Midday on Friday at Conference

We celebrated Rural Life Ministries today! I am well fed after Rural Life Ministries fed me lunch out at the Fort Worth Water Gardens.

I was at the Main Entrance for Delegates, which meant that my main responsibility was checking credentials of people as they came onto the Main Floor of General Conference.

While some tried the patience, most everyone was cooperative and helpful as we did our job. It may seem a little petty, but lobbyists and special interests are present at General Conference and the delegate Floor means they can have even easier access, so we check each person's credentials.

The Plenary, after worship, looked at a report on the Episcopacy, the Rural Life Celebration, and a report on our connection as a denomination, the churches in the Caribbean and Latin America, and some announcements. Most important is the fact that the legislative committees need to look at moving more rapidly through their work. We only have seven (now 6 1/2 days) left and all legislatively approved petitions must come to the General Conference floor for approval. If it needs Finance and Administration approval, the last opportunity to approve is this afternoon by 4:30 PM. I expected a legislative crunch by Thursday, not Friday afternoon.

The pressure grows on the candidates. Do they bow under pressure to compromise, or do that hold out for real communication? Time will tell....

I have a few hours off before returning at 7 PM (8 PM EST) until adjournment. The Buses run until 1 AM, so they can go late and I can sleep in in the morning!


Grace and Peace,

Bob