Another Youth Paddle . . . Or Two

Volunteers gathered at the Sebago Canoe Club, located along Paerdegat Basin in Brooklyn, NY, were expecting not one, but two groups of youth to paddle last Friday. Once again, I was there to help. The previous scheduled youth paddle never happened because the youth and their adult leaders never showed up. This time was different.

Exactly on time at 10:00 AM, the youth and adult leaders from the 77th Precinct arrived. Sized and outfitted with PFDs and paddles, and briefly instructed by Gerry on how to paddle, they were in the water by 10:45. Eight youth paddled Ocean Kayak Prowler 13’s. One youth and one adult leader paddled Necky Zoar Sport LV’s. These ten boats were accompanied by fourteen volunteers in thirteen boats, better than a one-to-one adult leader to youth and Sebago volunteer to participant ratio! Thirteen volunteers paddled kayaks, with Lisa and Gary in a tandem. Andy paddled a canoe.

As soon as the youth were on the water they dispersed in all directions until we provided a little more paddling instruction and the youth got the hang of it. Eventually, in spite of a strong wind blowing us toward the northern terminus of the basin, we generally paddled together toward the end, then turn ed around and paddle toward the basin’s opening into Jamaica Bay. We made it only as far as just past the commercial docks, however, before the clock forced us to head back to the Sebago Dock.

While we were on the water another group of youth and their adult leaders, from the 88th Precinct, had arrived. Rebecca kept them busy with water quality testing activities until we returned with the 77th precinct. She planned to do the same with the youth of the 77th Precinct while we took the 88th out for a paddle.

Once back at the dock, all the 77th Precinct paddlers and most of the Sebago volunteers climbed out of their kayaks and took a break on terra firma. Gary, Vicki and I, however, remained on the water in our boats while waiting for the next group to enter the water.

As sone as a few of the next group were on the water, one of them accidently rammed a youth in an Ocean Kayak Kea, sending him overboard. Even though he was only 10-15 feet from the dock, I paddled over to rescue him. As I approached, I could see he was a little panicky. Even though I offered him my bow, he grabbed hold of my port deck line and started climbing back my port side toward the cockpit. I was finally able to reassure him enough to calm him down and I talk him back toward the bow. With him holding onto my bow, I paddled him to the dock where Tony helped him climb out of the water and onto the dock. Nina then went with him into the clubhouse and provided some dry clothes. Once recovered, he was back on the water, but this time in a tandem with an adult volunteer.

With the wind even a little brisker than it had been earlier, we repeated the course we had paddled earlier in the morning. The 88th Precinct group included eight youth in kayaks, a youth and a Sebago adult volunteer in a canoe, a youth and an Sebago adult volunteer in a tandem, two Sebago adult volunteers in a tandem, and the rest of the Sebago volunteers in kayaks, twenty-one boats in all.

Paddling back toward the Sebago dock after we had turned around, another youth in another Kea took a spill. Gerry and Chris were closer than anyone else was and appropriately responded. Between the two of them, they were able to help the young man back into his sit-on-top. As I skulled nearby I could tell from the youth’s face that he was not at all scared and even seemed to be enjoying himself from the moment he went over to the time he was back on top.

Because of the heavier wind and time constraints, we still paddle south past the Sebago dock before returning but not all the youth were able to paddle as far south as the earlier group.

I paddled a red Sealutions I had paddled before. Vicki paddled her new previously owned Current Designs Sirocco she has named “Sirensong”. Throughout the paddle, I could occasionally hear her saying “I love my Boat. I love my Boat. I love my Boat.” I think she loves her new used kayak.

After all the youth had cleared their boats from the dock, the adults also started docking and carrying boats and gear up the wash rack to be rinsed with fresh water before being stored. Once all the gear had been stored and the youth headed for home, most of the Sebago volunteers ended the paddle with grilled veggie burgers, kielbasa, Laurie’s homemade pickles, and other tasty treats.

Sea salt dried and adhered to my camera lens early in the trip, rendering most of my photos useless. Thus, there is no picassa album accompanying this post.

And on Another Blog . . . Lectionary Ruminations

Every Thursday, for the past twenty-six weeks, I have been posting Lectionary Ruminations, on the PRESBYTERIAN BLOGGERS blog.

Lectionary Ruminations is a Socratic reflection on the Lectionary Readings for the following Sunday.

Click on the first hot link to read the post. Click on the second hot link to explore the blog in general.

Remembering Marcy

Today (Friday, August 6) marks the anniversary of the first ascent of New York’s highest mountain, Mt. Marcy. The first documented ascent took place in 1837.

My first (and so far only) ascent of Mt. Marcy was July 22, 1978. My wife and I, college students at the time, were leading a group of high school students on a weeklong backpacking trip through the High Peaks of the Adirondacks. For a warm up, we had already, earlier in the trip, climbed Upper and Lower Wolf Jaw. When we left our campsite the morning of the climb, the weather was comfortably warm. I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Once on the summit of Marcy we were in a cool fog and I was wearing a nylon wind parka to keep warm. After climbing down the other side we were once enjoying warm and sunny weather.

I moved to New York State three years ago, and in the past three years I have been surprised that many native New Yorkers do not know where Mt. Marcy is located, and do not know that Mt. Marcy is the highest mountain in the Empire State.

For the record, Mt. Marcy rises 5344 feet above sea level and is located in the High Peaks Region of New York’s Adirondack Mountains.

Cleaning the Rolls

The list of blogs I like, which appears along the right side, has slowly been growing longer and longer. Unfortunately, some of their bloggers have not posted in a long time. Wanting to shorten these lists and bit, I have removed all the blogs that have not seen a post in three months or more, resulting in the removal of four blogs from my lists. One blog, Worship Weblog http://worshipweblog.com/ appears as though it has not been updated in four months when in fact it has been kept up to date. For some reason, even though this particular blog is regularly updated, the update is not appearing on my list.

Paddling to Provide Swimmer Support at the 7th Annual Hudson River Swim

My wife and I have been kayaking for over nine years. The first seven of those years were on sit-on-tops. The last two years have been a mix of paddling sit-on-tops and closed cockpit sea kayaks.

In our nine plus years of paddling, last Saturday was the first time we paddled to provide swimmer support. The occasion was the 7th Annual Hudson River Swim, a one mile swim from Newburg, NY to Beacon NY.

Saturday’s paddle was only the second time we have ever paddled on the Hudson. Our only other previous time on the river was a few years ago, a short paddle around Kingston. My wife paddled, for the first time, a used Current Designs Sirocco. She was test paddling the Sirocco because she was considering buying it. She ended up purchasing it later that day and we brought the boat home with us.

I paddled a Perception Prodigy 12 recreational kayak provided by Mountain Tops Outdoors, a local Beacon, NY Outfitter that provided their rentals free. While I found the Prodigy 12 cockpit a little large and cumbersome, at least my butt stayed dry, which it would not have if I had paddled my own sit-on-top. Mountain Tops also provided PFDs and paddles but I opted to use my own.

We had originally registered on-line to provide swimmer support. The morning of the swim, we reported to the registration table, our preregistered names we checked off, we were given a bottle of water, a Cliff Bar, and loaned a whistle and a foam noodle. A dock master supervised our getting into the water and then about a dozen kayakers paddled from Beacon across the Hudson to Newburgh where we waited for the one mile swim to begin. By the time the swim began, about a hundred kayaks were in the water to provide support.

I was impressed with organization as local police, sheriff, Coast Guard, and Coast Guard Auxiliary we also on hand to provide support. The river was even closed to all other traffic as along as swimmers were in the water.

Around 11:30 AM, about 250 swimmers entered the water (photo top right). I ended up paddling backwards in front of the swimmers on the downstream (southern) side and in front of the pack. I paddled backwards so that I could keep my eye on the half dozen to dozen swimmers near the front of the pack. As we approached Beacon I finally turned around and stayed close to who I believe was the third swimmer to complete the swim. I then backed off from the Beacon Dock and paddled to what I thought to be holes in the swimmer support coverage.

At first swimmers straggled in. Then more and more swimmers started approaching in groups, until about an hour after the swim began, all swimmers were present and accounted for on dry land. Earlier in the day I saw at least one swimmer hanging on an upstream kayak for support and another swimmer being brought in as a passenger on a jet ski.

There were several highlights during the day. The first was listening to Pete Seeger singing near the Newburgh Waterfront while I was sitting in my kayak and waiting for the swim to begin. The second was seeing and paddling in the presence of the The Sloop Woody Guthrie, which I had known nothing about prior to the day, in spite o my being a first year member of the Clearwater Foundation. The third came after the swim was over and I was out of the water. While walking around the Beacon waterfront, as we were enjoying humus, pita bread and watermelon, we encountered Pete Seeger talking to and strumming his banjo for a group of about eight to ten listeners.

The last time we saw and heard Pete perform was at his 90th birthday party in Madison Square Garden.  We were seated way up in the nosebleed section for that event, but last Saturday in Beacon we were standing about three to four feet away.

Photos from the day can be viewed on my Picasa page.

About the August 2010 Header Photo

Because I have recently been spending more time around water and the beach than in the heights of the mountains, I have had to reached back into my archives for this month’s header photo, all the way back to August 15, 1979. I electronically cropped this month’s header photo from a scanned black and white print. A colleague took the original with my Minolta SRT 101 SLR shooting Tri-X-Pan black and white film, which I developed myself. I also printed the original.

The shot, now a little grainy after scanning, is of me climbing (sans ice ax and crampons) a snowfield on the western slope of Mt. Geike in the Wyoming’s Wind River Range. At the time, I was a student on a National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) Outdoor Educators Course. We were backpacking up and out of Desolation Canyon, heading for Pain in the Ass Pass (11,632 ft) between Mt. Bonneville to the northeast and Raid Peak to the south.

Thirty-one years later, many of the lessons I learned on that NOLS course still inform my outdoor ethic and the way I approach outdoor adventure type activities. Now, however, many more of those activities take place on water rather than on mountains.

The Youth Paddle That Wasn’t

What do about a dozen adult volunteer paddlers do when the youth they were expecting to introduce to kayaking do not show up? They go kayaking, of course. They go kayaking longer and farther than they would have if they had been introducing the youth to kayaking.

Thirteen kayaks and fourteen paddlers departed from the Sebago Canoe Club dock around 10:15 AM. last Monday. The group included the trip leader Tony, as well as Barbara, Benny, Gary, three Johns, Kevin, Laurie, Mary, Nina, Rebecca, Vicki and Vivian.

After a brief paddle toward the mouth of Paerdegat Basin, we rafted up just shy of the Belt Parkway Bridge. When everyone was ready, we paddled under the bridge and into Jamaica Bay, intending to raft up again near buoy 13. Even before we reached that marker, however, one of our group members turned around and headed back to the clubhouse after deciding they did not feel up for the longer and farther paddle.

After the rest of us assembled near buoy 13 (Photo right), we paddled as a tight group across the channel to buoy 12, and then turned west, along the northern shore of Canarsie Pol. About halfway along the northern shoreline of the island, two more paddlers, paddling a tandem, turned back toward the dock, as one of them had an appointment later in the afternoon and was afraid he would not make it back in time if he paddled much farther.

Now down to eleven paddlers in eleven boats, we continued paddling around the northwestern tip of the isle, and being sure to stay a safe distance away from an Osprey nest, we rounded the tip and put in on a sandy and fairly clean beach.

Once we had all extracted ourselves from our boat’s cockpits, we stretched our legs, drank from our water bottles, and shared snacks. Tony offered up sugar-coated donettes. Laurie shared figs, and Mary invited all to partake of some of her trail mix. Restricting ourselves to the beach because of the wildlife management area above the high tide line, our Commadore still managed to collect some trash from this generally clean stretch of sand – three plastic water bottles tied together with polypropylene rope, one bottle still un-opened. Thanks to him we would be leaving this beach even cleaner than we found it.

One of the unique aspects of this particular beach was the invasive species that appeared to be sprouting right out of the sand (photo left). Three colorful Mums, ready for picking, fascinated those of us who did not see Kevin pick up the loose flowers (most likely left over from one of the religious ceremonies that sometimes take place on the shores of Jamaica Bay) from the sand and stick them stem first back in the sand.

After an opportunity to rest, stretch, refuel and rehydrate, we slid back into our boats and headed home. Before crossing the channel, we once again rafted up before heading in our usual tight group across the channel toward the southern shore of Brooklyn, just east of the Belt Parkway Bridge over Paerdegat Basin. Once across the channel we spread out over the water and paddled toward the western end of the bridge. As we cleared land the full force of a strong breeze, blowing straight down Paerdegat Basin and under the bridge, hit us in our faces and slowed our return paddle to the dock. After a steady paddle, however, eleven paddlers in eleven boats returned to the Sebago dock, three paddlers in two boats having returned earlier.

Vicki and I paddled Wilderness Systems Sealutions. The Sealution is not my favorite club boat I would rather paddle it than some others. My favorite club boat is the Necky Chatham, but other paddlers claimed both club Chathams before we arrived for the paddle. Vicki and I both experienced some weather cocking with the Sealutions that could only be corrected by adapted paddling strokes, as the Sealution does not have a skeg. The Chatam does have a skeg, which is why I prefer it.

Back at the club house, with all gear and boats having been rinsed with fresh water and stowed, most of us gathered around the outside picnic tables in the shade, joined by some club landlubbers, and enjoyed friendship and conversation in true Sebago style – over grilled veggie burgers, kielbasa, vegetables and assorted beverages, with watermelon for desert. Overall, it was a good day and a good paddle, even though the youth for whom we had gathered never showed up.

According to my GPS, we paddled 5.9 miles. The water temperature at the dock when we launched was a tepid 79!  The air temperatire ws in the 90's.

Photos from the day tcan be viewed on my Picasa page.

Rockaway Water Front Alliance Beach Clean Up and Water Quality Analysis Youth Paddle

I recently had the opportunity, along with three other volunteers from the Sebago Canoe Club, to provide kayaking support to a group of urban youth and their adult leader, Elizabeth. Part of a three day a week, six week summer program associated with the Rockaway Waterfront Alliance, the youth were planning to kayak from a marina on 59th Street in the Rockaway’s, at the base of Summerville Basin, out into Jamaica Bay and south to a beach few blocks away at the northern tip of 65th street, where they would pick up trash and measure water quality.

A third to a half of the youth had never kayaked before, but after a short land based lesson about how to paddle and properly fit and wear a PFD, the teenagers took to water like new born fish. With Elizabeth and the eleven kids paddling six tandem sit-on-tops and my wife and I paddling our single sit-on-tops and Tony and Jake paddling traditional kayaks, we paddled out into Summerville Basin. With an adult to youth ratio of nearly one to two, we paddled further out into Jamaica Bay and the short one and half miles to the beach in record time, so quickly that some who were driving had not yet arrived by the time we reached the beach.

After a little more paddling and water play as we wated for the rest of the group to arrive, we beached our kayaks, donned gloves, grabbed garbage bags, and started picking up trash. I will simply never understand how some people can so mistreat their living environment. We collected the usual collection of bottles and cans, aluminum foil, several pairs of shoes, empty fast food bags, Styrofoam fast food containers, and an odd assortment of other trash. In a matter of minutes I filled two large garbage bags with debris.

After cleaning up the beach, Rebecca, an educator associated with the New York City Soil and Water Conservation District as well as the Rockaway Waterfront Alliance, unpacked a plastic container of lab equipment and assigned the youth monitoring tasks (photo top right). After collecting water samples the kids measured turbidity, PH, salinity, and water temperature, recording their findings in order to help build a data base. Watching Rebecca and the teenagers at work reminded me of my High School Chemistry class and my participation in a Chemical Engineering Explorer’s Post. In ten or twenty years, one of these urban teenagers measuring water quality in Jamaica Bay might be their generations Rachel Carson Jasques Cousteau.

An hour or so after we landed on the beach we climbed back onto and into our kayaks and paddled back to the Marina (photo bottom left). Along the way, my senses and powers of observation having been heightened, I saw in the shallow water numerous crabs, mating horseshoe crabs, and along the marsh grass of Summerville Basin a few herons.

After beaching at the marina, without being asked, some of the youth helped us carry our personal boats to our car and even helped to lift them up on the roof racks. As we were leaving they thanked us, said good bye, shook our hands, and even gave some of us a hug. I think they appreciated us being there.

Having left my waterproof camera at home, I was still able to capture a few shots using my phone and I have posted thirty-two of them on my Picasa page.

Sebago’s July 17, 2010 All Club Invitational

It was publicized as “A DAY OF FUN, FOOD AND EDUCATION” with the potential to be “the largest gathering of human powered boats on Jamaica Bay”. It was fun. There was plenty of food. And while no papers were researched and written or quizzes and exams taken, it was educational. What did I learn? That a small volunteer club on the can make a big, positive impact.

In the words of Phil Giller, one of its main organizers, the Sebago Canoe Club’s (First Annual?) “all club Invitational was a great success. We are working on final numbers but we had OVER 100 guests on the water and 60 members signed in, so my unofficial count is that we had over 150 people on the water at 1 time.” Considering that more kayakers went out after some returned, I estimate that the total number of people on the water was even higher.

For awhile, the Sebago dock was perhaps busier than runways at nearby JFK Int’l Airport, but the traffic was ably controlled by the Dock Master (or is that Mistress). With kayaks, sailboats and row boats of all shapes and sizes sometimes departing and arriving at the same time, there was not a single mishap. The dock and walkway were at times congested with no room on the dock for any boats until some were removed, but traffic kept flowing. The main grounds of the Sebago Canoe Club, around the club house and especially between the club house and the dock, was also crowded with folding kayaks being assembled, kayaks being outfitted, and guests milling about as they returned from a trip, were waiting for a trip, or simply enjoying food and beverages provided by the club or donated by local businesses.

While I spent most of my time documenting the Invitational by taking pictures, I also helped clear the docks by carrying kayaks off the dock and up to the lawn or wash racks. And although I had not planned to paddle, I ended up helping to co-lead the last trip of the day, an unscheduled and impromptu paddle over to the salt marsh near the entrance to Mill Creek, and back.

There were seven kayaks and eight people on that last trip of the day. At least a few of them had never been in Jamaica bay before. One of them was a young boy who, along with his dad, climbed out of their tandem sit-on-top to lay in the small channel as the water, as warm as bathwater, rippled over their bodies as it made its way out of the marsh and back into the bay as the tide was going out. Seeing the smiles on the little bys face and hearing his giggles was reward enough for having co-led the trip.

While many of the sights and sounds of the day were memorable, I may never forget seeing a large rowed boat, the “Bird”, Jolly Roger flying aft, approaching the dock (photo bottom right). Having rowed over from nearby (well, sort of) Floyd Bennet Field, the Buccaneers, sans any rum or Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, boarded our dock and helped themselves to grog and grub. The handmade vessel was so unique that many were walking down to the dock just to look at.

The All Club Invitational was the largest event and gathering of people and human powered boats around the club and on Paerdegat Basin I have witnessed in my nearly three years of being associated with the Sebago Canoe Club. Something tells me that fact will not remain true in another year or two.

Many of the pictures I took throughout the day can be seen on my Picassa page.

Sebago's July 16, 2010 Youth Paddle

Today’s youth paddle at the Sebago Canoe club was a kaleidoscope of multicolored kayaks and canoes, some sit-on-tops and some traditional, mostly singles but a couple tandems and even one triple, as volunteer members of the club hosted 15 young boys and girls from the Brooklyn Sports Club. With more volunteers than guests, that adult to youth ratio was better than one to one.

The weather was perfect. The water was calm. The youth and their adult leaders started arriving at 10:00 AM sharp and were quickly welcomed, outfitted with paddles, PFD’s, and boats. From the Sebago dock they put into Paerdegat Basin and eventually paddled their way under the Belt Parkway Bridge into Jamaica Bay.

After returning, rinsing off and storing boats and gear, hamburgers and hot dogs were grilled, bocce was played, and shade by the water with a breeze off the water was enjoyed.

After the youth departed, around 1:30 PM, the Sebago volunteers enjoyed their own food and beverages, finishing and cleaning up just as a thunder storm passed over.

Photos from the day, probably more than you would ever want to see, are available via this link to my Picasa sight.

Tomorrow is expected to be a big day at the Brooklyn waterfront club as it hosts its first All Cub Invitational.

219th GA: Analysis of Votes

Cynthia Bolbach was elected Moderator of the 219th General Assembly on the fourth ballot when she garnered 51% of the vote (not the 53% as reported by the PNS), accumulating 315 of 635 votes. If the election of the moderator can at all predict the mood or theological leanings of an Assembly, what road it will follow, and whether it might turn left or right, then the election of Bolbach, generally perceived to be progressive, could have been seen as a hopeful sign for progressives and the passage of an Amendment to change G-6.0106b.

Add to Bolbach’s fourth ballot margin the votes cast for the other two candidates generally perceived to be progressive, Maggie Lauterer (49 votes or 8%) and Eric Nielsen (37 votes or 6%), and one could argue that the 219th GA was comprised of 65% (411 out of 635 votes) progressives and 35% (224 out of 635) conservatives, perhaps a sure sign that an amendment to G-6.0106b would be sent to the presbyteries. But not all commissioners voted during the election for moderator. Only 635 votes out of a maximum total of 712 votes were cast and about 80 commissioner seats were empty during the election of the moderator.

More commissioners voted in favor of amending G-6.0106b, 373 out of 700 voting, or 53%, than voted for Bolbach, but fewer than voted for all three progressive candidates combined. There were 65 more commissioners counted as voting on the amend G-6.0106b vote than were counted on the fourth moderator vote, but the vote was still 12 short of the maximum total.

This year’s vote to amend G-6.0106b (373-323-2) was nearly identical to the vote two years ago to amend G-6.0106b, (380-325, apparently more commissioners were voting two years ago then this year), suggesting that there has been very little change of opinion or in the theological leanings of commissioners to the General Assembly over the past two years.

Once I have accumulated the data I am looking for, I will offer further analysis of the G-6.0106b vote and its chance of passage in the presbyteries, so stay tuned.

219th GA: Post Assembly Reflections

After packing up the PVJ Booth in GA Exhibit Hall Thursday evening, we got our first full night’s sleep in three nights. When we woke up Thursday morning, we started packing our own belongings and checked out of our room by 10:30 AM. With luggage in tow, a three block walk took us to the Government Plaza station on the light rail line. From there we rode the train to the Minneapolis airport were we boarded our AirTran flight for New York City’s LaGuardia Airport. (photo right)

While waiting in the Minneapolis airport and during a layover in Milwaukie, we watched the GA plenary via live streaming on my wife’s smart phone. Once we arrived home we watched on the screen of my laptop. We might have physically left Minneapolis but we had not spiritually left the Assembly, and the work of the Assembly went on, not scheduled to adjourn until Saturday morning.

I registered for the GA as both an Exhibitor (Presbyterian Voices for Justice) as well as an Observer. Although I opted not to register as Press, I went to the GA intending to blog about my experiences, and blog I did, 26 posts to date. I found that the more activities, events, and special meals I attended, the less time I had to blog. And the more I blogged, the less time I had to meander through the Exhibit Hall and visit with friends and colleagues. The key, for me, was finding a happy medium. If nothing else, attending the GA as an Exhibitor/Observer while trying to blog about the experience increased my respect for reporters and other journalists at the General Assembly and the work they do. Writing is hard work and takes time, if done well. Kudos to the Presbyterian News Service. Some in the secular press could use a brief introduction to Presbyterian polity and termimnology.

Since I am not a professional reporter or journalist I did not feel bound by the professional ethic of maintaining objectivity. It was not my intent to offer a fair, balanced, and objective viewpoint. I care about what happened at the General Assembly. I went to the GA with invested loyalties and interests as well as with passions and commitments and I wanted some of those passions and commitments to shine through in my posts.

Many others set out to blog about the GA, some who were there and some who were not. I encourage readers of Summit to Shore to peruse a few other blogs for a wider view. My friend and College in Ministry over at Raxweblog offers theologically informed reflections of his week at GA that go deeper and offer more analysis than my own, but he does not have pictures. For a view of GA through the eyes of a Young Adult Advisory Delegate (YAAD), take a look at Liz goes to GA. For a view through the eyes of a first time Elder Commissioner, visit Leaning Downstreams. John Vest was a Minsiter Commissioner to the GA and offers reflections his blog.  Minister Observer David Ensign offers his reflections at Faithful Agitation. Another friend and college who was not at GA but followed it closely and commented from afar blogs at Shuck and Jive.  And finally, THE GA JUNKIE offers substantial analysis, some of it statistical with graphs (but no pictures).

219th GA: Breaking Down and Packing Up the Exhibit Hall Booths

The Exhibit Hall at the General Assembly was scheduled to close Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM, but traffic was so light in the Exhibit Hall early Wednesday evening that many Exhibitors started breaking down and packing up their booths prior to the 7:00 PM Closing Time, the Presbyterian Voices for Justice Booth among them. By the time I arrived at the Exhibit Hall just a few minutes before 7:00 PM to help dismantle and pack booth materials, most of the work had already been done by Vicki, Mitch and Sue with a little help from Doug (photo right). There was very little for me to help with when I arrived.

Because there was as staggered arrival of Exhibitors as the General Assembly was about to begin, setting up the booths in the Exhibit Hall seemed to require more time than taking them down at the end. At the end, in a matter of just a couple of hours the Exhibit Hall was transformed from a collection of booths offering all sort of information and material, even selling books, gifts and crafts, to a hodgepodge of packed boxes and crates as well as piles of garbage.

We finished dismantling and packing up by 7:30 PM and were on our way out of the Exhibit Hall for the last time. Someone else from PVJ would come back in the morning to retrieve the three plastic packing crates that we left behind. I hope they were, in fact, picked up.

219th GA: The Princeton Theological Seminary Luncheon

There were thirteen luncheons sponsored by Theological Institutions during Wednesday’s lunch break at the Presbyterian Church General Assembly on Thursday. I am a graduate of two of those Theological Institutions, so I had a decision to make. Which luncheon would I attend? I earned my Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and my Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from Princeton Theological Seminary. I chose the Princeton luncheon, held in the Minneapolis Ballroom D of the Hilton.

The Princeton Seminary Luncheon was by far the largest of any of the meals I attended while at the 219th General Assembly. I estimate that 300 to 400 guests were in attendance, not surprising since more Presbyterian Ministers are graduates of Princeton Seminary than any other seminary. Not all in attendance were Ministers however, as some Princeton graduates have served their communities and the church without seeking ordination.

Each guest was gifted with a Princeton Seminary seal label pin and a 2GB flash drive with two short videos about the seminary preloaded. Those in attendance were welcomed by William Robert Sharman III, director of alumni/ae relations. After a few announcements Seminary President Iain R. Torrance (photo right), the Seminary’s sixth president, introduced various Seminary Staff, spoke about current and future programs, welcomed questions, and introduced two short videos. As I tried to listen to the President’s remarks in spite of his soft voice and a malfunctioning sound system during the first part of his remarks, I was particularly interested in his mentioning Phyllis Tickle latest book and his reference to “a rummage sale of ideas”. Of the many new programs and initiatives he highlighted, the most visible and ambitious are plans to build a new library, one that would be the second largest theological library in the world.

219th GA: Committee on Ministry (COM) Conversations

Those attending the 219th General Assembly in Minneapolis in capacities other than as a Commissioner or Advisory Delegate, such as an Exhibitor or Observer, were given numerous opportunities to attend various educational events. Two such events, both scheduled for the Wednesday morning of the Assembly, were Committee on Ministry (COM) Conversations and Committee on Preparation for Ministry (CPM)/Exam Conversations. Since for the past two years I have been and continue to be a member of the Committee on Ministry of New York City Presbytery and for the six previous years staffed the Committee on Ministry of West Virginia Presbytery, I opted to attend the COM Conversation (photo right).

The format was similar to one I experienced two months earlier at an Office of Vocations event following a Board of Pensions Regional Governing Body Consultation in Tampa. This time, however, there were many more people in attendance and the topic was not as focused.

After brief introductions by Marcia Myers, Director, Office of Vocations, those in attendance were invited to respond to questions that had been written on index cards by participants. The questions ranged from issues related to policies, practices and “this is how we do it, how do you do it.” Overall the time I spent in listening to and participating in the conversation was well spent and gave me the opportunity to step of the insular confines of New York City Presbytery to hear from colleagues across the country. In other words, I am glad I attended.

I applaud the Office of Vocations for piggybacking educational events and opportunities for sharing with colleagues at gatherings such as Board of Pensions Regional Governing Body Consultations and the General Assembly. It is an efficient use of time, staff, and financial resources.

219th GA: Presbyterian Publishing Corporation Complimentary Breakfast

The morning after the Witherspoon Society Dance, for the second time in two days I attended an early morning, 7:00 AM breakfast while operating with only about four hours sleep the night before. The breakfast was a complementary one sponsored by the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation (PPC) and held in the Hyatt’s Nicollet Ballroom.

As at most GA breakfasts, staff of the sponsoring entity were introduced, recognized and thanked. A power point presentation featuring some of the titles published over the past year highlighted the work of PPC. Don Griggs (photo right), speaking from notes on his kindle, spoke about Biblical Literacy in a Digital Age. Don has long been recognized as a leader in Christian Education who has been capable of employing emerging technologies to teach the faith and spread the Gospel. His presentation seemed designed to motivate those in attendance to do the same. He at least motivated me to post to Facebook while he was still speaking and to later post a tweet to twitter.

In addition to being glad I was able to hear Don’s presentation, I was also glad to have sitting next to me on my right a longtime friend and colleague in ministry, Glenn, and to have sitting next to me on my left a fellow blogger, Liz, whom I was just getting to know. Making me really glad I attended the breakfast was my being the winner, at my table, of a copy of Halos and Avatars, a recent PPC publication.

219th GA: Midle East Peacemaking Issues Committee Reports to Plenary

Because I observed most of the deliberations and actions of Committee 14: Middle East Peacemaking Issues, I watched with interest, via live streaming over the internet, as the committee reported in this morning’s plenary. I tuned in a little late and so was not able to watch the whole report but was relieved during what I did watch that the Committee’s recommendations were being endorsed by GA Commissioners.

Prior to the Committee report, a letter from representatives of many, if not all, sides of the debate endorsing the Committee’s recommendations was released to the public. Here is a link to the letter, which was posted on the Presbyterian Outlook website.

219th GA: Dancing the Night away at the Witherspoon Society Dance

I am biased, but I think the Witherspoon Society dance is, without a doubt, the most fun event at the General Assembly. This GA’s dance was held last Tuesday from 9:00 PM to 1:00 AM Wednesday in the Hyatt’s Nicollet Ballroom. By the time I arrived, around 10:00 PM, the room was already buzzing with several people on the dance floor.

This year’s DJ was one of the better ones over the past few years, playing three to four songs from the same genre, such a rock, before switching to another genre, such as hip-hop. As usual these days, the DJ not only played dance tunes but provided a light show which illuminated the dance floor with various lighting effects, adding to the celebrative mood (photo right).

With a cash bar that offered soft drinks as well as beer and wine, and perhaps mixed drinks (but I really don’t know), there were many opportunities for liquid refreshment at the dance. Our beveridge of choice for the evening was red wine. Those of legal drinking age had their hand or other body parts stamped so the bar tenders could identify them and those under legal drinking age were required to sign a covenant, stating that they would not drink alcohol. Free munchies, including pretzels and dip, nuts, potato chips and popcorn were also available and widely consumed.

The room exploded into applause when General Assembly Moderator Cynthia Bolbach entered the venue. Even though I got down on my knees and pleaded with her to give me the honor of the first Moderatorial dance, I was rebuffed. I later learned that while our Moderator has many attributes, dancing might not be one of them.

The last several years it has seemed that those responsible for the Young Adult Advisory Delegates (YAADs) have scheduled activities for them which conflict with the timing of the dance. For instance, this year YAADs were given the opportunity to be bused to the nearby Mall of America, yet a few opted to skip the mall and come to the dance, and a few younger people who were not YAADS also attended the dance.

I think attending the Witherspoon Dance would have been a better GA experience for YAADS than going to the Mall of America. The Witherspoon Dance is a fully inclusive celebration of life and an opportunity to either relax and unwind or dance away pent up energy after days of sitting in meetings, scheduled for the evening after committee work has concluded and before the plenary work begins. Busing YAADS to the Mall of America only helps perpetuate a culture of decadent consumerism that is often at odds with the gospel.

I heard there was a rumor circulating before the dance that the Witherspoon Dance was “the Gay Dance”. Because of the open and inclusive justice stance of the former Witherspoon Society, now Presbyterian Voices for Justice, LGBTs have always felt safe attending to the dance and dancing with one another. The largest percentage of people at the dance, however, was probably not LGBTs, and there were at least a few heterosexual married couples in the room as well as on the dance floor.

For the record, my wife and I, as we at several Witherspoon Dances, were two of the last people on the dance floor, staying till the very last dance.  And for the record, as the evening drew to a close and only three men and sevral women were still on the dance floor, two of the men were members of New York City Presbytery and the third was a member of Hudson River Presbytery, proof positive that New Yorkers rock.

219th GA: Home Safe and Sound after a Day of Travel

My wife and I left Minneapolis and the General Assembly Thursday morning. With help from Mitch and Sue, Vicki packed up the Presbyterian Voices for Justice Booth in the GA Exhibit Hall Thursday evening and we relaxed the rest of the evening while watching the GA Plenary via live streaming over the internet from the casual comfort of our motel room.

After the first good night’s sleep in three nights, we woke up yesterday morning, packed up our own belongings, walked with our luggage in tow to the light rail station at the Government Center stop, and rode to the Minneapolis airport.  With the Minneapolis skyline in the background (photo right), we only waited a few minutes a few minutes before we were able to board our AirTran flight.

After two uneventful flights, the first from Minneapolis to Milwaukee and the Second from Milwaukee to New York City, we landed safely at LaGuardia Airport. We took a taxi to where we were boarding our dog Myrrhlyn so that we could pick him up before they closed and he would not have to spend another night in the kennel. While my wife stayed at the kennel with canine and luggage, I took the subway home, picked up the car, and came to pick up her and the dog. We spent the rest of the evening watching the GA via live streaming while eating take out Chinese.

Although I might be back home and no longer at GA, I have a back log of reflections I want to write and post, so stay tuned to Summit to Shore for more reporting about GA and reflections afterward.

219th GA: Thirty Years of Peacemaking

Early Tuesday evening I attended the “30th Anniversary Dessert - Presbyterian Peacemaking Program” in the Hyatt’s Nicollet Ballroom BC. 2010 marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption of Peacemaking: The Believers Calling, and I wanted to attend this event because I was a Youth Advisory Delegate to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly in Detroit, the Assembly which adopted Peacemaking: The Believers Calling.

As a result of my experience with and exposure to the adoption of Peacemaking: The Believer’s Calling in 1980, peacemaking has been near and dear to my heart ever since. I was active in the peacemaking fellowship at Princeton Seminary while I was a student. I chaired the Peacemaking Committee of Shenandoah Presbytery for a few years and was a member of the Synod of Mid-Atlantic’s Peacemaking Partnership. I attended the Peacemaking Conference when it was held at Hoffstra University and, along with a group from Shenandoah Presbytery, attended a multiday United Nations Seminar in New York City (years before I moved there).

Over the last thirty years I have witnessed the Office of Peacemaking blossom and grow, transform and morph, first under the leadership of Richard Kilmer, then Sara Lisherness, and now Mark Koenig (photo right).

Without a printed program I am hesitant to list all the people who were introduced and spoke at the 30th Anniversary Dessert because I did not have the time to confirm the correct spelling of their names. The evening’s keynoter, Dr. Alvine Laure Siaka, spoke about the importance of HIV testing and noted that each and every one of us is either infected with or affected by HIV!

The event offered me the opportunity to catch up with William S.J (Presbyterians will know who I mean), who has at times worked with programs related to the Office of Peacemaking and with whom I have worked with on several projects over the years. Catching up with folks like him is one of the greatest benefits of attending the General Assembly.