Saturday, February 23, 2008

SOme Days I Just Don't Understand

This weekend I am at a Presbytery meeting. Long weekend (12 hours yesterday, 8 hours today). A Good theme presentation arranged largely (or rather completely) by a colleague was last evening and this afternoon.

BUt here's what I don't get. LAst year two of us presented a motion that we ask our Conference to move from holding general meetings every year to having 2 in every three-year period. THe reaction was far from positive. HOwever, instead of defeating it the motion was postponed definitely.

So this year it came back to the floor. I spoke to it again, having done some research as to how other conferences have done just this thing. I was fully prepared to bring it up, have the vote and hve the motion defeated. AFter all, I was asked to help write a similar motion at last year's Annual Meeting only to have it defeated soundly (and in terms of political process it makes more sense to not bring up the question every year).

THe result this afternoon? No debate, no questions for clarification, and an overwhelming acceptance.

SOme days I don't understand how the SPirit moves in the church...

3 comments:

  1. Wow. It passed?????

    I'm afraid I was out of the court at the time. I was headed home to write a sermon for tomorrow. Also, my head was ready to explode. The finance report did me in this time.

    I'm surprised and delighted that the motion finally passed. Perhaps all the discussion around greenhouse gas emissions and carbon offsets from *very* long distance travel actually sunk in?

    Who would have thunk?

    Thanks for all of your help this weekend.

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  2. I've seen this sort of thing happen before. Typically at Church and Society meetings in the UMC, I brace myself for heated debates on resolutions. But then sometimes they just go through and get passed without comment. Sometimes I think this happens when we're towards the end of a meeting and everyone is tired and just thinking about going home ;) We might pass just about anything through then rather than stay late!

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  3. It's called exhaustion and the surrender of denial thereby. Our perceptions have finally caught up with our geography. This move needed to happen years ago, and that it finally did is a good thing--well done!

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