I've covered many church conventions, some as long as 10 days, and I can tell you, the amount of money being spent at these gatherings is huge.

Some conventions, for instance, have elaborate systems so that delegates can vote by pushing a button while a computer records the votes and shows them piling up on screens around the room.

Years ago, delegates simply held up a red card for yes and a green card for no. Then counters went from row to row adding up the votes - a less expensive system but not very efficient.

I was thinking about church conventions the other day and dreading the summer season, because that's when Christians will gather all over the country for their deliberations. Both the Lutherans and the Episcopalians are meeting in Philadelphia. The Presbyterians will be meeting, and so will the United Church of Christ. The United Methodists must be meeting somewhere, too. Oh my, I thought, the nightmare would be having to attend them all.

Then I remembered a letter I received from Carl Volz, a church historian at Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul, Minn. Volz spent six months in Papua New Guinea on sabbatical in 1989. During that time, the people of Papua New Guinea were preparing for their church convention. Contrast Volz's account of that gathering with some of those held in America:

"Papua New Guinea (PNG) must be one of the most primitive outposts of the Third World. There are few roads because of the mountainous terrain. There is no road from the capital city, Port Moresby, to the rest of the island. All travel is either by small airplane or around the shoreline by sea or on foot through jungles.

"A convention site was located along the seacoast, which was more easily accessible than inland. This was a convention of the PNG Lutheran Church, which is the dominant religion. The date was set a year ahead in order to have ample time for preparations.

"These (preparations) included clearing a large piece of land in the jungle to build a meri-house, or dormitory for women, and a man-house. These were two large two-story buildings with no rooms - just a large floor on which to sleep.

"In addition to this, another large piece of land was cleared to plant kai-kais, or sweet potatoes, to feed the assembly. The building materials came from the jungle itself.

"Besides the two dormitories, they built a very high speaker's platform at another clearing. None of this cost anyone anything. The material was free, and the labor was volunteer. When the time for the convention drew near, word went out through drummers and other communication networks that the date would have to be postponed for two weeks because the sweet potatoes were not ripe yet.

"I was disappointed, as I had planned to attend the earlier date but could not make the new date. About 600 delegates attended the meeting, which cost almost nothing. The food and lodging cost nothing to anyone (perhaps they needed some sweet potato seedlings but they are as bountiful as grass).

"It may be that they had a mau-mau or pig roast (on hot coals in the ground) and that would have cost someone. The transportation by boat or foot would have cost nothing as people have their own canoes."

Volz tells his students this story not to suggest that Americans could endure a similar convention but to contrast two very different cultures.

Still, the idea of dormitories instead of hotel rooms does intrigue me. That way, the delegates and church officers could all be together in the same place. It would be easier to find people for me to interview. And certainly there would be some great late-night conversations.

And the sweet potatoes? Hmmm! Not for 10 days straight. Bring on the drummers.

Clark D. Morphew