Day Three on the Ground in Indianapolis

Yesterday was a heavy day of legislation. There are many Diocese of Texas folks involved in our work here in Indianapolis. We see Texans in the Altar Guild, ECW, in the support ministries of the House of Deputies secretariat, and in the exhibit hall. We are representing well my friends!

I think it is difficult to convey fully how honored we are to serve as your deputies, bishops, and leadership. Thank you.

Yesterday was a full day of meetings. I began my work (like many deputies) at 6:30 a.m. and finished, arriving at dinner around 11 p.m. It was a good day, and while we are just now wading and tiptoeing into legislation a lot of work was done yesterday. This work was the building of coalitions, meeting and making new friends.

My committee held a hearing last night. I am on Committee #6: Structure. We heard a resounding call for change and new and creative means for doing ministry. Here are some of the words I heard repeatedly: change, vision, creativity, nimble, local, listen to the people, hope, energy, excitement, strength, wisdom, young, mission, evangelism, Kingdom of God, adaptive challenge, revision, renew, grassroots, support, resource, new, life, and dream.

We have begun to welcome here in Indianapolis global visitors and Convention is a wonderful sea of language and color.

l believe that we will soon begin to see that legislation will come to the floor and good debate will begin.


Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, D.D.
IX Bishop of Texas
Sent while out of office.

Important Website

Dear All,

Church Geeks R Us! For those of you following the work at General Convention I thought you might be interested in the following website. You can follow almost every piece of legislation, people, addresses, and schedules. It is an awesome site. I hope you enjoy:

http://www.generalconvention.org/

Also, follow the Texas deputation as they make their way here:

http://www.epicenter.org/gc2012/



Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, D.D.
IX Bishop of Texas
Sent while out of office.

The First Full Day

On Wednesday morning we all woke up excited for what the day would bring. The line at Starbucks was not too bad and we were able to move through the morning's necessities quite efficiently. Many of us had committee meetings or attended meetings to begin to get our bearings on legislation.

I have been assigned to the Committee #6 on Structure. This is a cognate committee meaning that there is a committee of deputies and a committee on bishops meeting together. I am the bishop vice chair. In our first meeting we began with Eucharist, then got to know one another. We discussed our hopes for our time together: that we were interested in structural change discerned through the lens of mission.

After the meeting we broke for lunch. During the lunch hour I met with a group of deputies and bishops interested in working on increasing the dollars being given to the Anglican Communion. There are a number of hearings and we want to work towards influencing this work. The dollars in the Anglican Communion Budget are important because they go to the indaba project which builds communion relationships. The majority of dollars go to work against gender violence globally. This is VERY important and so we are hoping that we will be able to restore some of the cut funding. That takes a lot of effort.

After that meeting we had a joint meeting of the two houses where we heard from both the Presiding Bishop and the President of the House of Deputies. You can follow this link for the address: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/notice/general-convention-opening-remarks-presiding-bishop-katharine-jefferts-schori

The address for the President of the HOD is here: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/notice/general-convention-opening-remarks-house-deputies-president-bonnie-anderson

Following the joint address we went to our house (the House of Bishops - HOB) for an orientation. That went well.

Then we jogged over for a wonderful meeting with Committee #7 where we presented/introduced Jeff Fisher for his consent hearing. They passed him and there was great cheering. The best part was when Jeff stood up and did the hook'em horns sign after the vote! Awesome! There was an immediate motion to reconsider; just kidding of course. So Jeff is expected to be approved by both houses today and will be introduced to the HOB as soon as we have the approvals.

Then I went to a committee hearing. During this time our committee discussed and worked on a number of resolutions. One of the most interesting discussions was the one about decreasing the size of the Executive Council. It was not the right time for this (in my opinion) but it revealed the committee's eagerness to do the heavy lifting people are expecting.

After that meeting I had a lovely dinner (all be it quick) with seminary classmates. Best part of the day!

Then I was off to discuss the politics of changing our structure with a group of committed leaders. It was a great meeting and I felt that we have a lot of energy and that there is a lot of excitement around mission. It is really wonderful. There is frustration too; as the vision hits the legislative structure...but that is ok.

I then joined the Wimberlys and Trey Yarborough, Bill Miller, and Pat Miller in our suite to watch the fireworks.

I ended the evening with prayer and got a good night of rest.

Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, D.D.
IX Bishop of Texas
Sent while out of office.

First Day On The Ground In Indy

I arrived on Tuesday afternoon and checked into my room at the Convention Center Hotel. The Texas deputation gathered with friends to visit and enjoyed pre-dinner fellowship together. The deputation then broke up for different dinners.

There was a great buzz about structure, elections, and resolutions.

A number of our group attended the UBE dinner; which was a wonderful event.

I settled in after making the rounds and seeing friends. Went over email and reviewed my committee information for Wednesday's first meeting.

The Texas deputation is eager for the Rev. Jeff Fisher's hearings this afternoon (4:30 Texas Time) on Wednesday. He and Susan are with us and we are introducing him around.

We are all getting our sea legs. Tomorrow will be a big day and I am already looking forward to gathering with our group in the afternoon in order hear about the days events. Many are still traveling to be with us and I ask your prayers for all of us and for our families that are at home and far away.

Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, D.D.
IX Bishop of Texas
Sent while out of office.

I'm Leaving On A Jet Plane

Well my dear friends in Texas, it is Thursday afternoon, the week before General Convention (General Convention).  I have one more day in the office, I am getting my hair cut, packing, will make two visitations in Galveston on Sunday, clean clothes, and get on a plane for Indianapolis. 

Here is our General Convention Website for the Diocese of Texas: http://www.epicenter.org/gc2012/

Today Carol Barnwell and I mapped out upcoming stories and made plans to do a few interviews.

The politics are flying and the email is hot.  Legislation is pouring in. 

I have been appointed to the Committee on Structure. I think this will be very fun indeed! 

So here is my packing list and my to do list:

Technology and chargers
Upload, connect, and sync all General Convention Calendars, Blue Book, and committee reports
Download TV Series for travel and late nights (Game of thrones might be appropriate; actually downloaded Downton Abbey)
Sketch pad for cartoons
Ink pens
Vestments for Sunday Worship
Comfortable shoes
Filled out express mail labels to send back the tons of info I gather at GC

To do list:

Here is how to fold your shirt.

fold clothes correctly
rest
hang with family

Let me connect you with this Ehow site where you can learn how to pack your suitcase correctly:  http://www.ehow.com/videos-on_12220298_packing-tips-travel.html


People I am looking forward to seeing:
HOB (House of Bishop) friends
Visiting Primates
Seminary deans
ECW and Altar Guild leaders


I am very excited. While I will miss my family and being home, this will be a good time to be with other Texans and our TEC (The Episcopal Church) and global Anglican friends.

I will do a daily diary here and hope you will follow as we make our journey through to Indianapolis and General Convention 2012.