Rochester Trip

On Tuesday, I made a trip to Rochester with two goals in mind.  The first was to get-together with a long lost friend, Bonnie, with whom I hung out during my seminary years, and afterwards, though we lost contact somewhere along the way.  Bonnie contacted me, knowing that I would probably be attending the conference in Rochester. She lives in the area.  We arranged to meet, have lunch and attend the clergy gathering together.   Had Bonnie not been my guide  (I followed her into the city), I'm not sure I would ever have found the place.  The convention center was in the middle of down town, and poorly marked.   I would honestly have been lost.

Clergy Session is the beginning of a five day marathon known as Annual Conference.  After attending just the afternoon event,  I was reminded again how much I dislike sitting all day at such a conference.  Plus,  everything has changed since I last attended Clergy Session.  There has been a merger of four smaller conferences into one larger one.  Now, most of the faces are unfamiliar, where once everyone greeted each other with warm hugs. Add to that my retired status, and what emerges is quite a disconnected feeling.

Once again, had it not been for Bonnie, I would have been rather lost. What the future may hold regarding these gatherings remains to be seen.