The more things change...the more they change....

I went to the Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut on Friday and Saturday.

Once upon a time, when I went to convention, I found a seat near a microphone since I would be up talking a lot, arguing about resolutions, asking for clarification, just talking to hear myself talk, mostly.

I was really caught up in Diocesan politics. I wrote resolutions. Met with others to plan liberal agenda things. Even got myself elected as a Deputy to three General Conventions of the Episcopal Church. I was on the Commission on Ministry. I was a real Diocesan groupie....

Then I retired from full time ministry and I can't tell you how relieved I am that I simply have no interest in those kinds of things anymore.

Half a dozen or more people asked me why I wasn't running for General Convention Deputy this year. I'm not sure they believed me (knowing how political I used to be) when I told them I'd rather go to a gulag than to General Convention. And the people at my table were probably annoyed that I wandered around a lot during debate over canonical and constitutional issues. I'm sure it was all important in some major sense, it simply isn't important to me anymore. I'm retired.

(In fact, I remember being a tad annoyed that one of the Clerical Deputies to a couple of General Conventions was a retired priest. I thought retired people should be 'retired' and not interested anymore. That is only one of the many, many ways I am a superlative 'retired priest'--I simply am not interested anymore!)

I like to see people I know at Convention and talk to them. And I like the worship and table conversations (our latest Bishop redesigned Convention to make it more participatory. We sit at tables, not in rows and have lots of opportunities to discuss whatever is up and even have Bible study at our tables! That ought to 'go without saying' but it's only since Ian came that it is so....)

So, I don't mind going to Convention for the fellowship and conversation. It's just that the debate holds no interest for me. I'll let those younger than me worry about the 'business' of the church. I'll save my energy for the three congregations I serve and for the people I care about.

(If you'd have told me I'd feel this way a decade or so ago, I'd looked at you like you were a crazy person! I was so 'into' the politics. Now I'm not. And I like that. I really do.)