was beautiful; the AV systems were top-notch. In anticipation, I had thought that far too much of the Friday was devoted to workshops, but two out of the four I attended were valuable (the live interview with the Palestinian priest in the Diocese of Jerusalem, and a discussion of “church hurt” specifically and trauma more generally).

The one really awkward moment came when the resolution to call for a ceasefire halting Israel’s violence against the Palestinians came up. The fact that it came up was painful for some, and the way it flopped without any reasoned consideration was painful for many others. Admittedly, it was a very harsh resolution which stopped just short of comparing Netanyahu to Hitler.

We had a really great table (joined by Beth Orling), and the program also allowed us to catch up with delegates from other congregations, some of which I have known for more than thirty years.

From an energy perspective, such a convention is a real dinosaur, and I couldn’t help thinking how costly participation was for congregations which are hurting financially. I am glad to know that next year the convention will be virtual.

Mary Ellen de la Pena

Thank you, Jim. I concur with your observations. Generally, I thought the exhibits, featuring Diocesan resources and various parish projects, and workshop sessions were interesting and valuable.

I can add a bit more specific information about the resolutions that were voted on. (The voting technology was very easy to use.) The three resolutions that were presented to the delegates for their vote were, as follows:

Resolution 1: 2026 Diocesan Assessment 14.5 % - Passed by large majority. This assessment amount has not changed since 2019.

Resolution 2: 2025 Cost of Living Adjustment for Clergy and Office of Bishop staff - 3.8 % - Passed by large majority.

Resolution 3: Call to Church for Action Toward Ceasefire and a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine - postponed - by close vote of 176 to 144.

In my opinion, this controversial resolution might have passed if it had simply addressed the morality of the situation and not recounted the complex, arguable political history of the region. There seemed to be no procedural means (or will?) to thoroughly discuss the resolution. It is not clear if there are steps being considered to amend and present the resolution again.

Scott Deasy

First of all a shout out to our own John Kydd for the session discussing climate change.  There is so much work to be done, but the dedication and enthusiasm of the team is inspiring. The other breakout sessions that I attended were well done and empowering. I never guessed that I would be attending a talk about the use of AI in the church.

For me personally, it was wonderful to visit all of the booths presented by the various ministries of the diocese. It was so helpful to put a face with the name and gain a greater understanding of their ministry. As always it is a gift to talk with friends and acquaintances and being reminded of our greater community.

I was disappointed that the resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza was so quickly dismissed, although I acknowledge it was a flawed statement. I was appreciative of professionalism shown during the business meeting.

Randy Otto

My biggest takeaway from the convention is my sheer joy and love of being a part of Grace. As a congregation on the geographic fringe of the Seattle megalopolis, it’s a sanctuary and home to all of us. Truly a blessed place.

I thoroughly enjoyed the breakaway small sessions. Especially the contemplative practices and the group session on grieving and trauma.

I felt the bishop was quite good at leading us through the various aspects of the administrative side of things. With presence and humor.

Eric Mason

Though I was not with you in person, I did join remotely.

My two takeaways:

1) I appreciated the Bishop’s highlighting the difference between “membership” and “Discipleship.” Are we focused on gaining members when we should be fostering disciples? That has me thinking and wondering how to implement that at Grace.

2) I was disappointed that the conversation around the resolution calling for ceasefire in Gaza was shut down so quickly. It’s a difficult, but necessary conversation, and I felt we would have been better for having it.

Thank you all for the time and effort you put into this.