Remember, you may contact the deputies and alternates at deputation@coloradodiocese.org. And you may contact Lelanda Lee at LelandaLee@gmail.com.
The House of Deputies from the rear of the hall. Visitors sit behind the blue draped barriers.Thursday (yesterday) was Day 9 of the legislative sessions, and you could easily tell that business was winding down, because the action was speeding up. Debate that was allotted three minutes per speaker in the early days of General Convention, which had been changed by special orders (rules) of the house to two minutes, were reduced further to one minute as deputies became impatient with speakers at the microphones. The President of the House of Deputies, Bonnie Anderson, also was impatient when deputies came to the microphones with questions about procedural items that could be answered by senior deputies. And everyone showed impatience when amendments were offered to legislation which many deputies thought should be finalized in the House of Deputies, because amendments at that late date would effectively kill the resolution. Interestingly enough, it did not feel like any deputies were putting forth amendments as a tactic to kill legislation as had been done in prior conventions.
Convention adopts severely reduced triennial budget
Episcopal Life Online's article entitled "Convention adopts severely reduced triennial budget" provides the details on the budget that was adopted by General Convention and how the discussion went down in both houses. I was present in the House of Deputies while the enabling resolution was being discussed, and you could just feel the discomfort and sadness of the Program, Budget and Finance Committee leaders and the deputies as they grappled with the budget. In the end, all attempts to make modifications to the budget as presented were rejected, because the deputies did not want to inject line item changes to a budget that had taken over 60 hours of collaborative effort to bring before the deputies.
Incidentally, I attended a reception for newly elected members to Executive Council last evening, and I was asked by some of the current members which standing committee I will request to be assigned to. My choices are (1) Congregations in Ministry, (2) International Concerns, (3) National Concerns, and (4) Administration and Finance. Because of my commercial banking background and experience on the Diocese of Colorado's Standing Committee, I may lean towards Administration and Finance. Regardless of which standing committee I serve on, Executive Council will be dealing with the implementation, monitoring and consequences of this new triennial budget. Please pray for the Church Center staff who will be losing their jobs and their families, and for all in the church who will be affected by this greatly reduced budget.
C023 Defense of Marriage Statutes
Resolution C023 asking General Convention to call on Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and calling on all Episcopalians to work against any state attempts to enact similar acts or state constitutional amendments was passed by a vote by orders in the House of Deputies and will be sent to the House of Bishops for concurrence. Much of the debate centered on two points. The first was some deputies' discomfort with the church's involvement in the secular political process. The second was with the word "all" calling on all Episcopalians to work against state attempts to enact similar acts, because they recognize that not all Episcopalians would agree with this resolution's intent.
I was frankly surprised that this resolution passed and that it passed with such a wide margin of votes in both the lay and clergy orders. I am not sure, had I been on the floor of the house, that I would have voted in favor of this resolution, because the word "all" strikes me as problematic. I am in favor of repealing the Defense of Marriage Act, but I am not in favor of binding my fellow Episcopalians whose beliefs on this subject are different from mine with the language in this resolution, which feels disrespectful and ungenerous to me. An amendment would have had the effect of killing the resolution. It remains to be seen if the House of Bishops will take this resolution up in their final day of legislation on Friday.
A Bit of Humor in the House of Deputies
The Secretary of the House of Deputies, the Rev. Dr. Gregory Straub (pictured above), is known for his sartorial splendor. He wears distinctly patterned jackets and bright bowties and has been quoted as saying that he doesn't repeat any jacket for the entire ten legislative days of General Convention. His appearance is well known to everyone, since he appears on the giant screens in the front of the House of Deputies throughout each day. So, imagine his surprise when the Official Youth Presence members came to the microphone to raise a point of personal privilege. The Youth Presence asked that yesterday be declared Gregory Straub Day to honor Dr. Straub's always splendid style. Then the camera zoomed in on one of the Youth Presence members (shown below) who was dressed in a manner that reflects Dr. Straub's style. Even in the midst of all the serious debate, the House of Deputies managed to have a good laugh together.
More tomorrow on the final day of General Convention, which is today.
Convention adopts severely reduced triennial budget
Episcopal Life Online's article entitled "Convention adopts severely reduced triennial budget" provides the details on the budget that was adopted by General Convention and how the discussion went down in both houses. I was present in the House of Deputies while the enabling resolution was being discussed, and you could just feel the discomfort and sadness of the Program, Budget and Finance Committee leaders and the deputies as they grappled with the budget. In the end, all attempts to make modifications to the budget as presented were rejected, because the deputies did not want to inject line item changes to a budget that had taken over 60 hours of collaborative effort to bring before the deputies.
Incidentally, I attended a reception for newly elected members to Executive Council last evening, and I was asked by some of the current members which standing committee I will request to be assigned to. My choices are (1) Congregations in Ministry, (2) International Concerns, (3) National Concerns, and (4) Administration and Finance. Because of my commercial banking background and experience on the Diocese of Colorado's Standing Committee, I may lean towards Administration and Finance. Regardless of which standing committee I serve on, Executive Council will be dealing with the implementation, monitoring and consequences of this new triennial budget. Please pray for the Church Center staff who will be losing their jobs and their families, and for all in the church who will be affected by this greatly reduced budget.
C023 Defense of Marriage Statutes
Resolution C023 asking General Convention to call on Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and calling on all Episcopalians to work against any state attempts to enact similar acts or state constitutional amendments was passed by a vote by orders in the House of Deputies and will be sent to the House of Bishops for concurrence. Much of the debate centered on two points. The first was some deputies' discomfort with the church's involvement in the secular political process. The second was with the word "all" calling on all Episcopalians to work against state attempts to enact similar acts, because they recognize that not all Episcopalians would agree with this resolution's intent.
I was frankly surprised that this resolution passed and that it passed with such a wide margin of votes in both the lay and clergy orders. I am not sure, had I been on the floor of the house, that I would have voted in favor of this resolution, because the word "all" strikes me as problematic. I am in favor of repealing the Defense of Marriage Act, but I am not in favor of binding my fellow Episcopalians whose beliefs on this subject are different from mine with the language in this resolution, which feels disrespectful and ungenerous to me. An amendment would have had the effect of killing the resolution. It remains to be seen if the House of Bishops will take this resolution up in their final day of legislation on Friday.
A Bit of Humor in the House of Deputies
The Secretary of the House of Deputies, the Rev. Dr. Gregory Straub (pictured above), is known for his sartorial splendor. He wears distinctly patterned jackets and bright bowties and has been quoted as saying that he doesn't repeat any jacket for the entire ten legislative days of General Convention. His appearance is well known to everyone, since he appears on the giant screens in the front of the House of Deputies throughout each day. So, imagine his surprise when the Official Youth Presence members came to the microphone to raise a point of personal privilege. The Youth Presence asked that yesterday be declared Gregory Straub Day to honor Dr. Straub's always splendid style. Then the camera zoomed in on one of the Youth Presence members (shown below) who was dressed in a manner that reflects Dr. Straub's style. Even in the midst of all the serious debate, the House of Deputies managed to have a good laugh together.
More tomorrow on the final day of General Convention, which is today.
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