79th General Convention - Austin Texas - July 5-13 2018
July 10, 2018 - Issue #7
Getting Back to Business
July 9: Camp & Retreat Ministries Day & Purple Scarf Day
ECCT bishops the Rt. Rev. Ian T. Douglas and the Rt. Rev. Laura J. Ahrens each wear a Camp Washington t-shirt and a purple scarf on July 9. Camp Washington is ECCT's camp and conference center in Lakeside, Connecticut. The scarves indicated support for more women in the episcopate. The bishops are also both wearing a cross distributed by Bishops United Against Gun Violence (they're both part of that advocacy organization). Each day there's a brief pop-up prayer service with a different focus, and members of BUAGV distribute 96 crosses to signify the 96 people who will die each day due to gun violence.
People
[Julie Lytle, Executive Director of Province One (New England dioceses) at a caucus of the Province held July 9 for fellowship and to hold required elections. ]
[ECCT Northwest Region Missionary Eliza Marth with Deputy, and Southwest Region Missionary, the Rev. Carlos de la Torre in the lobby of the Hilton Austin]
[Canon for Mission Finance & Operations Louis Fuertes at the Provincial Caucus.
Exhibitor Hall
In booths near the front of the House of Deputies, off to the side, people do simultaneous translation of remarks by the presiding officers and deputies when the House is in session. Sometimes the PHoD has to remind the deputies to slow down in order to facilitate translation. There's always a translator in the HOB as well.
A t-shirt from Thistle Farms, a vendor in the Exhibit Hall. This one's for my daughter. Plenty of shoppers are buying for themselves while others find gifts for family, friends, or co-workers. The exhibit hall includes booths promoting various groups or ministries, while other booth sell goods or services. Here's a list of all the exhibitors.
ECCT Youth Team members offer comments on resolutions
Andrew Gausepohl, Christine Babbitt, and Elizabeth Rousseau (in screen grab photo), from the ECCT Youth Team, let me record their comments and perspectives on resolutions and the Church the other day, in the suite where they meet at the Austin Hilton with their chaperones, the Rev. Curtis Farr and Rebekah Hatch. Link from image, or here.
Resolution status

It turns out that the 5:30 p.m. deadline for resolutions on Day 2 of the GC (July 6) was only for deputy submissions. I had top leaders review the new chart for how resolutions move through convention and not one pointed that out! So, it's an opportunity to tweak it for the next General Convention, which will be in Baltimore, Maryland, in 2021. ECCT will elect deputies for GC80 at its Annual Convention in 2019.

Photo is a screen grab taken from the livestreamed session of the House of Deputies yesterday. Deputy Tanya Wallace of the Diocese of Western Mass was speaking to the HOD on Resolution B007, which was held over for a vote until today. Deputies can watch the clock tick down their allotted two minutes. The microphone cuts them off after that.

In her opening announcements July 9, the PHoD said the count was 460, but not to worry because (as she had them repeat in a mantra) the consent calendar is their friend!

Some legislative committees have been crafting not just amendments or substitutes, but new resolutions when they believed that was the best choice, such as with the committee considering the resolution about the Diocese of Cuba. In other cases the new resolutions changed the rules of order, or expressed appreciation.

Adopt and Concur: More resolutions in both the consent calendars and the daily legislative calendars are listing resolutions with their legislative committee's recommendation to concur. The House of Initial Action (HiA) votes on whether to adopt; the other House then votes on whether to concur.

Legislative Committees continue to meet each morning through July 12; today there is only one legislative session, tomorrow there will be two (a third possible), plus a joint session on the proposed budget, then there are two legislative sessions scheduled for each of the last two days.

Coming up today in resolutions - One session: 2:15 - 5 p.m. Central Time

HOD Consent
There are 73 resolutions on the HOD consent calendar for today (consent = vote yes/no as a group). There are ways to remove items for individual consideration on the "legislative" calendar. Some of these items on the HOD consent calendar include establishing a staff person for liturgy and music on the PB staff, and changes to the parochial reports - one for parishes, and another for dioceses. Here's a link to the HOD consent calendar for today.

HOD Legislative
There are 27 items on the HOD legislative calendar for today, though 13 of those are privilege or courtesy resolutions, extending thanks or other appreciations.A few of these 27 items include:
B007, Ethical Investing in Gun Manufacturers, which was on their calendar for yesterday but delayed because the translation wasn't accurate and it needed a supplementary document. The resolution was submitted by Bp Doug Fisher of Western Mass. Link to the report including the current resolution text.)
A088, Proposed Guidelines for Amending Church Records
D002, Funding the Work of the Beloved Community, which asks for $5 million for racial justice and reconciliation grants. The bishops have adopted this and the legislative committee presenting the resolution recommends that the deputies concur.
Link to the HOD legislative calendar for July 10 to see the full list and current text.

HOB Consent
The only calendar listed for today for the HOB is the consent calendar, with 27 items. That's probably because they didn't finish their legislative calendar yesterday, choosing to take ample time to discuss and debate A068 on Prayer Book revision.
Among those on the HOB consent calendar are:
Several from the Impairment Commission regarding training, response, and screening;
B009 on Civil Discourse submitted by Bishop Douglas commending the OGR resource;
A048, requesting funding for the new Model Safe Church Policies developed by a task force headed by ECCT's Canon Robin Hammeal-Urban;
C034, establishing a Task Force on Mental Illness to help the church with its commitment to, with, and for persons with mental illness and their families.

HOB Legislative
The bishops will take up A068 today, which was on their legislative calendar for yesterday. The resolution was amended and passed by the HOD so any changes to it will mean it must return to the deputies for another vote. I don't think the bishops finished the other items on their legislative calendar for July 9, since they spent all afternoon on A068. If that's the case here's a link to those resolutions. In addition to A068 it includes such items as resolution D011, which asks for those in the ordination process to receive training on the Doctrine of Discovery.

At one time yesterday during the HOB afternoon meeting there were 425 people watching the livestream session. Visit the Media Hub for a livestream or on-demand video of the House sessions, worship, joint sessions (TEConversations). There's also a daily show at 4:30 in English, 6:30 in Spanish (CT).
General Convention moves one step closer toward sacramental marriage equality

[Mary Frances Schjonberg, Episcopal News Service] The House of Deputies overwhelmingly endorsed a heavily amended resolution July 9 aimed at ensuring that all Episcopalians can be married by their priests in their home churches.

Resolution B012, a carefully crafted compromise that its final proposers hope will be accepted by both houses of convention, gives full access to two trial-use marriage rites for same-sex and opposite-sex couples approved by the 2015 meeting of General Convention (via Resolution A054).

California Deputy Christopher Hayes, whose floor amendment formed the basis of the version of B012 that the house adopted, told the deputies during debate that it was the “written in consultation with a number of people who have labored for the last two triennia on how to honor the theological diversity of this church on the issue of marriage while ensuring that liturgies for marriage of same sex couples can be used a widely as possible.”

Many Bishops Reticent on Revision
[G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Living Church] The House of Bishops spent nearly two hours July 9 debating Resolution A068, which would authorize comprehensive revision of the Book of Common Prayer. The vote is due July 10, but some bishops have signaled they might squash the project.

One bishop after another said why they couldn’t support what is expected to be a 12-year, $8 million project. Reasons ranged from the theological to the economic, but a growing theme emerged nonetheless: Many lack confidence the church would do it well.

Committee sends to deputies a resolution to admit Cuba as a diocese
[Lynette Wilson, Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Church in Cuba moved a resolution calling on General Convention to admit the Cuban church, restoring a half-century breach in formal relations.

The committee sent Resolution A238, which lays out the terms for reunification, to the House of Deputies legislative calendar. It has not yet been scheduled for the floor.

Deputies back plan to end financial complicity in Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands
[David Paulsen, Episcopal News Service] The House of Deputies on July 9 voted overwhelmingly in favor of pursuing what is known as a human rights investment screen to end the Episcopal Church’s complicity in Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, a move that critics call divestment and one they warn will diminish rather than amplify the church’s voice in the region.

Resolution D019 also raised concerns from critics that the church was taking sides in the decades-old Middle East conflict and possibly opening itself up to claims of anti-Semitism, though floor amendments to the resolution sought to minimize those concerns.

Upcoming events (Central Time)
EVENTS TODAY & COMING UP:

July 10:
10:30 a.m. Joint Session on Care of Creation. the Rev. Stephanie Johnson, rector of St. Paul's, Riverside, among the speakers
6:30 p.m. Seminary dinners
July 11:
2:15 p.m. Joint PB&F Session
2 p.m. Exhibits close
July 13:
Final day

More events listed in General Convention calendars - link here
Media Hub (link on the image at left)
Livestream and on demand:

  • Worship (including 7/4 Listening Session)
  • HOB and HOD sessions
  • TEConversations
  • Daily newscasts (4:30 English, 6:30 Spanish)

Links to:
  • Episcopal News Service (ENS) articles
  • Calendars/Schedules
  • Legislation (Virtual Binder)
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Resolution info

  • "Virtual Binder" - all resolutions to date (gear image at top right allows you to switch between Houses and between Spanish and English.) See the infographic for help deciphering the terminology.
  • "Blue Book" - reports from all the official committees, commissions, and task forces that have worked since the last General Convention in 2015, with all of their proposed resolutions ("A" resolutions)
  • ECCT's graphic depiction of how a resolution moves through General Convention. Key steps, terminology, in the process.
Link to glossary & terminology:
Here or click on image. Let me know of others to add.

Contact Karin Hamilton by email or cell, 860-608-6969
Karin Hamilton | Canon for Mission Communication & Media | khamlton@episcopalct.org | 860-608-6969