Ecumenical General Assembly

Yesterday I attended my very first General Assembly of an Ecumenical Organization: Ecumenical News International. This was a most interesting meeting. I have never been to any other General Assemblies, so I have no idea if this was a "normal" assembly or not. However, I feel that I have a better understanding for how Ecumenical organizations work.

There are politics at play.

There are things that are not being said in words, but are being heard loud and clear. People hear certain things, which may or may not have been said explicitly. There are things that are said that perhaps have different meaning to the one saying them to the ones hearing them. There was a lot of talk. There was a lot of political maneuvering.

We spent a lot of time yesterday talking about the budget. Budget is such an important part of our work as non-profits. We are always looking for new sources of money; we are always afraid that the sources we have will dry up; we are always trying to save everywhere we can. Talk of the budget and talk of the future and talk of the role of key players took up much of the time. Even as we talked of the future we were really talking about the budget and as we talked about key players we were really talking about the future and as we talked openly about the budget we were really talking about the future and the key players. The discussions were never just surface level. There was always a layer to be had underneath. I understood some of the layers, but I am sure that I did not understand all of the complexities. There was a lot of talk. There were politics at play.

I am glad I spent my day understanding how ecumenical organizations really work. I also got to network with some great people. I also got a chance to have 2 meals with these same great people. I really enjoyed getting to know them over the food and wine. Overall, it was a good day.

I am going tonight to see the musical, Chess. My supervisor has a role in it. I am very excited! I love going to see theater and especially Musical Theater. I think I am going to try out for a show if I find out about one happening here in Geneva soon.