[LIVE BLOG] Voting Member Orientation

1:00 4/27/12: Voting Member Orientation Bp Kevin Kanouse [LIVE BLOG] At 1:00, the "Voting Member Orientation" began with a rousing rendition of "How Great Thou Art" from Bishop Kevin. Bishop Kevin describes some of the language used in association with the weekend. Traditionally we call this a "Synod Convention" and the attendees "Voting Members", but that language is changing after approximately 24 years of use. We are Holy Spirit inspired and assemble at the "Assembly". We have gone away from use of the word "Synod" to "Mission" to help us understand what we are all about. He describes us as missionaries in the world and our congregations as mission gathering places. "DiscipleLife" is our mission word that describes who we are, which is the life of living out discipleship. We live our life for Jesus all throughout our life, and we  are all about sowing and growing disciples for Jesus. Each and everyone is called in one way or another to DiscipleLife. God empowers and equips us for DiscipleLife. The DiscipleLife theme last year was "serving". This year is the end of the 6 year arc, and the theme is "Celebrating DiscipleLife". For the event this weekend, one of the central highlights is a Glocal Event - this is the first time this has happened at a Mission Assembly. The musicians here are part of the Global Mission team based out of Chicago, Atlanta, New York, and others, plus a gathering of our local musicians. We will also hear from executive director Pr. Rafael Malpica-Padilla. Sunitha Moritha from Global Chicago also here. Saturday afternoon we'll have workshops. The weekend will feature a Global Marketplace, Global Village, and on Saturday a Global Celebration. There are hundreds of expressions of what it means to be an NTNL Lutheran, and this weekend we will hear a lot of these stories. Additionally, we will vote on things like care and compensation packages for clergy, the election of a new secretary this year, and the election of the NTNL Bishop. All this will take place via a voting pad included at the registration desk. This is your best friend! Don't lose yours! These cost $50 to replace, so please return yours at the end of the Assembly. This weekend we will have a session on how to use the voting pads.