The Problems and Promise of General Convention
I have run the gauntlet of my fourth General Convention of The Episcopal Church. For ten grueling days, many working 14 and even 16 hours, I served alongside more than 840 deputies from 111 dioceses. We considered 416 resolutions, amending and approving of a dizzying array of resolutions. It is difficult to convey the size and scope of the General Convention. Each deputy or even deputation can do little to make their mark on the work of the convention.
As we tried to demonstrate in the Deputation’s Journal, the real work of the General Convention takes place in two dozen committees that hold hearings on resolutions and have the time to work on crafting the text before it reaches the floor of the house of initial action, whether this is the House of Deputies or the House of Bishops. One can watch as thoughtful testimony in hearings does influence the final text of the resolutions. But with hearings going on concerning more than 400 resolutions, one must pick her or his battles and track some resolutions, while having no input on hundreds of others.
For better or worse, your Georgia Deputies worked to track the budget process, follow the work on restructuring the church; the resolution to add Deaconess Alexander to our calendar through Holy Women, Holy Men; and the two resolutions related to communion without Baptism. Also, as Bill Steinhauser of our deputation was on the subcommittee working on the proposed trial rite for blessing Same Sex Relationships, we also were involved in committee work on that resolution.
Despite the intentions of deputies to not pass meaningless resolutions (such as affirming that The Episcopal Church is opposed to sex trafficking) or resolutions that call on someone else to do something (such as the US congress to take action), with resolution after resolution going by on voice votes supported by a super majority of Deputies, calling out opposition gives one the good feeling of taking a personal stand, but does not slow the action of the body.
Remember the case of the radio show host who became addicted to pain pills, to the tune of 60 per http://icks.org/data/ijks/1482460671_add_file_5.pdf viagra prices in usa day? We live in a drug culture here in the U.S. But you really don’t need to levitra sales online worry about anything because your security is guaranteed. Thus, best online viagra their partner no longer remains attractive for these guys. Protective measures against Breast Cancer Causes Doctors and healthcare practitioners are of the view that apart from a few spices), icks.org cheap cialis professional is the perfect supplement for a top model. In a thought experiment, which is not a proposal, but a way of considering proposals, I wonder what the General Convention would have been like if we had agreed in advance to pass no more than 5 resolutions total, other than housekeeping work on the canons or courtesy resolutions of thanks (such as to the host Diocese which did so much work). Much more thought would have gone into what was the most worthy. We could have focused on changing ourselves, rather than saying what many could assume to be true (I hope no one thinks any Christian church is in favor of sex trafficking) or calling on others to change.
As a deputy, I was one among 841. And your deputation, even when united, was only one among 110. Most everything passed with a three quarters majority or more. Until The Episcopal Church as a whole decides to change how it goes about governing itself, there will be little any deputy or diocese can do. For this reason, I am optimistic about and committed to work to help reflecting the change we want to see in the church even as we advocate for change within the church to more emphasis on mission and much less on administration and governance. The video below is one I created to point toward this hope.
The Rev. Frank Logue
Canon to the Ordinary
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