GC80 Day One Update: Lay Deputy Tom Miller

Lay deputy Tom Miller shared his thoughts earlier this evening after the first day of the 80th General Convention of The Episcopal Church. He references the sermon offered by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry in the Opening Eucharist, which can be viewed at this link: https://youtu.be/InBjc6GODJI.

TRANSCRIPT: ​Good afternoon. This is Deputy Tom Miller. This convention is unlike any convention that we have ever had--obviously, with the challenges politically, environmentally, certainly with the pandemic going from eight or nine days of work down to four. There is a tremendous amount that has to be done and the people who have spent four years putting this together are focusing on making it efficient, making it effective, and you can feel that energy.
 
But, nothing compared to Presiding Bishop Michael Curry this morning. He brought in pieces from the Babylonian exile, things he remembered at his grandmother's living room about being a Christian, about being God's work. And a couple of takeaways that that I jotted down... but this is in Babylon and the God behind us is far stronger than the power of any problems that are yet to confront us or are confronting  us now. A closing statement that was made by the rector of St. Stephen's Church in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, where there was a mass shooting, really should be a message to us all: the light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it. That's a sense of the excitement and the power that is in this building today.