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[ Back to index of January articles ]
Convention delegates
have work ahead
The presentation of a new strategy for domestic and global mission will highlight the 109th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington which will take place on Jan. 30-31 at Washington National Cathedral. Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, primate of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, will preach at the opening Eucharist Jan. 30. He will also make a Jan. 29 presentation at a panel on fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa at Hearst Hall on the grounds of the cathedral. One of 15 resolutions to be voted on at the convention formalizes an ambitious new partnership between the diocese and the Church of the Province of Southern Africa (see story here). “Delegates will have an opportunity to hear about and provide critically important input regarding Bishop Chane’s proposed mission strategy,” said Paul Cooney, canon to the ordinary for the diocese. “Last year, convention affirmed three areas of principal work as a diocese - youth, congregational development and global mission. This year, using those priorities as a framework, we will begin the crucial movement from planning and preparing to carrying out this important work.” (see story here)
Resolutions dealing with local mission strategy will establish committees to expand Hispanic ministry and prison ministry in the diocese. “Those are really important domestic issues,” said Bishop John Bryson Chane, who appointed members of a task force on Hispanic ministry and met with leaders of prison ministry in the diocese following last year’s convention. About 450-500 people are expected to attend the convention, most of them clergy and elected lay representatives who will vote on the resolutions. In addition to the global mission initiative in South Africa, delegates will vote on firming up the diocese’s partnership with the Diocese of Honduras, with plans to continue the relationship until the 2007 convention. Three resolutions deal with contentious issues stemming from the 2003 General Convention of the Episcopal Church USA last summer. One asks the bishop to authorize the establishment of a list on which those who dissent from the Episcopal Church’s decisions to ordain an openly gay bishop and permit the so-called local option on the blessing of same-sex unions can make their opposition known. A second resolution inspired by sexuality issues
asks the convention to affirm that members of this church are bound to
obey Holy Scripture where a decision of this church may depart from it
and to affirm that councils of the church have erred in the past. A third
asks the convention to assert that marriage is between a man and a woman
and disavow Robinson’s confirmation. It also calls on Bishop Chane
to suspend any plans to develop and publish a liturgy to bless same-sex
unions.
Another resolution was inspired by presentations on mission strategy made at this year’s Regional Assemblies by Robert Franken, managing director of Strataventure LLC, a St. Louis-based consulting firm. Among his recommendations was the elimination of parish boundaries. Franken acknowledged that this could be the most controversial of his recommendations, but said it was necessary because members of mission strategy focus groups told him that some congregations don’t reach out into underserved areas because those areas are outside of their parish bounds. But others, including Richard A. Best Jr., a lay delegate to the convention from St. Paul’s, K Street, argue that the abolition of parish bounds “would reflect an inwardly-focused church, unmindful of its responsibilities to the larger society.” Best is the author of a resolution that would establish a commission to assess the continued usefulness of parish boundaries. The convention also will consider whether to continue the work of a task force on justice and equitable treatment in the church. This group has been working to make sure that clergy and lay employees of the church are treated equally on a salary basis, according to Karen Fitzgerald, parish administrator of St. Columba’s and a member of the task force.
Fitzgerald said the group is challenging churches to meet minimum salary and benefit guidelines established by the diocesan personnel committee. If the resolution passes, this group will continue the dialogue about fair employment practices and help support congregations attempting to meet the diocese’s minimum salary standards. Other resolutions include: saluting the 80th anniversary of Episcopal Senior Ministries; supporting Episcopal Schools and welcoming the National Association of Episcopal Schools Convention, which will be held in Washington, D.C., in November; and memorial resolutions honoring the lives of David Burns Wilson, a life-long member of St. Thomas’ Parish, Croom, and the Rev. Richard H. Humphrey, rector of St. Thomas’ Church, Croom, 1993-1997, and adjunct clergy at Nativity Church, Camp Springs, 1999-2003. “[This convention] will be a time to continue our effort to increase the amount of time devoted to learning about each other, building community and organizing to do Christ’s work in the world,” said Cooney. More details about the convention agenda and full texts of the resolutions can be found online at www.edow.org/convention/ Contact Amy Elliott at aelliott@edow.org [ Back to index of January articles ]
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