The Compass Rose Society (hereafter CRS) has come to Lambeth hoping to gain new members. We think that explaining what we do to 600+ Anglican Bishops in attendance will help us do that, so we've got a small booth (used interchangeably here with stand) where we can discuss our mission and distribute materials describing it to the worldwide episcopate.
The first day on the stand was like many other I have spent in the course of my years attending medical conventions for the pharmaceutical and medical device companies that I have worked for. Here's what I expected: a long day with lots of peaks and valleys in the booth traffic and a few hiccups with the logistics of the booth setup. I wasn't disappointed as that was exactly what happened. Several boxes of our material were in the limbo of the University of Kent campus but we finally tracked them down late this afternoon and we're still awaiting the arrival of the DVD that tells the CRS story. Fortunately we have 12 more days to recover from these small disasters.
But now the good news. We have a spectacular location at the entrance of the Keynes College exhibit area ( from were President Poole greets you -- at left). All the bishops pass by the stand on the way to their meetings, and tea is served in this area twice a day. We owe Secretary General Kenneth Kearon (at left with Treaqsurer Bob Biehl) many thanks for securing this prime spot for us.
Second, a new issue of the "Compass Rose Communicator" has been published for the meeting and we're handing it out to everyone who will take one along with an invitation to membership -- I hope to post the new "Communicator" soon.
And finally, once again it's all about the "red disks" When you see a CRS "red disk" you ask yourself, "what in the world is that for?" About twelve inches in diameter, deep red in color, made of (environmentally safe and awfully "green") very flexible vinyl, one sideshows shows the CRS logo and the reverse offers a short description of our mission (I'll post a photo later if I can take a good one.) Mouse pad? Place mat? Dart board? Well maybe,but actually, it's...a fan! For those meetings where the temperature slowly rises to defeat the air conditioning, these are, many have said here,"a God send." Provided at a previous meeting the CRS attended, Bishop Poole remembered their popularity and suggested we offer them again.
By the end of the lunch break we had given away over 200 "red disks" and were sold out for the day. Fellow booth-manner Treasurer Bob Biehl has, not surprisingly, suggested that we sell them for a pound a piece beginning tomorrow and raise the price as the week goes by -- increasing temps are forecast.
Best of all, traffic was strong today and we introduced many of the bishops to CRS. I hope some will join us.
For a quick summary of what's going on at the meeting, click here.
A few more images:
Rev. Canon James Rosenthal with Treasurer Biehl
The real Canterbury Tales
A Turneresque view of Canterbury
Norris Battin
Compass Rose Communications Committee
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