I'm proud of my church

This time I'm not talking about either of the local disciple-communities I'm a part of (though I'm proud of both of them too!), but the larger denominational body that my big church is a part of: the Episcopal Church in the USA (ECUSA). And I'm sorry to say that I didn't expect to feel this way as we entered our 75th General Convention, in Columbus, Ohio, which just completed. I expected a lot of partisan infighting on topics like sexuality and perceived heresy. In that respect, I wasn't entirely proven wrong. There was fighting about other topics, too. Still, I'm very proud of this convention, overall, for at least three reasons:

• The enthusiastic embrace of the Millennium Development Goals.
• The election of our new Presiding Bishop-elect, the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, with whom I'm quickly becoming quite impressed. I'm pretty sure she's the first female Archbishop in any major communion of the Church, which is certainly notable. But I'm more impressed by her apparent courage and commitment to bridge-building.
• The last-ditch, heroic, and successful effort to produce a serious response to the Windsor Report - one that was painful and sacrificial for both the left and the right. (The Windsor Report was the worldwide Anglican Communion's response to the divisions that occurred in the Communion following the consent given by 2003's ECUSA General Convention to the election of an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire.) We have a church that's courageous enough to live the example of the Cross and committed to maintaining the loving communion of the Body of Christ, and I'm proud to be a part of her. More info here on The Center Aisle.