Transcription from Notes by the Rev. Sandy Boyd
A General Convention Forum sponsored by the Richard Hooker Forum was held at Saint John's Cathedral on Saturday, August 1. This forum had been planned prior to General Convention, and everybody in the Diocese was invited to attend. All of the members of the General Convention Deputation were invited to participate. The following Deputies and Alternates were able to do so: Larry Hitt, Chair of the deputation; the Rev. Brooks Keith, Vice-Chair of the deputation; Jack Finlaw; Zoe Cole; Lelanda Lee; the Rev. Lyn Burns; Jacque Scott; and the Rev. Ruth Woodliff-Stanley, chaplain to the deputation and facilitator of this forum.
The deputation welcomes invitations from congregations to join you at your Sunday morning adult forums, vestry meeting or other venues to continue the dialogue on the important issues addressed at General Convention. Please contact coordinator Erica Hein at 303-358-5712 or eckidalaine@aol.com to schedule.
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Photograph courtesy of Sandy Boyd
Larry Hitt: Introduction
expressed gratitude to Diocese for support in person of Chaplain + Facilitator Ruth Woodliffe-Stanley - also for support + prayers from many folks in Diocese - the Deputation relied on this prayer support during the 10 days of legislation, which became increasingly intense over time
Today’s Program: 2 parts (1) non-Anglican Communion + non-inclusion legislation (esp 6 resolutions on variety of topics (2) Anglican Communion + inclusion resolutions w/focus on D025 (inclusion) C056 (same sex blessings) + D020 (Anglican Covenant)
Gen Conv (GC) in general: 2 houses, House of Bishops (HOB) about 150 Bishops + House of Deputies (HOD) some 840 Deputies, 4 lay + 4 clerical from each diocese - Convention 12 days total, 10 days of legislation - 490 resolutions submitted from variety of sources, 265 were acted upon or completed - Daily Worship - participation by Archbishop of Canterbury was high point for him - simultaneously Episcopal Church women met in Triennial - Exhibit hall - much interaction - the convention was conducted with a wonderful spirit without anger + rancor
Legislation: worked from massive notebooks (showed) - each wore identifying nametags - Deputies were given “comfort cross” (small wooden) by chair of HOD Bonnie Anderson which he felt was terribly moving + he used often - at each Diocesan station was a tall pole/standard - Colorado’s pole had a cowgirl hat atop it, provided by Christy Shain-Hendricks - Jack Finlaw provided a small copy of the Denver Convention Center’s “blue bear” (showed)
Colorado Deputation: the most incredible deputation - all were terribly committed - met for 2 years prior to GC - met every day as a caucus - all were wonderfully gifted + skilled - they represented the varied views in the Diocese - all of them were able to talk with one another with respect + listen to each other - as the different issues came up, they were addressed in a caring way - in doing this the Deputation set a model for the Diocese + the wider church
Lelanda Lee:
this was her 2nd GC - her 1st was 2006 in Columbus as a volunteer - this time she was Lay Alternate #1 - she highlighted LA night along with other events which included a variety of special Eucharists - she described the way the GC organizes its days around the legislation beginning with hearings on every single resolution that is submitted - she felt that GC 09 was different from GC 06 in the impact of the economy - for example the Exhibit Hall contained fewer exhibits + fewer people - she focussed her participation around her new status as an incoming member of the national church Executive Council (EC) (from Province VI) - the EC addresses church business during the next 3 years prior to the next GC (Indianapolis 2012) - many GC resolutions were referred to EC - she was grateful to have been freed from responsibility for a legislative committee so she could focus on the future business EC will deal with - she also participated as a leader of the caucus of the Deputies of Color
Jack Finlaw:
this was his 4th GC, beginning with Colorado in 2000 as volunteer - he was an Alternate Deputy in Minneapolis in 03 + in Columbus in 06 - this GC he’s a Deputy - as a continuing Deputy he was appointed to the Ministry Committee (one of 26 legislative committees that receive all resolutions, hold public hearings on these, then combine and determine in what form continuing resolutions are sent to the convention legislative floor - the Ministry Committee received 36 resolutions this GC - Jack has also served by appointment to the Standing Committee on Ministry Development (SCMD), which itself submitted a number of resolutions to the legislative committee - Jack + 2 Bishops were the only crossover members from SCMD to the Min Legislative Committee, which required explanations about the SCMD-submitted resolutions - the Ministry Committee work was intense from early on with very long days - Jack also said the Colorado Caucus meetings were very important - the Colorado representation included a number of other people, including Kevin Lindahl, who ran for election to the national church’s Pension Fund Board - Kevin was unsuccessful in Jack’s opinion because the church is very large + Colorado has sometimes been seen as a quiet outpost - he said Kevin’s professional experience in pensions and investments will help him be seen more widely in the church in the future - Jack said experiencing the worship liturgies in a wide variety of forms was extraordinary - Bishop Rob celebrated the Eucharist at one of the convention liturgies, on the day which focused on mission outreach to the world - Bp Rob is Chair of the Board of the church’s official outreach organization, Episcopal Relief + Development (ERD) - Jack summarized by saying that the tenor of this GC was quite different from those in the recent past + didn’t receive the kind of media coverage of the past where hot issues were primary - he said the fact that many conservatives from the past were no long participating brought him great sadness
Ruth Woodliff-Stanley:
this was her 2nd GC + she served both as chaplain + facilitator for the Colorado Deputation - she said that for her the 10 pm informal gatherings at the end of the day were most enjoyable - she said she would build on what had already been said about the Deputation - her observation was that some other Deputations are more homogeneous - still other Deputations are varied but they don’t engage with each other + with others in the same way as did the Colorado Deputation - She also noted the participation of a number of others from Colorado + said that 2 of those folks had received awards at GC for their years of service - Larry Hitt for 20 years as Chancellor + 10 years as chair of the national organization of Episcopal chancellors - Sandy Boyd for helping to found and develop the Episcopal Women’s History Project in the 1980s and 1990s - Ruth said that from her observations from the gallery of both the HOD + the HOB she could see that both houses worked with extraordinary spirit + that in this was her hope + heart for the church
Zoe Cole:
this was her 4th GC, beginning with 2000 as Volunteer, continuing in 03 as an Alternate Deputy + 06 + 09 as Deputy - as Colorado Deputation she said what they do is what they hope is a model for the church - she sat between Brooks Keith + John Wengrovius - she said visitors to the Deputation caucus meetings to a person commented on how they lived together in response to the challenging work of the GC - she referred to Michael Battle’s book on Desmond Tutu + Ubuntu where African tradition + Christian theology are unified - in this it is understood that difference is a part of who God is + it is a necessary + vital part of who we are as community - this is not easy + it can be painful when divided votes are experienced + someone you care deeply for is pained by the vote - there is always tension + edge in these situations
Brooks Keith:
he wore Kevin’s election badge + seconded Jack’s comments about Kevin’s contribution as a springboard - 2000 was his first GC + has participated ever since - in 06 he was chair of the Deputation + this year was vice-chair working with Larry, who was one of the finest chairs of a Deputation he has ever seen - Larry did a fine job of bringing all the voices to the table - Jack is making an important contribution to the national church’s Strategic Planning Committee - Andrew Cooley did hard work on the liturgy legislative committee - Bp O’Neill was visible in his role as chair of the ERD board - Brooks served on the Legislative Committee on the Consecration of Bishops - this year elections were held in Rochester + South Dakota + Ecuador Centrale + because they happened 120 days or less before GC, the confirmations took place at GC, rather than being sent to the Diocesan Standing Committees, which is the practice all other times - GC 09 voted to do away with the 120 day rule, so this Committee will no longer function in the future - Brooks was also active in the Communion Partners organization which is more right of center - he is on its steering committee + will continue that service of which he is proud - highlights for him were meeting + talking with the Canon to the Ordinary of the Presiding Bishop, the Primate of Burundi (who has been appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Anglican Communion’s Faith + Order Commission - he said being in the Deputation has been a real blessing + he experienced the Deputation as family
Lyn Burns:
she did not go to Disneyland at the end of GC but experienced the whole GC as Disneyland - her eyes were wide with wonder the entire time - the size + scale of GC was amazing, along with how much was going on - it was both exhausting + exciting - she found the legislative process amazing, both in the HOB + the HOD - she said it is remarkable how the church goes about making decisions about its life + ministry - she was 2nd alternate + was very grateful for Jacque Scott’s help in explaining the process to her - the worship was amazing in the vast hall with thousands of people - she was able to serve as Eucharistic Minister several times + felt a real sense of God’s presence in that ministry, distributing the Body + Blood of Christ to long lines of diverse Episcopalians who saw this as the source of life + hope + nourishment every day - it was like living the Gospel - she said the Deputation was very supportive of her as a 1st timer - she did have a sense of sadness that they were no longer the full Body of Christ as before - but she was very proud to be an Episcopalian + that “we are an extraordinary church”
Jacque Scott:
this was her 4th GC - she served 3 times as Deputy + this time as an alternate - she enjoyed serving the Deputation, learning how to text + convey to the Deputation events in other parts of the Convention during the HOD sessions - she thought the Public Narrative process was very valuable to the respectful dialog process - she served 3 times as Deputy + had fought for full inclusion of all members - she remembers Zoe bringing Paulo Freire’s book to the Deputation - Freire said that (1) the oppressor cannot free the oppressed, (2) the oppressed must free themselves + in so doing the oppressors are freed (3) in this freeing, comes the grace of the gift of freedom to all + (4) the good hearted oppressor only gives the oppressed hope + continues the oppression by attempting to free the oppressed by themselves - she said she saw herself in the role of good hearted oppressor + decided that Jack, as the only openly gay man, needed to be a full member of the Deputation - that Jack must be speaking + be respected in this, that Jack’s being fully in the conversation makes all the difference - Jacque was thrilled to be invited by Larry + the Bishop to serve as 4th alternate + be able to watch Jack participate fully - She was honored to be a witness to the beautiful + glorious love that was GC 09 - she said “we’re finally getting better at bringing others into the fold” but that the Conservatives also belong in the church, that we must not create a new exclusion in the process
Larry Hitt:
noted that ½ of the Deputation was present + that the others were there in spirit - they too contributed greatly - he remembered a Deputy from Florida saying that to make a plane fly, a wing on the left is needed + a wing on the right is needed - he couldn’t say strongly enough how important it is that all are together
Non-Anglican + Non-Inclusion Resolutions
Lelanda Lee:
National Church Budget (D067): for the next triennium is severely reduced - not only spending is reduced by $23 million but the contribution asking of dioceses was reduced from 21% to 19% of the diocesan annual budget - The Diocese of Colorado gives presently at the 10% level - the Program Budget + Finance legislative committee (PB+F) worked some 60 hours prior to presenting the final budget (D067) for passage in HOD + HOB - during these hearings Bishop O’Neill + Ruth Woodliffe-Stanley testified (budget priorities D052)- she described the principle of “subsidiarity” which means moving to the lowest hierarchical level the most work possible - some 30 of the national church staff positions were eliminated by the new budget + 7 retirement positions will not be filled - the ministries for evangelism, social justice, youth + lay ministry are eliminated - the next GC, 2012 in Indianapolis, will be 2 days shorter, 8 legislative days rather than 10 - the interim committees will meet in person only once a year, the other times via teleconferencing - the giving to the Anglilcan Communion Office will be reduced by 1/3 - the Millennium Development Goals, which were eliminated from the draft budget, were restored to the budget in the final budget - they will be at .07% + .07% will be allocated to Domestic Poverty as well - she noted that Colorado has been living on a sacrificial budget for 5 years + know that the budget is all about mission, which is reflected in the national budget passed at GC09
Denominational Health Plan (A177): this is a self-funded church-wide health plan for the entire church, to be implemented by 2012 - the Church Pension Fund (CPF) is taking a hard look at the Dioceses, several of which have their own regional health plans - CPF will negotiate with insurance carriers to get them to offer plans to these dioceses also - clergy + lay employees (lay are new to plan) if they work at least 1500 hours per year, 30 hours per week are to be covered - this will be paid by church funds but administered through the health provider companies - it is estimated that this will save the entire church $20-30 million in future years
Question: how much of reduction is due to economy + how much to loss of dioceses + congregations? - Lelanda said it was about 50/50 - she said the investment losses were significant (about 34%)- she noted again the reduced asking of Dioceses from 21 to 19% - she said 47% of dioceses do not give at requested level + that this has declined significantly - she noted that many dioceses that left had not been contributing to the national church budget but that reconstituting these Dioceses (4) has involved considerable expense
Question: Was there any provision to help any parishes on the edge figure out how to pay for this or help pay for this - Lelanda said there was no provision in the legislation - it will be a subject for diocesan discussion
Jack Finlaw:
Liturgy + Church Music: noted that Andrew Cooley was very active with the Liturgy + Church Music legislative committee - much attention was paid to a new version of what was called “Lesser Feasts + Fasts” + that dozens of new observations were added - some of them are bound to be controversial - he urged that we look at Holy Men, Holy Women (A097), give it a trial + provide feedback
Strategic Planning: Jack said that for some 25 years, resolutions had been passed at GCs that were not acted on - no national priortizing of mission work or outcomes design + work plans for reaching those outcomes - the interim committees had nothing to work from - he was recently asked to serve on a national Strategic Planning Committee, which will be authorized + under the authority of the Executive Council - at the end of each year, they are to present a plan to Executive Council + provide an annual update
Zoe Cole:
Title IV on Church Discipline (A185): she has served on the Canon Committee for 2 GCs + much work has been done on this Canon over that time - what was passed at GC 09 is to be effective by 2011, which is a longer time than normal before implementation of canon changes in order that Dioceses can upgrade their Canons + policies + procedures to be in compliance - she said the purpose is for the church to respond faithfully to allegations of wrongdoing on the part of church leaders - the purpose was to build in an explicit + profound theological basis, accountability + safety + healing + restoration - all goals must be explicitly stated - this is in contrast to what was the previous model based on the secular criminal justice system - the goal must be truth-telling + reconciliation - each diocese is to have an intake officer (who is trained) who will determine what to do with an allegation - built in are multiple opportunities for resolution + the new canon specifies this - she said many dioceses have been using a pastoral response process to avoid the existing canon modelled on the criminal justice system, based on the work of trial attorneys
Brooks Keith:
Pension Plans (A138): as for all clergy, since 1991 in the Diocese of Colorado, all lay employees have pension plans if they work 20 hours/week - there has been 70% compliance with this - enforcement was added - this is no longer considered to be a “guideline” but is mandated - after 1 year employees are to be offered a pension plan - he said that any church not presently doing so, should take notice - this will be addressed in 09 Diocesan Convention
Lyn Burns:
her focus was on process, less on details from GC but she focussed on ecumenical relations - the Moravian Church was voted into full relationship with the Episcopal Church (A073) + needs only to be ratified by the Moravian Church itself - conversation continues with the Presbyterians + Methodists - much has been learned in the process of preparing for these conversations about who we are as Episcopalians - theological issues, such as about salvation (soteriology) are examples - rather than send these discussions off to the HOB Theology Committee, the Ecumenical Relations committee decided to do the work themselves - they submitted a series of statements about doctrine, which were passed by the HOB + HOD
Jacque Scott:
she said that it was discovered that for Episcopalians to say “my way is the only way, but let’s talk” was not helpful for ecumenical or interreligious dialog - she said if we really believe that God made us all and loves us all, we need to act that way on global order, she said the affluent people do not look at our own spending + saving + care for the earth on Hispanic ministries, she said we have many Anglo congregations in increasingly Hispanic neighborhoods + we must provide resources to the building of ministry to the neighborhood rather than continue to die out
Anglican + Inclusion Resolutions
Zoe Cole on D025:
D025 applies to B033 (GC 06 on an implied moratorium on election of “out” gays + lesbians for bishop) + is about consents for the election of a Bishop in dioceses - she and Jacque talked about the GC discussion about the call for bishops - Jacque said one Bishop in a HOB discussion said “the mystery [of a call] is not that anyone else was called but that I was called” - Jack said that the presiding officers of the HOD + HOB sent a letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury explaining the decision that had been reached - Bishop O’Neill was part of a small group drafting this letter - it is clear that D025 will be interpreted in different ways - Jack personally does not think D025 does away with B033 + its moratorium - he said there will no doubt soon be a challenge to this as in the Diocese of Minnesota a partnered lesbian (Bonnie Perry of Chicago) has been nominated for Bishop [as of Monday Aug 3 when this is being typed, 2 more LGBTs have been nominated for 2 positions in Dio Los Angeles] - only when a partnered LGBT is elected + consented + installed will it be clear that the moratorium no longer exists - the final votes were in HOB 2/3 Yes, 1/3 no and in HOD 75% Yes, 25% no in vote by orders in both clergy + lay orders
Question: about Anaheim Statement - what are its purposes + consequences - Brooks said he had only recently become aware of it - he said its purpose is to express from a distinct theological minority of the HOB to the Archbishop of Canterbury that they wish to remain + affirm their strongest commitment to the Anglican Communion - they see The Episcopal Church (TEC) as eliminating the moratorium in D025 - the outcome is unknown - the statement seeks to reaffirm the 3 moratoria that came originally from The Windsor Report of Lambeth 2004: (1) no selection + consecration of GLBT candidates (2) no development of same-sex blessings (3) no cross-border incursions
Jack Finlaw on C056:
on blessings of unions - Jack said 35 resolutions came to the Liturgy + Church Music legislative committee (Andrew Cooley on the committee) on this issue - they worked on the resolutions for a week - the committee resolution was written for the HOB + sent to the HOB first - there was extensive discussion on the floor of HOB about this - 30 bishops in an informal “caucus” recrafted the resolution in the version that was approved - the changing circumstances of legal marriages for LGBTs in some states challenged bishops in those states around issues of church-state + what marriage in the church means etc - the resolution calls for collection + development of resources followed by a report to GC 12 (#77) - the resolution calls for open conversations throughout TEC + the Anglican Communion - Larry noted that of the 38 provinces in the Anglican Communion 13 to 16 of them (depending on how counted) were at GC 09 to observe + participate - Jack continued that the diversity in TEC must be honored + that movement be carefully done - meanwhile Bishops in Connecticut + other places where GLBT is legal can exercise “generous pastoral ministry” in their dioceses - Larry noted that both HOD + HOB passed this resolution with same margins as for D025 - Jacque noted that the Bishops in states where marriage is legal had been faced with painful situations where couples were asking for their church’s blessing on their relationships + been denied - they also had been challenged in an important way to think about the involvement of the church in the state when clergy are agents of the state in conducting marriages
Question: is C056 in compliance with the Constitution and Canons of the church? Caution should be exercised in allowing civil standards to inform the church’s actions - Larry said that the resolution does not contradict or change the canons - Zoe said it was a good question to challenge how the church responds to changes in the secular world - Brooks said the church has yet to develop a consistent theology on sexuality across the board - Jack said he thought that following the process called for in C056, there will be recommended liturgies presented at GC 12 - he said some believe we have not done the theological work while others believe we have done so - Larry said that Andrew had voted “yes” on the resolution
Brooks Keith on D020:
on Anglican Communion - Brooks said he and John Wengrovius were the 2 that caused “divided votes” (on D025 + C056) in the clergy order where votes by orders were requested - he does not see the fruits of the work done so far as ready for harvesting nor is this the right time - he wants the Anglican Communion to be a vibrant + united witness on this first - Brooks said he had spoken affirmatively on D020 on commending the Anglican Covenant process for study + comment during the triennium - the word “provisional ” had been dropped from the original resolution - Zoe said that D020 represents the wide diversity of Colorado +has potential for the best result of all - the TEC senses that it doesn’t have similar values across its 13 countries (not just the U.S.) - this was passed overwhelmingly - Larry said he had spoken at GC positively + fervently about this - he said the Ang Communion is so important to us + how can we not do this, difficult as it will be - Lelanda said that the national Executive Council + the Diocesan Standing Committee will be paying special attention to how the church at all levels can actively engage in this conversation - she said the GC Deputation as a whole + individually are eager to serve as guides/leaders/resources for this process - Ruth said she hopes the Diocesan Task Force II report will come out soon as part of this process -
Wrap Up:
Zoe said that we are called to live into the reality of what God has done in Christ already + that it demands everybody participate - Larry remembered that Beckett Stokes had reported the TV camera focussed on the Colorado deputation in a circle holding hands + praying before a crucial vote was taken - he again thanked the Colorado Deputation for what they had done + how they had done it + for providing a tremendous model for the church
Photograph courtesy of Bill Oliver
