My days usually start at a committee hearing at 7:30 AM. These committees are the standing committees that meet between General Conventions. They meet several times each year at locations around the country and write resolutions to improve the way the church functions or at least, that is the hope. This morning was the committee on music and liturgy. They have been charged with revising Lesser Feasts and Fasts, the book published that has the calendar for Saints days and the discussion centered on adding people to the calendar. Those suggested are Joan of Arc, Thurgood Marshall, Ethelbert and Bertha, martyrs; the Ugandan Martyrs, the Martyrs of the Sudan.
An amazing thing happened. There are forty people on this committee and half are clergy (with 5 bishops). The scriptural reference from Luke was requested for Ethelbert and Bertha and the chair asked who had a Bible with them. One Lay Man had a pocket bible and after a few minutes, two bishops were able to find the scripture referenced and read it to the group. The resolution was amended and approved.
This is great news for lay people. You are essential to the life and work of this church. Keep YOUR Bible with you! The priests and bishops around you will need it.
This note was received from the Archbishop of Canterbury and read in both Houses yesterday late:
13 JUNE 2006
Message for General Convention from Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams
Greetings to you all in Christ's name as you meet to pray and deliberate about the life and witness of your church and the demands of God's Kingdom. May God grant you discernment as you meet and listen to each other in patience and love.
As all those involved will be acutely aware, this General Convention takes place in a climate of intense and perhaps rather oppressive attention worldwide. At the meeting last week of the Bishops of the Church of England, we recognized the pressure under which you meet, and committed ourselves to praying more deeply and more constantly for all of you during these days. Please be assured of our loving concern for the Episcopal Church and our hopes that we in the Anglican Communion may learn again to walk with each other more trustfully.
The recommendations of the Windsor Report will be much in your minds and your deliberations, and I appreciate the work your Commissions and Committees have done in responding to the Windsor Process. I hope that the theological vision there set out in the Report of the ground and character of our communion in Christ will be clearly before you. We cannot survive as a Communion of churches without some common convictions about what it is to live and to make decisions as the Body of Christ; Windsor is not the end of the story, but it sets out a positive picture of what that might imply as together we strive to serve the mission of God.
We thank God for all that the Episcopal Church has contributed over the years to our fellowship and commend you to the One "who is able to establish you according to...the proclamation of Jesus Christ" (Rom.16.25).
Grace be with you all.
Rowan Cantuar
Although the Archbishop did not come, he has sent Canon Kearon to the House of Deputies and Bishop John Sentamu, Bishop of York to the House of Bishops to observe and report on everything. Many foreign “guests” here are given “Seat but no vote,” which means full participation in discussion but no ability to make motions or vote. They are seated on the floor with deputations. The Archbishops’s guys are visitors, not guests and are seated in the rear. [It is generally thought that these visitors are brought from very poor countries in the Anglican Communion, given plane tickets and two weeks in a hotel and all the food they can eat. We bring them here “to learn from us” and then defend us in their home countries. It is insidious.]
This morning in the House of Deputies, Bonnie Anderson was elected President of the House. She was the Vice President of the House of Deputies for the past three years and prior to that, served on the Program Budget and Finance committee for 12 years. She is from the Diocese of Michigan and first came to General Convention with Bishop Coleman McGhee, now retired. [He was a good, orthodox bishop. Bishop Wendell Gibbs is the current bishop and shows no kindness or generosity towards the orthodox in his diocese. ]
At the Press Conference this morning, the very real probability that another nomination would come in from the floor was explained. It was done with a type of “now let me give you a hot tip” flair. Everyone assumed it was Louie Crew, notorious homosexual from Newark, NJ, who ran against Bonnie Anderson three years ago and lost. Louie is here as a deputy from the Diocese of Newark and I saw him earlier this morning on the floor.
And so, as the House of Deputies waited for several full minutes to see if another nomination would come from the floor [a snail could have made it to one of the 10 mikes during that time!] no other nomination arose. I looked around the room, to see if TODAY is the first breach of the walls. No one came forward and nominations were closed. Mrs. Anderson was approved by acclaim.
After lunch, the Special Committee on the Anglican Communion held another open session for “reflection”. That’s what you call an open committee meeting at General Convention, without any comment from the gallery. After spending 35 minutes on Resolution A165:COMMITMENT TO WINDSOR AND TO THE LISTENING PROCESS: and finding themselves unable to come to any type of agreement on whether the full text of Lambeth 1.10 resolution, which ruled that homosexual practice is incompatible with scripture, should be included in the wording, they moved on to Resolution A166.
This Resolution states that “International Concerns Committee of the Executive Council will follow the development processes of an Anglican Covenant in the Communion and report regularly to the Executive Council as well as the 76th General Convention.” The conversation went as follows, around the members of the committee:
“strike follow and insert monitor and participate in appropriate ways”
“How about shape and participate in development of”.
“No, we can’t say that, we were not invited to help develop the covenant.”
“ I move we word the 2nd resolve thusly: direct international concerns standing committee of exec council and ECUSA members of ACC to monitor development processes of Anglican Covenant, in the communion, participate as appropriate and to report regularly to Exec Council as well as 76th General Convention.”
“Doesn’t monitor connote evaluation? How about track?”
“We already discarded follow. Reinstate follow? It is less ambiguous now.
“Remain informed about, remain informed of”. NO. Follow is too passive. We need a more active verb.
“How about adding an adverb? Follow closely?”
“ How about strike follow, and insert participate as appropriate. You can’t participate without following, can you?”
“No. appropriate is too loose.”
“ No it is not. How about participate as invited?”
And so the question was called and the Resolution Resolve reads: “International Concerns Committee of the Executive Council will follow closely the development processes of an Anglican Covenant in the Communion and report regularly to the Executive Council as well as the 76th General
Convention.” Vote: yes.
Now you may think that the previous dialog is unnecessary word-smithing. But, I want you to understand that hours go into the refinement of every resolution that comes to the General Convention, to make it clear, concise and acceptable to as many as possible. Tonight is the hearing on Resolutions on the Anglican Communion, at the Hyatt Ballroom. Fourteen hundred seats have been set up and we have been warned to be there 40 minutes in advance to get a seat. Pro and Con Speakers will address the Committee and give them the final input on where the sentiment of the Convention lies on this matter. Since there are many who do not care about remaining in the Anglican Communion, especially if it will limit our autonomy [read: limit our ability to completely install all segments of the gay agenda and revision of scripture], the discussion is expected to be heated. I will send the email on this special session of the General Convention tomorrow morning.
It is 5:00 PM and the House of Deputies is voting for members of the Board of Trustees, Church Pension Fund. The nominees for this Board are very diverse people from around the country. Their expertise is growing investments which will pay for clergy retirement plans. With the Boomers just shy of retirement, this is an important vote. But, we are using new technology. Everyone has a keypad and can register their vote as 1=yes; 2=no; or the number by the person’s name you want to vote for. We have been at this for over an hour and there are too many errors in voting, so the instruction continues. There are 15 people to elect. Once they get the hang of it, the vote will be tallied almost instantaneously. The Deputation from Taiwan is sitting in front of me and they are stunned that we are so bad at technology. We might be out of here by 6. Oh no, they are going to reconsider doing the entire vote over on paper ballots. Ah, it was defeated very loudly. Maybe there will be dinner tonight! More tomorrow. Cherie Wetzel
[5:35 PM: the previous vote for Church Pension Fund had too many errors. It will be repeated with paper ballots at 11:00 AM tomorrow. Lord Have Mercy!]
