If Christ is risen…

I'm not as sanguine as some about conventions, but by the same token I don't think I am as pessimistic as others. That could be a combination of an attitude described by some as cynical (I prefer to think of it as realistic) and 11 years of ordained ministry. So while I'm don't consider myself a grizzled veteran, I've been to enough conventions to realize they are less "make or break" events than a "state of the union" check-up. While there are sometimes significant decisions made at these gatherings, they are merely the end result of a course of action set in motion months or years before. Further, whatever good or bad has been percolating over the intervening two years usually surfaces in some form over the course of the meeting.
That being said, I'm interested to see what the convention looks and sounds like. I know it will look different simply because of colleagues and congregations who were in Edmonton two years ago but are no longer part of the ELCIC. Then there are those, like two of this blog's contributors, who joined the synod since last convention. I'm wondering what it will sound like—what the tone and tenor will be as speakers come to the microphones and as delegates visit and vent in the hallways. What language will be used and what meanings will be intended and attached to words once held in common.
The ELCIC and our Synod in particular, are under a variety of stresses and it's tempting to see convention as either the cause of, or solution to all these circumstances. But Church historian of blessed memory, Jaroslav Pelikan redirects our attention and focuses our perspective: "If Christ is risen, then nothing else matters; if He is not risen, then nothing matters."
God grant journeying mercies to all traveling to and from convention over the coming days. And the Holy Spirit prepare the hearts and minds of delegates as we gather for the business of the Synod, including the election of the bishop.