Purpose: To grow a faithful church for the promulgation of the Gospel while forming Christian disciples in the evangelical, catholic and reformed Anglican Way
Tuesday, June 13: Day One of General Convention 2006
June 14, 2006

We didn’t believe that there were over 1500 people here until we tried to get into Communion this morning. Traffic jams of busses and cars; many people walking and everyone trying to get into two little doors. The Presiding Bishop presided over the service; and I am happy to say that most of you would have recognized it as a “normal” Eucharist. This is not always the case at General Convention. The end of this service brought us to the first legislative session in both the House of Bishops (HOB) and the House of Deputies (HOD).
Everything that happens at a General Convention is very much like the actions of the Diocesan Convention. They are both governed by the same rules and procedures, described and stated in Canon law. There are standing committees that meet between General Conventions, just as diocesan committees do.
Resolutions are written and submitted by individuals, the many interim committees or dioceses. The later is usually begun in and ratified for submission at the Diocesan convention. Once submitted to the General Convention Resolution Committee, they are sent to legislative committees that oversee a particular subject area; given a number and it is determined which House will consider the resolution first. Some, like the election of the Presiding Bishop, go to the House of Bishops (HOB) first and then to the House of Deputies (HOD) for ratification. Both houses must pass each resolution for it to be enacted. The Committee on the Dispatch of Business determines when each resolution is heard in each House. Tomorrow at 5:00 PM is the final deadline for submission of resolutions. Right now, there are 276 resolutions. Only about 100 will make it out of the Dispatch committee. Resolutions are either dispatched, which means sent back to their originating committee; approved or defeated.
Daily Agendas are distributed each morning (7:00 AM) for each House and are frequently reissued at 2:00PM when the afternoon sessions start.
Wide boundaries are prescribed by stanchions for each official “floor.” Only bishops can be on the floor in their House; only Deputies in their House. Deputies sit at long tables, with the left end of the table one diocese and the right end of the table another diocese, so each deputation is split between two tables. This actually makes conversation easier. The bishops sit at round tables and these are their Scripture ‘study tables,’ which continue during the twice a year HOB meetings. Orthodox bishops are scattered among the other bishops. Some of the most grievous abuse that they encounter is at their table. There are guest sections for visitors and alternate deputies in the far back of each room; foreign visitors, ‘house’ press (those employed by the Episcopal News Service) are much closer to the dais; and a press section.
Remember those volunteers in red aprons and caps? Their jovial countenance quickly turns into a pit bull moniker. Every single event is guarded by the red aprons and admittance is determined by your credentials, which you apply for prior to Convention. Everyone is color-coded. Bishops are purple; deputies are red; press is blue; visitors are white. Delegates to the Episcopal Church Women meeting, which runs concurrently, are yellow. And, yes, they are all trying to use the same two bathrooms at once.
This afternoon, I attended the hearing of the Special Committee on the Anglican Communion. The 200 pre-set seats went quickly and about 200 people sat on the floor around the margins of the room. More chairs came and were filled. And there were still about 100 of people sitting on the floor. The committee dealt with 10 resolutions, one of their crafting and the others submitted from dioceses around the country, re: our membership in the Anglican Communion. If you want to address the committee, you must sign up with the Legislative Assistant. You are called to the mike and have 3 minutes to speak. About 15 people addressed the committee; two people addressed the committee suggesting complete adoption of the Windsor Report. As is typical, the representatives of the gay and lesbian community outnumbered all others and read well-crafted statements. Each took exception with one phrase or another, suggesting that we are a sovereign church and have the right to determine our own policy and polity and should not be “in submission” to any foreign body. Other than that, membership in the Anglican Communion is fine. The committee will have another hearing tomorrow night in the Regency ballroom – the largest room in downtown Columbus. Then the 30 resolutions on the Anglican Communion and the Windsor report will be combined or whittled down to 5-8 and they will come to both Houses on Friday and Saturday for votes. The Dispatch Committee wants this issue to be resolved prior to the election of the new Presiding Bishop on Sunday.
Two resolutions came to the Convention today that are potentially explosive. The first is C040 SUPPORT OF BIBLICAL LITERACY submitted by the Diocese of Vermont. It supports “activities and programs that will further our knowledge of and love for Holy Scripture and at the same time, counter ways of interpreting the Bible which oppresses/marginalizes certain groups: persons of color, different faith traditions and (at this time especially) gay and lesbian persons.”
Did you get it? If this passes, no one can say that a gay/lesbian person’s practice of homosexuality is in contradiction to Scripture. It is part of the “Take Back the Scriptures” campaign.
The second resolution is much worse. It has been rumored for months, but did not surface with a number as an accepted resolution until today. It is D017 MARRIAGE RITE IN BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER FOR SAME-SEX COUPLES, submitted by Louie Crew, Diocese of Newark, NJ.
This resolution suggests that only a few words in a few places need to be changed in the traditional marriage service, Book of Common Prayer, to use the same liturgy for same-sex couples. Take the phrase “this man and this woman” and replace it with “these two persons” et, voila, a national rite for homosexual marriage that is not creating a New rite, which the Windsor Report warns against.
This resolution has not been reviewed for Canonical or Constitutional acceptance, but was circulated today to all bishops, deputies and members of the press. Hold on to your hats. This Convention will heat up very quickly! I will keep you posted. Cherie Wetzel for Anglicans United