Integrity

It's been a gift to be here at the trial.  One of the most powerful pieces of this trial process has been observing our jury court (clergy colleagues acting as jurors).  Since they were selected yesterday (tho it seems like days, if not weeks ago now...) I have been impressed with their integrity.

Now, at this point you may know that this afternoon the trial court arrived at their decision addressing the two counts against Amy DeLong: Guilty- for having conducted a same-sex union; NOT guilty for being a "self-avowed, practicing homosexual."  This in itself is an AMAZING verdict (and worthy of its own blog post) but I do not write this because I agreed with their conclusions.  This post is to address the upstanding conduct of the trial court- not their verdict. 

As the judge (bishop) gave instructions- they were thoughtful.  As the witnesses spoke- they were attentive.  As laughter filled the courtroom (mild, light-heartened interactions between witnesses &/or the counsels), they remained focused and disengaged, avoiding reaction or direct eye contact with the audience.

I say all of this because recently at Annual Conference it felt like our "clergy covenant" had become a piece of ancient history.  Disconnected, disheartened-- and many members jaded-- our clergy communion has not enjoyed the strength and solidarity that I believe it once had and could have again.  As a keen observer of human interaction, I was honored to sit and observe the trial court's actions and inactions.  They gave me hope, even in midst of a lot of despair, of what our covenant could look like.  I felt a sense of pride and blessing to see my colleagues in this light. Thank you, WI Conference Clergy- Trial Court 2011, for your integrity in this difficult process.