Thursday

  • Very nice breakfast in one of the dining rooms here in the Quito Hilton. Brenda was especially pleased with the fresh tropical fruit, a reminder of our visits to Brazil.
  • The meeting of the House of Bishops got officially underway with a celebration of the Eucharist in one of the hotel ballrooms. I always find corporate worship on these sorts of occasions ... challenging. Perhaps I will unpack that sometime in a blog post. Or maybe not.
  • We then reassembled in our main meeting room. After some preliminary remarks and announcements, we took about 30 minutes to "check in" with one another at our table groups.
  • The rest of the morning was devoted to a presentation from a VP of the Church Pension Group on issues related to TEC's health insurance plan for clergy and lay employees. Q & A was spirited, as there is considerable controversy over substantial rate differences between various parts of the country.
  • Lunch at a nearby restaurant with some colleagues.
  • The afternoon was devoted to two presentations by outside speakers on the subject of Liberation Theology, with followup Q&A. I will probably soon have more to say about this over at my "real" blog.
  • Evening Prayer (with music) in the meeting room. 
  • Beer and wine reception for bishops, spouses, and guests, followed by a quite fine buffet banquet. Very nice.

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