Big Tent

I'm back!   I'm back from an incredibly wonderful conference -- called 'Big Tent.'

It was actually nine conferences of the Presbyterian Church (USA) all in one place -- i.e. under one big tent.  There were over 1700 people there with more workshops and major speakers than I can easily count.  Our worship experiences were both energizing and thought provoking -- and I was able to pick and choose which workshops to attend out of any offered by each of the conferences.

Right now my head feels stuffed with thoughts and new ideas and I am still trying to unpack it all.  One thing I learned was that I can 'tag' my blog with major themes so it is easier for folks to find on the web -- who knew!  I am clearly a newbie at blogging.

Another fun area of learning was all the new songs that we shared in worship as we entertained some of the new songs being considered for the new Presbyterian hymnal.  It was fun singing them and fun learning that we are free to use them for the next year -- to just try them out.  So we're going to sing one this coming Sunday --an oldie (1869) that Pete Seeger made famous -- 'How Can I Keep from Singing'

More thought provoking were the three discussions I attended about the new major changes in our constitution (Book of Order) that governs how we live and worship and do our work together as a church.  I asked lots of questions and listened a lot and think I'm beginning to get a handle on what those changes will mean for us as a congregation.