overwhelmed yet again

family, friends and mbcc-ers were invited onstage for bruce's installation. yet again, i found myself hugely overwhelmed at GA, this time by hope.


as much as i believed in bruce, god's call for bruce, his skills, yada, yada, yada, i was not at all certain or confident he would be elected. i was not sure the church was ready. (of course, i am no expert on the pulse of the denomination). he is young. he is dynamic. he is passionate. he is about the questions and not the answers... and he is progressive. could the PCUSA really go that way with their next moderator? i did not know, and someone deep in my cynicism, i thought there was no way we could.

was i ever wrong.

as i stood on the stage, reciting scripture with the crowd and listening to sarah (mama of moderator) and evelyn (eldest daughter of moderator) pray for the assembly and bruce's journey as moderator, i was overwhelmed by the hope. i am a part of a community that is moving forward. i am part of a community that is passionately engaged. i am part of a community that is "embracing our future." i am part of a community that is anything but dead.

it is going to be an interesting week.

and the evening ended with a celebrity sighting... my first in life. in search of some food and beverage, the only place we could find near our hotel was a local joint called original joe's jimmy fallon was eating there and i caught a healthy look at him on his way out.

and it wasn't the best part of the night at all. not even close.