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Welcome to NewsLink Online, serving the Episcopal Church from the 75th General Convention in Columbus, Ohio.
Notes from the June 15 9:30 a.m. media briefing
Members of the Convention's official Youth Presence will make their presentation to the House of Deputies today
A sermon preached June 15 at St. Paul's Cathedral, London, England, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, on the occasion of the Service of Thanksgiving for the Eightieth Birthday of Her Majesty The Queen, was commended to the media. Williams begins his sermon by saying "The curse of our age has been the inhumanity of absolute ideology and of myths of racial supremacy, the great lies that have plunged our continent and our world into darkness and butchery so many times since the nineteen twenties. And in the new century and millennium, what we have to fear is a toxic mixture of religion that has become inhuman, economic power sustained at massive human cost, and the technologies of destruction that can be used by armies and by terrorists alike for impersonal killing." The text is available at http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/articles/41/50/acns4153.cfm
Brief Wisdom:
"I believe we will be pushed to understand and re-understand the polity of this church." -- the Rev. Sandye Wilson, responding to a question from the London Times concerning the June 14 evening hearing on the Windsor Report and the resolutions moving through the Special Committee:
Today's briefing panel consisted of the Rev. Sandye Wilson, Diocese of Newark; Mr. Sam McDonald, Diocese of Ohio; Bishop Michael Curry, Diocese of North Carolina and
Bishop Bruce McPherson, Diocese of West Louisiana.
Highlights of the June 15 morning legislative committee hearings
Canons
Progress is being made on Title IV revisions, the Legislative Committee on Canons heard Thursday. "We found some common ground ... but there is more work that needs to be done," said Stephen Hutchinson from the Diocese of Utah, who is leading the rewrite. The committee may remove a controversial provision to include laity in the disciplinary canons in order to salvage the resolution that would replace the current court-oriented system with a complex one that stresses mediation and reconciliation.
Consecration of Bishops
The committee did not make a recommendation on consent to the election of the Rev. Barry Beisner to be bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of Northern California. The committee met for more than an hour on June 15. The committee will meet again at 7:30 a.m. June 16 and has asked Beisner to meet with them then.
Evangelism
The Evangelism Committee considered a substitute resolution for A038, "A Diocesan Development Initiative," that would direct the Convention's presiding officers, Executive Council and staff of the Episcopal Church Center to develop new resources, endorse existing programs and encourage dioceses to share best practices in organizational development and leadership training. A revised version will be considered June 16 at the morning meeting of the committee. A041, "University Ministry" affirming college ministry and giving college ministry mission status (where
appropriate) and providing staff (where appropriate) received extensive discussion. A subcommittee is working on amending the resolution after hearing from several college students and chaplains.
National and International Concerns
The committee held a public hearing on resolutions A011, A012 and A013 which addressed the Palestine/Israel peace process and investment in Palestine. Given the large number of speakers, Resolution B012, submitted by Bishop Edward Little of Northern Indiana, which suggests apologizing to the Jewish community "for our consistently unbalanced approach to the conflict in the Middle East," was postponed until the committee's next session on the morning of June 17.
Social Urban Affairs
The committee heard testimony on four resolutions: A123 focusing on slavery and reconciliation; A124 studying the "complicity" of the church in the Institution of slavery and how "recompense" can be made; C005 from the Diocese of New York requesting the establishment of a commission to research the history of any complicity of the church and its several dioceses in slavery and any necessary steps to make reparations and C011 proposing a task force of the Executive Council to study, document and report on the enslavement of Africans and their descendants. The committee was also asked to consider A127 which would endorse of the concept of restorative justice as a "fresh means" of achieving "wholeness" in the church.
Members of the Special Committee on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion discussed resolution A165, which focuses on the Anglican Communion's Listening Process. This work was referred to a sub-committee to propose the text that will form the heart of its work during the June 16 hearing in the Hyatt Regency Ballroom. The committee also concluded its open hearing on resolutions A160, A161, A162 and A163 and will begin discernment on that legislation June 16. It discharged resolutions C009, C027, C037 and C039 because the language and concepts will inform the committee's work on other resolutions.
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The June 15 morning legislative sessions in the House of Bishops and House of Deputies are scheduled for 10:45 a.m. - 1 p.m. EDT.
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The June 15 afternoon legislative sessions in the House of Bishops and House of Deputies are scheduled for 2:30 - 6 p.m. EDT.
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Legislative committees will meet between 7:30 and 8 p.m. EDT.
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On the evening of June 15 the Convention is invited to the Presiding Bishop's Forum, "Toward Reconciliation," beginning at 8 p.m. in the convention center worship space. Special guest and featured speaker, the Rev. John Danforth, Episcopal priest, former U.S. senator from Missouri and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, will deliver a speech titled "The Right Church at the Right Time: A Challenge to the Episcopal Church." For more information go to http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_75448_ENG_HTM.htm
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To track the status of legislation, go to http://gc2006.org/legislation
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For complete audio, visual and print coverage of the 75th General Convention, including PDFs of the Convention Daily newspaper and audio and video of the Convention Nightly newscast, go to http://www.episcopalchurch.org/ens/gc2006news
Also visit the collaboration space of the Episcopal News Service and Episcopal Communicators at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_16233_ENG_HTM.htm
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ENS provides information and resources which we consider to be of interest to our readers. However, statements and opinions expressed in the articles and communications herein, are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of ENS or the Episcopal Church.
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