Final Day Thoughts

The House of Deputies adjourned at 5:00 p.m. today. During our 10 days together we considered the 419 resolutions that were submitted to us and completed work on 361 of them making us one of the most productive General Conventions in recent memory. Some of the resolutions we passed such as D025 are already a part of the vocabulary of the church. Others, such as canonical changes and resolutions of courtesy, may seem more mundane. Each, however, was important to somebody and each received careful consideration in committees and on the floor of both houses. As mentioned earlier, this was my first time serving on a committee and it was a fascinating experience. Our days began at 7:00 or 7:30 a.m. with committee meetings and included 4-6 hours on the floor of the House of Deputies, daily Eucharist, alternative Eucharist services in the evening, and ended with the Oregon deputation gathering for Compline each evening about 10:00. A most exhilarating and exhausting two weeks!

Amidst my packing tonight several things stand out – our Sunday morning Eucharist when history was made with the presence of three presiding bishops at the altar; the exhilarating feeling on Monday as we walked out of the House of Deputies after a long session to the news that the House of Bishops had passed D025 by the same convincing majority as we had; and the challenge and pain of passing a budget that charts a new way for our church in the months and years to come.

There is so much more to say about each one of these things. Oregon was well-represented and well-served at this convention. The deputies took our roles very seriously, our alternates filled in for us as needed and followed committee action and the House of Bishops when not serving on the floor. Together we made and witnessed history. Each of us has committed to write a short report on one aspect of convention and to be prepared to speak to congregations and convocations when invited. We look forward to sharing with you.

All in a [few] days' work....

The pace has both slowed and quickened here at General Convention. We have accomplished a lot and have mountains of legislation still to get through, with only two legislative days remaining. It has been difficult to find time to do the kind of reflecting and processing necessary to write a coherent blog post or much of anything else. A couple of points to share this morning:

• Please read D025, now passed in both houses, including the Bishops' amended version. The press, both within the Episcopal Church and around the world, have taken a carefully, beautifully crafted piece of work that expresses our Anglican identity and our longing for right relationship within and beyond our Episcopal Church, and distilled it into a headline, "Episcopal Church Will Ordain Gay Bishops." You can find the actual resolution, at http://gc2009.org/ViewLegislation/view_leg_detail.aspx?id=986&type=Final


• Yes, both houses have been doing much work in many other areas! A few days ago we approved new canons related to clergy disciplinary processes. While these are very detailed and legalistic, a significant piece, new to the Episcopal Church, is that priests and laity are part of a process of reviewing misconduct of a bishop. Of course one hopes such things will never happen, but if they do, the actions of this convention ensure a more open process.


• We passed a resolution acknowleding the evils of human trafficking and urging congregations to work to end sexual slavery and develop liturgical resources to support such work.


• We heard a presentation from the Program, Budget, and Finance Committee presenting the triennial budget, which we will vote upon today. This presentation was done in joint session, which means that the bishops come down from the House of Bishops and sit with their deputation. We were joined by Bishops Ladehoff and Hampton. Because our deputation sits next to the deputation from Southern Ohio, we also had the pleasure of welcoming the Rt. Rev. Tom Breidenthal, who is enjoying his very first General Convention as a bishop. The budget is not a pretty sight; the Episcopal Church Center is dealing with the same dramatic changes to revenue as churches everywhere--we are indeed all connected! It is our understanding that just prior to the presentation of the budget to the Convention, significant staff reductions were announced to the Church Center staff here at convention. Many specific jobs have been eliminated, and others have been put on notice that their department must cut a percentage of its expenses. Presiding Bishop Katherine spoke to use about the budget and the upcoming changes, stressing the tension between "our scarcity and God's abundance." She also spoke of a new reality of the structure for the Episcopal Church, which is of a "network of service organizations" which will carry out the real work of the Episcopal Church, which is mission. (In her sermon for the opening Eucharist for convention over a week ago, she spoke of heartbeat of our Church: mission, mission, mission, mission....So in her introduction to the budget presentation she said that there will be some death in this budget, but that the heart of our Church will continue to beat.) For more about the budget from Episcopal Life, read http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78650_112611_ENG_HTM.htm.


• Both houses approved the Denominational Health Plan, or DHP. This means, in brief, that by the end of 2012, all dioceses will participate in a national denominational health plan providing a variety of health insurance plans for clergy and for lay staff working 30 hours/week or more.


• Both houses approved mandatory pension for lay employees working 20 hours/week or more. Note that this practice has been in place in our diocese for some time.

It has been a great privilege to be here with the Oregon Deputation in Anaheim, and I look forward to participating in the life of our Church in the future! (I am leaving Friday morning and hoping that some of my fellow bloggers will have a few more things to share in the last days of convention.)

A more open episcopacy? Yes!

The big news from General Convention today is that the Bishops passed by a 2-to-1 margin Resolution D025, which was passed by a similar margin yesterday in the House of Deputies. This is a significant affirmation of our Anglican identity. More details can be found at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_112523_ENG_HTM.htm. Take time to read the resolution in detail. Great stuff! Those who were present with the House of Bishops this afternoon said they worked very, very hard. During the Deputies' debate on D025 several people asked: "Will this revoke B033?" The answer is that while B033 called for a time of moratorium and restraint, D025 affirms the canons of the Episcopal Church as our source of authority for moving through the ordination process. This does not technically revoke B033, but does effectively "move beyond it," which seems to be the will of many participating in this year's General Convention.

"You are Anglicans"

(Posted by Sara but written by Wes--thanks, Wes!)

“You are Anglicans"

These were the words from a guest from the Anglican Church of Canada spoken to the House of Deputies on Saturday afternoon. He among other representatives from the Anglican churches in Ghana, Brazil, Kenya, South Africa, and New Zealand assured us of their ongoing affection for The Episcopal Church. While this gesture might be interpreted as simple pleasantry, it appeared to our deputation from Oregon to be genuine. With the upcoming issues relating to 2006-B033 (refraining from consecrating anyone who’s life was a challenge to the greater church), the assurance that we are Anglicans was very moving for me. I thought I was of the mind that while the Anglican Communion was important, justice for all people was more so, even at the cost of our relationship with the broader church; but when the words, “You are Anglicans” were spoken, I was nearly moved to tears. Being assured of our place at the global table, our importance to those in other parts of this world, and the fact that we will still be loved and necessary regardless of how our votes go was very affirming and quite uplifting as we move into a long week of business. We ARE Anglicans because, among other reasons, as one of the phrases in sending out home communion ministers goes, “We who are many are one body, because we all share in one bread, one cup.” Particularly on this, the day of worship for many, may we find this notion to be true.

A multinational church

Here's a photo the convention floor. Not very exciting, I know! What is exciting to me is the array of flags that form the backdrop to the dias at the front of the House of Deputies, reminding all of us that we are no longer the "national church" (if we ever were) but a multinational community supported by many other such communities around the world. Saturday afternoon, House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson invited an array of international guests to address the House. All of them, each in their own way, reminded us that we are not alone in our struggles to move into a place of full inclusion while remaining faithful to our God and to our world community. For more informatiojn about this afternoon's guests and their remarks, follow this link:

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_112399_ENG_HTM.htm

What’s up with B033 at GC2009?

Warning: This post may contain far more information than you want. It may contain less information than you want. Its intent is to provide a bit of background to a Resolution that has not yet been debated or acted upon by the House of Deputies.

What is Resolution B033? Resolution B033 was famously passed during the last hour of the 2006 General Convention, as a response to the Windsor Report from representatives of the Anglican Communion. The Windsor Report was itself a response to the strained and broken relationships resulting from reactions to our Episcopal Church’s consent to the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson. Here’s the text, for your reading pleasure:

Resolved, That the 75th General Convention receive and embrace The Windsor Report's invitation to engage in a process of healing and reconciliation; and be it further
Resolved, That this Convention therefore call upon Standing Committees and bishops with jurisdiction to exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion.

Those of you who watched the development and response to B033 three years ago remember the discomfort that many of our Oregon deputation and many others felt with Resolution B033. The 2006 General Convention passed this resolution in part as a move toward reconciliation with other parts in the Anglican Communion and in hopes that it would make it possible for our Episcopal Church to continue to be a “big tent” for all, and for our then newly-elected Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts-Schori to be welcomed into the community of primates. Some of us remember the mixed results of B033 with regard to both of these areas.

The World Affairs legislative committee of this 2009 General Convention, most ably served by Anne McCollom of our Oregon deputation, has been hard at work crafting a resolution that presents a more expansive and faithful position of The Episcopal Church to the Anglican Communion. You can read and track this new resolution, B025, by going to http://gc2009.org/ViewLegislation.

The background of this developing resolution—upon which the World Affairs Committee hopes the House of Deputies will act early the week of July 12—is a holy conversation facilitated among all 830-plus members of the House of Deputies held this past Thursday, and referred to as a “committee of the whole.” During that conversation, using the questions employed in the Public Narrative process (see my earlier blog post), we explored our own experience and feelings about B033, and members of the House of Deputies heard and gave testimony. about their own story about B033, our Church’s story about B033, and what God may be calling us to do. There are several distinct but overlapping t issues that call many at this Convention to want to move beyond B033:

• The desire to welcome all people to the Episcopal Church as full members with equal access to all sacraments
• The longing, on behalf of priests, to be able to minister fully to every member of their congregations, including to those who are in same-sex committed relationships.
• The desire of many with deep concerns about the human suffering around the world, to move through and beyond these issues so that mission and the healing and transformation of the world can return to its rightful place in the center of our Church’s work.

The wish to use our own canonical process to determine the fitness for ordained ministry of candidates called to ministry.

• There are other equally distinct yet overlapping concerns about how we might choose, as a Convention, to continue or modify B033, which were also voiced in the testimony during the committee of the whole:
• The concern that any action of the convention other than reaffirming our commitment to the position stated in B033 would impair our fragile relationships with other parts of our Anglican Communion
• The position that full access for all baptized people to all the sacraments of the Church is contrary to scripture and tradition.
• Concern that more people would leave the Episcopal Church at a time when the Church as a whole is experiencing decline and many parishes are experiencing financial anxiety.

The Committee of the Whole was a new experience for General Convention, a time of sharing without debate. There was no “pro” or “con,” no named resolutions under discussion. The purpose was to prepare the House of Deputies for the work to come, including discussion of Resolution D025, which may come before the House as early as Sunday, July 12. Stay tuned!

Are you itching for more information?

My sense from being here as a first-time deputy is that it takes a while before newsworthy things start happening on the legislative side of things....However, there are many, many people here whose full-time job is not to be deputies but to provide up-to-the-minute information about convention. Here, again, are some links to sites that provide some of that news:

gc2009.org/viewlegislation
gchub.episcopalchurch.org
sites.google.com/site/allthesacraments