As we get to the final few days of General Convention, the
legislative process has reached a new stage.
Legislation has made it through committee hearings and discussions. On some important issues, substitute
resolutions that better express the subtlety of thought and diversity of
opinion within the Convention have been put forward. Opportunities to make decisions are now coming
before the convention. Each resolution
starts with either the House of Bishops or the House of Deputies, before moving
to the other house for concurrence. (Think about the eighth grade civics charts
you once studied to learn how legislation moves through the US Senate and House
of Representatives.) Both houses have
to pass an item for it to be approved by General Convention.
A few major items were decided at convention today, and
others are taking shape. Here’s a
summary of some of the significant legislation before us.
Anglican Covenant
The House of Deputies took up the issue of the Anglican
Covenant. Three years ago, this issue
seemed likely to be a major decision at this Convention. Recently, however, other Anglican Provinces
have rejected the Anglican Covenant, including the Church of England. Instead of either adopting or rejecting the
Covenant in its current form, two resolutions passed the House of Deputies. The first emphasizes our commitment to the
Anglican Communion and to a deeper involvement with Communion networks and
ministries. The second recognizes a wide
variety of opinions and ecclesiological positions in the Episcopal Church and pastorally
declines to take a position on the covenant at this time. Later this afternoon, the House of Bishops
agreed.
Sexuality Issues
The House of Bishops has adopted the provisional use of a
rite for the blessing of same-sex relationships. This resolution means that the Episcopal
Church would have an authorized liturgy that can be used under the direction of
the Diocesan Bishop to provide a blessing for same-sex unions. This resolution does not approve a rite for
same-sex marriage, and, as a trial rite, there will be a request for feedback
over the next three years to see how this goes.
The House of Bishops also added gender expression and gender identity to
the list of things that we do not discriminate against. After navigating a morass of parliamentary
questions, the House of Deputies also approved the rite of same sex blessings early
this evening.
Israel-Palestine
After some significant discussion, both houses of convention
affirmed positive investment in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to create a sound
economy and a sustainable infrastructure.
The same resolution re-affirmed the Episcopal Church’s commitment to a
two-state solution. The House of Bishops
did not approve a separate resolution encouraging corporate public engagement
and asking for information about products made in “illegal Israeli
settlements”. The issue of divestment
likely came up in committee, but was not referred out to the floor.
Structure
Dozens of resolutions were submitted recommending various
types of changes in the structures of the Episcopal Church. Many were based on the “Sauls Resolution”
that recommended a special commission be set up to consider a comprehensive
church restructuring. The Structure
Committee, after an enormous amount of hard work, unanimously put forward a
resolution calling for a Task Force to provide a set of recommendations for the
next General Convention to help us re-imagine how the Episcopal Church can be
best structured to engage our mission.
This Task Force would have no more than 24 members, be independent of
church governing structures outside of General Convention, and convene a
special gathering of people throughout the church, including those under 35. This Task Force is likely the best
opportunity we have to recreate a church that is nimble, efficient,
cost-effective, and responsive to local opportunities for mission and ministry. The House of Deputies passed it, seemingly
unanimously, and then broke into applause and song in the feel-good moment of
convention.
Budget
Program, Budget and Finance presented their draft
budget. The budget is organized around the Five Marks
of Mission of the Anglican Communion.
These marks are:
- To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom.
- To teach, baptize and nurture new believers.
- To respond to human need by loving service.
- To seek to transform unjust structures of society.
- To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.
Some important elements of the budget proposal include:
- A 19% asking from dioceses.
- $1 million for starting new congregations.
- $1 million for mission enterprise zones.
- 0.7% of the budget to support Millennium Development Goals through Episcopal Relief and Development’s NetsforLife Inspiration Fund.
- A one-time investment of $4.1 million to set up an effective development office.
- Continued funding for the Office of Pastoral Development and the College for Bishops.
- A reduction of approximately 12 church center staff positions (10.75 FTE’s), some of which are currently vacant.
- A block grant to cover expenses for various committees, commissions, agencies and boards, with specific funding to be determined by Executive Council, rather than specifying the exact amount for each
The President of the
House of Deputies
This morning, the House of Deputies elected a President for
the next three years. The Rev. Gay
Jennings was elected over Martha Alexander and the Rev. Frank Logue. Gay is an experienced deputy, part of the
current President’s Council of Advice, and the chair of this convention’s
structure committee. She most recently
worked for CREDO, an organization dedicated to clergy vocational, spiritual,
physical and financial wellness.
No comments:
Post a Comment