June 4-6 was the Annual Assembly for the INKY Synod. It was held in Covington, KY. I went as a volunteer. It was a good learning experience. Friday night I counted votes for the first ballot for Bishop. Saturday I was a plenary session Page. Got to hand out papers and answer questions. In the afternoon, I sat at the voter registration desk and registered voters for the General Election. Saturday evening we elected a new Bishop - Pr. Gafkjen! Saturday night was a reception and banquet for Bishop Stuck, who retired after 12 years as Bishop. Sunday morning I met with Pr. Santoro. He's my contact person on the Candidacy Committee. We had breakfast and chatted for about an hour. Also chatted briefly with Pr. Wood. He is the chair of the Candidacy Committee, and he's also the pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Seymour, IN. I grew up in Seymour. However, I grew up Missouri Synod, so that is NOT the church I grew up in.
I enjoyed being a volunteer. 1) It allowed me to be there for free. 2) I didn't feel like I HAD to be there. When I wasn't actually doing volunteer things, I just hung out in the background, listening and observing. 3) I got to see a lot of people I knew and meet many new people. 4) I learned a lot about what NOT to do as a pastor by observing other pastors and what they were doing. Don't be rude. Don't be arrogant. Don't stand directly in front of someone who is clearly trying to listen to the speaker and talk loudly. Unfortunately, I observed all of these characteristics in FEMALE pastors. I think many of them feel that they have to prove something because they aren't men, but come on!
Synod Assembly also gave me a chance to hang out and talk with a few members of St. John outside of the church setting.
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