A different Episcopal Church returns to Indianapolis 18 years later. Abortion is celebrated rather than birth; the church’s drive to be all inclusive and all embracive now hinges on sexual activity not skin color; the Reformed Episcopal Church ultimately did not dance with TEC but became a founding member of ACNA; while The Episcopal Church is sending up trial balloons on same-sex blessing liturgies…

General Convention 2009 has faded into memory and the other 75 Episcopal General Conventions have become a part of history or at least woven into the folklore of The Episcopal Church. Now all eyes are turned to Indiana and focused on Indianapolis. Necessary arrangements have been made. Travel tickets are in hand and lodging has been secured.

The last time The Episcopal Church met it was in the shadow of Disneyland. And the carnival-like atmosphere of Walt Disney’s first theme park permeated the Convention. Life-sized golden Mickey Mouse figures greeted conventioneers at their hotels. The sights, sounds, colors, noise and commotion of Mickeymouseland even spilled over into the liturgical settings of Convention. Some bishops were so disgusted by the glitz and clamor of the “spiritual events” they were seen walking out.

This time there will be no high level visitors from Lambeth Place keeping an eye on how The Episcopal Church is doing things or even trying to persuade the American Episcopal Church from committing further spiritual suicide and further poisoning the Anglican DNA. Both Rowan Williams and John Sentamu have been special Anglican visitors in recent General Conventions. Not this time.

The die is cast. The Episcopal Church is set upon continued spiritual destruction using the General Convention as its rudder. The projectory can be tracked through the submitted Resolutions. No one or nothing can change TEC’s course, including the Holy Spirit, Himself. The General Convention, the legislative body of The Episcopal Church, continues to carry out a long line of all inclusive activity which has rent the fabric of Anglicanism and split the American church.

General Convention has met in Indianapolis only one time before – 1994. Then Edmond Browning was the Presiding Bishop, and the Blue Book was actually blue. This year it is a sickly pink. Of the more than 500 Resolutions presented to that earlier Convention about 300 were passed.

Then, what the 71st General Convention was dealing late in the summer, was increasing the number of persons of color in lay ministry within the parish, diocesan and national levels; affirming the sacredness of life from conception and the celebration of birth as “a joyous and solemn occasion”, while denouncing abortion as having a “tragic dimension;” seeking to delete the Filioque Clause from any future revisions of the Book of Common Prayer; and opening dialogue with the Reformed Episcopal Church which would hopefully lead to the mutual recognition of ordained ministry; and authorized use of the Trial Lectionaries.

A different Episcopal Church returns to Indianapolis 18 years later. Abortion is celebrated rather than birth; the church’s drive to be all inclusive and all embracive now hinges on sexual activity not skin color; the Reformed Episcopal Church ultimately did not dance with TEC but became a founding member of ACNA; while The Episcopal Church is sending up trial balloons on same-sex blessing liturgies, and the Holy Spirit seems to have gotten lost in the mix whichever way He proceeds in the Nicene Creed and the Filioque.

This year the Battle of the Budgets is shaping up with Katharine Jefferts Schori trying to undermine and undercut the work of the Executive Council and the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget & Finance by proffering her own dream budget where she envisions herself as a church planter. Meanwhile she decimates churches in her wake. Her legacy will be empty churches, dwindling congregations and inflated budgets.

This year, too, Bonnie Anderson, who has been a steadying force in the House of Deputies, is hanging up her robes. Her presidency is up for grabs. At times she and the Presiding Bishop have been at loggerheads over their varied and diverse philosophies of how The Episcopal Church should engage in mission. The House of Deputies President is basically spiritually-minded while the Presiding Bishop’s focus tends toward meeting physical need, which shows her theological understanding is solidly grounded in the discipline of science.

However, Katharine Jefferts Schori is also facing the final leg of her own term as Presiding Bishop. Her nine year House-of-Horrors term ends in 2015. The emotional, spiritual and physical damage she has wrought upon the Church may not ever be reversed. A Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop is expected to be fielded to find nominations or the 27th Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church who will be elected by the next General Convention in Salt Lake City.

So far about 300 Resolutions have been submitted with more Resolutions being filed daily. Only 155 of them are listed in the non-blue Blue Book.

One of the biggest problems Convention will face this year is how to tame the financially oppressive structure of The Episcopal Church where 41% of the Church’s dwindling income goes towards sustaining the beast’s governance and administrative costs.

Another big change at this General Convention will be the heightened use of social media. Bishops and deputies are to be actively blogging and tweeting what is happening as it unfolds – even behind closed doors – so that the Church will be forced into transparency, as the 77th Episcopal General Convention becomes a galvanizing online event.

Mary Ann Mueller is a journalist living in Texas. She is a regular contributor to VirtueOnline, where this article first appeared.  It is used with their permission.