We are returning the convention schedule back to 'Plan A.' That is, we will host a single-day event on Saturday, November 21, as originally envisioned back in January, long before the pandemic hit.
I am thankful for so many folks who were helping plan the expanded three-day schedule. Back in June, we hoped we could generate an energetic, unifying, spirited online experience that would showcase the resilience of this remarkable diocese and spark renewed excitement for 2021 — all the while trimming the total hours we would all spend online. While I love this ambitious swing-for-the-fences attitude, the reality is that the added cost and complexity required to produce that kind of online event are not minor, and frankly the number of hours that the attendees would be online was growing, not shrinking.
Thus the secretary of convention and I have decided to return to the original plan: a joyful and energetic convention done simply. The convention will be open for anyone, all across the world, who wants to stream the event. We will still talk about racial justice, about the impacts of pandemic, and about our non-stop call to evangelism. We will still celebrate the Eucharist for the entire diocese to join. In short, we will still praise the loving name of Jesus Christ and give thanks for this Episcopal Church in Delaware which he has assembled to work and pray in his name.
So keep Saturday, November 21 on your calendars. And never stop swinging for the fences, especially in Christ’s name! This change to convention doesn’t for a second mean we shouldn’t dream big. Quite the opposite. I wonder if it just might mean we are called, at convention and beyond, to dream even bigger still.
In Christ,
+Kevin
