El Jefe was going to come with me tomorrow on a road trip to our presbytery meeting in deepest East Texas, but now he is staying home because he has to work. Dern. He was one of our church's elder commissioners, but I think we have an alternate lined up. There won't be any significant voting going on at this meeting, though. But I have to go because I am on the General Council (governing board for you non-presbies).
So tomorrow afternoon I'll be driving about 2 1/2 hours to Orange and spending the night in a Best Western because I don't want to get up at oh-dark-thirty to make the same drive Saturday morning. You see I have be there by 7:30 am to set up a backdrop for a booth for our General Council's "visioning person on the street" interviews. I've got PVC pipe, a roll of bright yellow "Caution" tape, and a roll of poster covering paper as well as various construction tools and a wood plank. When they got this brilliant idea, the whole group immediately looked at me because they know that DCE's can be counted on to come up with props for just about anything.
The idea is to communicate that the vision for the future of the presbytery is "Under Construction" and get people to tell the man with the videocamera how they feel about presbytery. Aren't we brave?
We'll no doubt hear a lot from those who are unhappy, and much of that unhappiness really stems from their alienation from the national denomination. Then there will be a large group of "newbies" who don't know and don't have an opinion. And then there are the "presbytery groupies" who are knowledgeable and generally satisfied. This is all part of the "visioning" process we have been engaged in since January (too long). Still, it's high time we heard from someone besides our own little group.
Since El Jefe has bailed on me, I'll be taking my Bible in 90 Days materials so I can get prepared to lead the three groups I am covering starting Sunday. I'm also taking my camera to get pictures of the unique church where the meeting is being held. My aunt and uncle were members of it for many years. They are now deceased and I attended both their services there. The last one died just a couple of years ago so the church has some memories for me. It has some amazing Tiffany glass windows and was the first air-conditioned building in Texas.
And my new laptop arrived this week, so I'm taking it along and may blog along the way.
So tomorrow afternoon I'll be driving about 2 1/2 hours to Orange and spending the night in a Best Western because I don't want to get up at oh-dark-thirty to make the same drive Saturday morning. You see I have be there by 7:30 am to set up a backdrop for a booth for our General Council's "visioning person on the street" interviews. I've got PVC pipe, a roll of bright yellow "Caution" tape, and a roll of poster covering paper as well as various construction tools and a wood plank. When they got this brilliant idea, the whole group immediately looked at me because they know that DCE's can be counted on to come up with props for just about anything.
The idea is to communicate that the vision for the future of the presbytery is "Under Construction" and get people to tell the man with the videocamera how they feel about presbytery. Aren't we brave?
We'll no doubt hear a lot from those who are unhappy, and much of that unhappiness really stems from their alienation from the national denomination. Then there will be a large group of "newbies" who don't know and don't have an opinion. And then there are the "presbytery groupies" who are knowledgeable and generally satisfied. This is all part of the "visioning" process we have been engaged in since January (too long). Still, it's high time we heard from someone besides our own little group.
Since El Jefe has bailed on me, I'll be taking my Bible in 90 Days materials so I can get prepared to lead the three groups I am covering starting Sunday. I'm also taking my camera to get pictures of the unique church where the meeting is being held. My aunt and uncle were members of it for many years. They are now deceased and I attended both their services there. The last one died just a couple of years ago so the church has some memories for me. It has some amazing Tiffany glass windows and was the first air-conditioned building in Texas.
And my new laptop arrived this week, so I'm taking it along and may blog along the way.
Traveling mercies! I love hearing about the presbytery you're in, since it's still "home" for me in a lot of ways.
ReplyDeleteHey, me too . . . have fun this weekend in Orange. I've heard the church there is beautiful, no?
ReplyDeleteHave a safe and productive trip, Moomie! [By the way, is that photo of one of the Dull girls?]
ReplyDeleteOh---but if you ask people what they think they will expect you to act on their input somehow. That's where those listening events get into trouble. Do you have a plan for what you do with the feedback you get?
ReplyDeleteAvie--although it looks like it, the picture isn't one of the Dull girls, but the child of a friend of Jody C.
ReplyDeletePurechristian--you're right and we do have a plan for the feedback. We're going to listen to all the uncut tapes (sigh) and then re-evaluate our discussions accordingly. A noble plan, but difficult to execute fairly I fear.