Pearls of Wisdom While Seeking the Nomination

I have been meeting with people who have campaign experience and who are willing to share their insights and advice. So many different points of view expressed - so much conflicting advice. Sifting through it all to select the pearls that I can use now and then storing the rest for later. So many questions - mine and theirs - and lots of answers - each suitable for a particular situation - sorting and sifting. It's a journey through unknown territory looking for guideposts in the fog.

Festival of the Written Arts - Sechelt

We spent the weekend immersed in literature and together with being at the Rockwood Centrre provided a magical weekend experience. Although not all of the authors' readings resonated with me, those that did will be unforgettable. Shane Koyczan's spoken word performance was an incredible surprise and one of the highlights of the weekend. Chantal Hebert's political analysis was compelling and challenging and a call to action. The authors who are also musicians were especially engaging and occasionally quite provocative - Dave Bidini (formerly of the Rheostatics), Paul Quarrington, Will Ferguson and Tom Phillips. I am already looking forward to next year's festival.

Guest Sermon for Sunday

Today I am working on a sermon for Sunday. Our Minister is on vacation and so members of the congregation are often asked to take a service. This is my first time. I have known from the beginning what my theme would be - Transformation and Acceptance. Now, I am pulling together the myriad thoughts in my head that have been clustering around these two words for the past few weeks.

On one level, I will be talking about it being the 20th anniversary of the United Church's decision to admit self-declared, practicing gays and lesbians into the ordered ministry, i.e. how our view of them was transformed at that time so that the church no longer saw them as ineligible but as highly valuable. They always were valuable but the church needed to undergo a transformation in order to see it.

On another level, I will be talking about how our daughter, Laura, transformed into our son, Julian, and how we were able to focus on the inner person and be supportive as her outer being transitioned from female to male. I am hoping to be able to convey that the great love in our hearts for her provided the pivot point so we kept our gaze on the incredible person inside her and not on whether she was female or male, straight or gay.

Julian lives in Victoria and is a wonderful writer and, in a recent essay called Not a Straight Line, he talks a little about the advantages of being a transsexual man. He says, "I was raised female, so I have a head start on all those communication skills men are supposed to find so difficult. There are some disadvantages. I don't know all the unspoken rules for masculinity in my culture. Then again, a certain non-attachment to the rules of manhood might not be such a bad thing...I may sometimes feel bewildered and lost about how to be a man in the world, but I have it on good authority that so do all the other guys."

He will be visiting the Sunshine Coast this weekend to attend the Writers Festival. I don't know if he will come to hear the sermon but I hope the message of Transformation and Acceptance is meaningful to those who do come to Gibsons United on Sunday morning.

Powell River

Off to Powell River today for the Delegate Selection Meeting. Other than the torrential downpour near Trout Lake, the drive up and ferry trip were good and we were able to discuss many topics while we travelled. The DSM meeting itself went well and our strategy meeting afterwards really reinforced the key activities needed to succeed. Had a little trepidation waiting in the ferry line-up at Saltery Bay and with good reason, as it turns out. We were the very last car on the 4:30 run, shoehorned in at an angle at the last minute. Glad we made it!

Small Planes and Long Days

Took Tofino Air to Nanaimo today for a meeting. Up at 6:00 and drove to Sechelt in drizzle which had turned into a torrential downpour by 7:15. Soaked right through my GoreTex. Small Beaver plane but big views as we flew over Georgia Strait. Great meeting, met lots of dedicated folks and flew back at 6:45 on a bigger plane - with a load of people who had been to a memorial service and were high on life - I think that happens sometimes when you have a personal experience with the death of someone close to you. One woman pretended to be the flight attendant and gave a pretty good imitation of the safety announcements. Passing over two cruise ships as we flew home was amazing - they looked small on the expanse of water. And now, to rest for the meeting tomorrow in Powell River.

Communication Plan Part 1: The Website

Who knew that there were so many questions requiring answers? I reserved a domain name and thought that I was on the right road. But then, where to host it? How many email addresses come with it? What does hosting cost? Design? Storage capabilities? So much to know - and it is only one part of the Communication Plan! It requires small steps moving in the right direction.