Annual Conference-Day 2 and Day 3

COMBO-POST!

Yesterday was SO exiting, and I was SO exhausted, that I didn't have time to post last night. Sorry about that, guys. This will also be a quick type, because CATS is on. If you know me, you know that that is my FAVORITE musical of all time. So I apologize if there are any typos. But, come on...it's CATS!

DAY 2 (June 6, 2011)

In case anyone is wondering, Sonic has this lemonberry slush, and it's sooooo good. :) We had Sonic for breakfast. It was pretty good.

This year's theme is "With the Poor", based on Galatians 2:10. "They asked only that we remember the poor, which I made every effort to do." (Holman Christian Standard Bible-from my Nook.)

Apparently there is a new way of voting. Does this mean I won't be kicked off the floor this year? Here's to hoping. (Note: This did NOT mean I wasn't kicked off. In fact, they didn't even let me on the floor!) It sounded very confusing to me. (Note: Apparently, it was very confusing to everyone else, too.) I was only halfway paying attention. The man explaining everything made an American Idol reference. It was kind of awesome.

First, we had the Laity session. Mostly it was people talking. We sang a song. ("We All Are One In Mission") Then, some more people talked.

They talked about domestic abuse. It was actually pretty cool. They talked about how everyone is different, how to know if you're a batterer, and how to help people who are being abused.

I saw a guy I met at Southeastern Orientation.

I got to see Rev. Tommy, a friend of Mama's, again. Yay! I've never met anyone as gentlemanly as him. I also got to meet Rev. Juliet, our soon-to-be new pastor, and her husband, Mr. Moe. He says he's a "full-time preacher's wife." He's pretty funny. I also talked to Katie McKay Simpson.

Lots of people!

Dr. Marcia McFee led the worship sessions.

"If sitting is what you do best, sit with gusto!"

Wow. She is amazing. She played the drums while she sang and prayed. It was awesome.

Then, MORE TALKING.

Bishop Hutchinson is retiring next year. :( He's pretty funny. I like him. He played "Huck Finn" in the musical "Mississippi Medley." He sang a song from it in his address. It was pretty awesome. He also pretty much fussed at all of the churches that didn't respond to the survey the conference sent out. He even looked over the top of his glasses and scowled. I felt like I was back at school.

We also watched a video about money.

"God is not finished wit us yet!"

Membership in the U.S has decreased from 1968-2009, from about 10,000,000 to about 7,000,000. Holy cow.

Mama ate lunch with the Westley board, and the new director of Westley at LSU. They went to Strawn's, but Ms. Lenora, Ms. Georgia, Ms. Anne, Andrew, and I ate in the cafeteria. We had spaghetti, but I didn't eat much, because I'd had a double cheeseburger for breakfast.

We also went to the athletic center( which they turned into the Cokesberry store), and I bought some new prayer beads. (I lost mine from last year.) We also listened to speeches by soon-to-be new pastors. (Ordination was last night, June 5.) Some of them were pretty interesting.

We had an extra long break, so I went up to the balcony and talked to Ms. Georgia, Ms. Anne, and Rev. Lucinda. We talked about sudoku. (It was more that sudoku, but that was part of it.)

In the athletic-center-turned-store, we found a book called The Gospel According to Disney. You can't get more legit than that. (Note: Not only did we buy that book, but we also bought another book about Disney and religion.)

One of the men who was talked had almost lost his voice. :( The money report bored and confused EVERYONE. I gave up, and started playing sudoku. Then we listened to people talk. This time, it was retired ministers.

For dinner, we went to 'Counter Culture' and I got a grilled cheese sandwich, chips, and a 'Banana Crack'. I was expecting a normal sized cup with banana slices, with a little bit of frozen yogurt on top. Nope. It was HUGE. I'll post a picture later.

After dinner, we went to the ordination service, witch is one of my favorite parts of Annual Conference. The sermon was AMAZING. The Bishop pretty much laid it all out there. He talked about letting/inviting people into the church, not keeping them out.

When we got back to the hotel room ,we were to tired to even think about pie. That's pretty darn tired.

DAY 3 (June 7, 2011.)

This morning was the Laity breakfast. It was pretty yummy. The speaker talked about education, and about how we can help improve education, and decrease drop-out rates.

The speeches this year have been AMAZING!

"If one is a United Methodist, then every day is a day of caring."

Then, MORE TALKING! Although the multi-cultural report was pretty interesting. I like Juan Huertes' bow tie. It's purple and plaid. Pretty funky! [Today must be bow-tie day.]

One retiring pastor, for his speech, simply said this:

"There once was a pastor named Ken

whose career had come to an end.

He was invited up north

to give a report

then turned, and left with a grin."

Then he turned, and left with a grin. It was probably the best report I've ever heard.

More stuff happened, but I'll have to tell you about that tomorrow. There is pie calling my name, and it's late.