[For those who are not absorbed in the strange alternate reality of General Conference, I have included an explanatory note at the end of this post.]
I wrote all that stuff last night about this being a surreal General Conference shaped by the theme of not knowing. I never could have imagined that things could get even whackier. I wrote earlier this week about failure but could never have predicted how bad this would get. This is just unbelievable.
We are in chaos. People are rowdy and disorderly. They are laughing and hooting and calling out angry comments. They are challenging the rulings of the chair and making inappropriate comments. I’ve never seen anything like it.
We should be concluding our business about now and moving into worship, but we are nowhere near finishing up. At the moment, it is difficult to predict what will happen or when. I do know that John and I are packed and will be leaving the hotel at 4:30 tomorrow morning for a 6 a.m. flight.
Reflecting on my own failure and that of the entire General Conference, I have absolutely no idea what to say. I’ll just leave you with the text I’m carrying home with me – Habakkuk 3.
“Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines;
though the produce of the olive fails and the fields yield no food;
though the flock is cut off from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will exult in the God of my salvation.”
[Explanatory note: If you are checking this link from my facebook page and are not absorbed in the strange alternate reality of United Methodist General Conference 2012, let me fill you in. We are in our last evening. Everyone has been tired today and ready to leave. Our key initiative from these past 11 days was restructure of our church. Soon before our dinner recess we learned that our judicial council ruled the entire plan unconstitutional. That threw everything into chaos. Now we are trying to feel our way through the mess.]
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