Blessed with a gloriously sunny day, 1,063 Louisiana Episcopalians, young and old, arrived by car, shuttle, taxi and bus to celebrate "One Church, One Mission" at the first-ever diocesan rally Jan. 15 at St. Martin's School, Metairie.

"It was a huge success," said rally organizer the Rev. Canon Ronald Clingenpeel. "Now it is time to take the messages we heard, the lessons we learned, the fellowship we encountered, and the power of God, back into our congregations and get moving on our vision for this diocese."

The participants heard two presentations from guest speaker the Rt. Rev. Michael Marshall, adviser on evangelism to the Archbishop of Canterbury, words of welcome and a sermon from the Rt. Rev. Charles Jenkins, Bishop of Louisiana, and greetings from the Most Rev. Frank Griswold, Presiding Bishop, who did his nationally broadcast teleconference from St. Martin's School chapel in the afternoon [TLC, Feb. 6].

The rally-goers gathered en masse for a midday Holy Eucharist enlivened with special music created by Albinas Prizgintas, organist-choirmaster of Trinity Church, New Orleans. A choir and musicians began the rally with spirited music that drew the crowd together.

Volunteer workers were easy to spot dressed in bright purple T-shirts decorated with the diocese's new vision logo. More than 100 young people took part in the rally.

Dozens of forums highlighted the program. Topics included: spirituality, community life, our vision, evangelism, stewardship, worship, and education. One outdoor forum featured a portable labyrinth sponsored by Trinity, New Orleans.

Many of the rally-goers chose to take part in Bishop Griswold's teleconference [TLC, Feb. 6].