Things are getting busy in the Delegate Assembly as the end of the week looms. Yesterday afternoon we were joined for part of the session by some of the youth, who had been learning about the Assembly and now had a chance to see it in action and give us some feedback. It seemed like a really good way to intentionally bring youth into the decision-making process - I wish I could've done something like that when I went to youth conventions!

The Assembly worked on two major issues since I last blogged:

Anti-racism. We received a report on MCUSA's priority to be an anti-racist organization, and discussed ways that congregations could connect across racial/ethnic lines, and how the Executive Board could support that. Between this discussion and the documentary Fuerza, which I saw last evening, I've come away with a really strong sense that we need to be deliberate about reaching out beyond the historically white European Mennonite circle. I think I may have to make an effort to start learning Spanish, and I want to try and be creative about how I do that.

Health care access.We revisited the discussion of the health care access initiative, and things felt more positive this time. In open discussion, the Assembly asked the Executive Board for a lot of specifics: eligibility, cost, the necessary level of congregational participation across the church. But we also started to talk about ways that we can communicate the need for this action back home, and I think most delegates are going to return from San Jose with as advocates for the project. It also seems likely that the Executive Board is going to put some real effort into developing educational material to help explain the scope of the health care crisis, the importance of action as a church, and the cost of doing nothing.

After a little more talk about health care in this morning's session, we handed in our ballots - I think the resolution is likely to pass, authorizing the Executive Board to begin exploring the options.

Labels: church, health care, San Jose 2007