- At 9 a.m. for the Minister's Meet & Greet Saturday morning, newly elected General Superintendent David K. Bernard stood at the entrance of the Exhibition Hall shaking hands with anyone and everyone. For a man well-known for not schmoozing, it was a nice move.
- Most (non-official) estimates put the night services crowd at about 7,500.
- Is it a shame or a blessing we don't have commentators who can accurately assess the Haney years? It seems odd that in the years of accessible media, we still make our assessments orally.
- Many mentioned that it will be nearly impossible for anyone up for a general election (as opposed to niches like Foreign Missions) to win 66% after 8 years. It's too easy to upset 33% + 1 person. That said, General Secretary Jerry Jones has already disproven that notion at least once.
- Again a dearth of young people. Yes it's a Youth Congress year, but 10% or less of the under 25 set is a far cry from just a few years ago.
- Everyone who attended the Wednesday night drama said it was fabulous, but crowd (non-official) estimates were at 3,500.
- The Renaissance Grand had the fastest elevators of any recent Headquarters Hotel in memory. (I know that sounds like a small thing, but it's not.)
- It's refreshing to spend time with like-minded believers from around the world, all worshiping God in great services. Sometimes it's easier to focus on what's wrong than what's right. The services were a great reminder on what's working.
- Many (most) services featured multiple speakers instead of 1, & many of those speakers used other people as their dramatic examples (a la Youth Congress).
- Just because I'm from St. Louis doesn't mean I know of an excellent downtown barber for you
Sunday, October 04, 2009
General Conference: Sunday Musings
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5 comments:
So after not attending Conference since Columbus, OH, 3 years ago, I was astonished at the meager attendance this year! Any thoughts on the causation of this, especially in St. Louis where one would think attendance would be increased? -curious
Why do so few attend? Probably a combination of many reasons:
* A lousy economy.
* A Youth Congress year.
* If you're not a minister, there's not much to do until the weekend.
* St Louis saturation? All sorts of UPCI stuff goes on there all the time.
* People still complain about the 90 minute offerings during the biggest services.
I have no clue why an offering should take longer than 15 minutes.
I personally thought the drama was lousy. It was poorly written, had too many political jabs in it, and holiness is more than a dress code. I was embarrassed by Huntley's message. I could say more, but I don't think it would do any good.
This is the first GC I have been able to attend (since it was in St. Louis & I now live here). I heard many times that people wanted to attend, but that the cost was prohibitive. The entrance fee for the entire Conf. was a bit high (especially for a family). On top of that, it was discovered that if you purchased admittance by event (rather than for the whole Conf), you also had to purchase entrance separately to the Exhibits. In addition to those fees, parking, and offerings (this assumes you are a local), it all adds up! I can't imagine how a family can afford to attend if they also have the expenses of hotel, travel, meals, etc. Perhaps others have more income in this bad economy than those I have spoken to!
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