Missing the GCN

               I’m sitting in the Atlanta airport as I write the draft of this post*, and I’m already missing the conference. I miss lanyards with pins that say “hi, I’m bi” “my pronouns are ____” “Momma bears” “#i’llgowithyou” and on and on. I miss the subtle weight of the lanyard around my own neck, the pins that proclaimed my own identity, the booklet that held the myriad of incredible speakers and sessions and more, the whole contraption that marked me as a part of something wonderful.

               I miss the driving focus on intersectionality, I miss the insistence that, being a community familiar with pain, we are obligated to work against all pain, not just ours. I miss the speakers that were willing to break taboos to cross divides. I miss the insistence on the value of every single person, regardless of their theological background, their hermeneutical style, or their “side” on any given issue, (well ok, maybe almost regardless). I miss being reminded that justice cannot be parceled out, that it is not justice unless it is justice for all.
               I miss the all gender bathrooms, and the community that made them work. I miss the obvious efforts that the conference administrators made to include as many people as they could. I miss watching the ASL interpreters switch out with each other, and I miss seeing them projected up on the big screen.
               I miss the GCN community. I miss the parent hugs and the approachability of everyone at the conference. I miss the embodiment of the body of Christ. I miss the unity without uniformity, I miss the semi-constant reminders to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us, I miss the thundering applause for speakers on side a and side b. I miss the Sunday morning worship, watching my siblings in Christ take the body and the blood (or not, as their conscience dictates), reading the liturgy, singing the hymns. I even miss the normal morning praise band worship, (if you know me, you know that’s saying something).
               Of course, saying you miss something is just another way of saying you love that thing, and it’s true, I love the GCN. Fortunately for me, this missing doesn’t have to be permanent, with a bit of luck I’ll be able to return to them in a year or two. I sure hope that the things I loved about GCN stick around for next year’s conference, and, so far as it is within my power, I will try to bring them with me into my everyday life. 

*Clearly this post is well overdue, but the sentiment still holds.