Bishop Laurel Merrill was the first presider this morning. The presiding committee seemed to be intentionally celebrating the diversity of our episcopal leaders. We acknowledged how the Episcopal Address, offered by Bishop L. Jonathan Holston, invited us to allow God to “free us for joyful obedience!” He called us to reflect on the age-old questions: who are we? who we say we are? who we want to be? By the power of the Holy Spirit, hope calls for us to be better than we are today.
The work of the General Commission on the Status of Women appeared in the Bishop Holston’s presentation: a reminder that our message of challenging the church to full inclusion of women, lay and clergy, is impactful and important to the worldwide church. The video mentioned the GCSRW resource, "Welcoming the Women Pastor, District Superintendent, and Bishop." We celebrated the gender diversity in the video as well as the opening presenters.
We hope that we will prayerfully respond to the Young People’s Address given by Alejandra Salemi and Senesie T.A. Rogers. As Salemi stated, "The children are watching... Are we living as those God wants us to be? The young people have claimed the church as its own! Let’s start listening more and compromising with those we are in community with." We cherish Salemi's reminder to "Be still… and know that I am God." During the week, her words will echo in our minds: "Be quiet, be patient, shut up at times, and know that God is with us." The pressure is on – what we do today impacts future generations! Salemi crystallized our calling as connectional people: "If you don't have enough hope, I have enough for both of us." Senesie T.A. Rogers led us to imagine passing the casket trolley. To some, the casket trolley was a symbol of death, but death reminds us of God’s resurrection hope! Once we have been accepted in the household of faith, we are one in Christ Jesus. We have the capacity to accept all voices and leaders.
We, at GCSRW, pray that we may live into our mission, vision, and values, especially those shaped by our Young People's Address yesterday, and that we have included women and men of all ages as leaders in our legislative sections.
The legislative committees began meeting today and their organization occurred in the afternoon. The results of the election of the fourteen legislative committees are listed below.
Chairpersons: 3 Black Females, 1 Black Male, 1 White Female, 3 Multiracial Females, 4 White Males.
Vice-chairs: 3 Asian Females, 1 Black Female, 5 Black Males, 2 White Females, 2 White Men, 1 Multiracial Man.
Secretaries: 1 Asian Female, 2 Black Females, 3 Black Males, 1 Hispanic/Latina Female, 1 Pacific Islander Female, 5 White Females, 1 White Nonbinary.
Sub-committee chairs: 3 Asian Males, 4 Black Females, 5 Black Males, 1 Hispanic/Latina Female, 2 Hispanic/Latino Males, 7 White Females, 4 White Males.
