Committee Assignments and Legislation

Committee assignments and other information from the Deputation.

Six of the eight deputies from the Diocese of Georgia have been appointed to serve on a convention committee, which is more than in recent conventions. The Bishop and Deputies committee assignments are:

Person Committee Role
Benhase, Bishop Scott #17: Privilege and Courtesy Chair
Clarkson, Ted #21: Credentials Member
Logue, Frank
#21: Program, Budget & Finance Member
Grant, Jody #21: Credentials Member
Stevenson, Molly #10: Evangelism & Communications Vice Chair
Wilkinson Reyes, Sierra #12: Formation and Education for Ministry Assistant Secretary
Willoughby III, William #15: Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations Member

 

To contact your deputation during the General Convention, send an email to deputies@georgiaepiscopal.org which will forward your communication to the Bishop, Deputies, and Alternates.

Legislation from the Georgia Deputation
The Diocese of Georgia has one resolution which will come to the convention. This is the resolution on Deaconess Anna Alexander passed unanimously by our conventions in 2011 and 2014. This is now Resolution C035 and we will join others in testifying to this resolution as a part of our work in Utah.

Additionally, Bishop Benhase and Canon Frank Logue each proposed resolutions to the House of Deputies and House of Bishops to direct existing budget funds to a test of Digital Evangelism. While the Bishop’s resolution has yet to receive a number, the Deputy resolutions is D019: Conducting and Online Digital Evangelism Test Canon Logue about this resolution here: The Opportunity in Digital Evangelism

Additionally, Canon Logue worked with six other deputies from across the church to draft a Memorial and nine other resolutions. Information is found online here: http://www.episcopalresurrection.org/about/

 

Pray for the Church

Ten days of prayers leading to the General Convention of the Episcopal Church.

The Acts8 Moment is a Missionary Society made of lay and clergy members of the Episcopal Church who seek to change the conversation in The Episcopal Church from death to resurrection; equipping The Episcopal Church to proclaim resurrection to the world. Formed in the time leading up to the 2012 General Convention, the group calls on Episcopalians to pray for the church, each day between now and the start of General Convention on June 25. To help you in your prayers, we have suggested a specific prayer intention for each day, along with prayers that might be helpful to you as you pray. We hope you will pray at various times of the day, but especially at 5:08 p.m.! (The number 5 is for the 5th book of the New Testament, the Book of Acts, and 8 is for the 8th chapter.)

prayercycle-fullcycle

 

Deputies and Bishops Meet in Regional Synod

The Province IV Synod met at Kanuga June 3-5, 2015.

Bishops and Deputies from the 20 Episcopal dioceses in the southeast United States gathered last week at Kanuga Conference Center in Hendersonville, NC, to prepare for this summer’s General Convention. The meeting is part of the preparation two the General Convention which meets in Salt Lake City later this month.

The group heard reports from the Presiding Bishop, the President of the House of Deputies, and others including Canon Frank Logue who briefed the gathering on the current draft of the proposed budget for the Episcopal Church. The Rev. Sierra Wilkinson Reyes also addressed the Synod to speak of her experience with the 2003 General Convention, when she served as Youth Representative, and the opportunities that participation opened up for her. Break out sessions during the meeting created an opportunity to discuss the proposed budget, the report from the Task Force on Marriage, and the report of the Task Force for Reimagining the Church.

Actions of the Synod
The Synod passed three resolutions. One calls on the General Convention to establish a day of prayer for recent Christian martyrs. A second affirmed the work of province and would amend the Episcopal Church canons to insert a clearer explanation for the role of provinces. The third resolution endorsed A Memorial to the Church which serves as an open letter to the church. More than 500 Bishops, Deputies, and other Episcopalians have signed on to the Memorial. Province IV is the first Synod to do so.

The Synod elected Canon Frank Logue to a six-year term on the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church. The Executive Council functions as the Board of Directors with the duty to carry out programs and policies adopted by General Convention and to oversee the ministry and mission of the Episcopal Church.


Current and past Youth Representatives to the General Convention included the Rev. Sierra Wilkinson Reyes (at far right) who served in 2003.

 

Province IV Synod Starts June 3

Bishops and Deputies from the southeast region of the Episcopal Church gather June 3-5 in North Carolina for the Province IV Synod.

The Province IV Synod meets June 3-5 at Kanuga Conference Center in Hendersonville, NC. Prior to each General Convention, some matters first come to Synods, which are regional gatherings held in the nine provinces of the Episcopal Church. The Diocese of Georgia is part of Province IV, which includes dioceses located in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and part of Louisiana. Province IV has the largest number of clergy, baptized members, communicants, church school and day school pupils and is the largest contributor to the General Convention budget of any Province in our Church.

Logue to Stand for Executive Council Election
Elections conducted during the meeting will be for the officers of the Province, a clergy representative to the Executive Council, and six persons to the Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of a Presiding Bishop. Canon Logue will stand for election for a six-year term to Executive Council, which carries out programs and policies adopted by General Convention and oversees the ministry and mission of the Church.

 

Bulletin Inserts on General Convention

An easy to print and use resource for your congregation.

For congregations seeking to make parishioners aware of the upcoming General Convention, the Episcopal Church offers bulletin inserts. These are available online here:

full page, one-sided
half page, double-sided
black and white, full page, one-sided
black and white, half page, double-sided

 

Blue Book Published

The Blue Book is now available online.

The full book of reports to the 78th General Convention, known as the Blue Book, has now been published and is available online by clicking on the image of the cover shown here. The General Convention, which meets in Salt Lake City from June 24th – July 3rd, 2015, is the governing body of The Episcopal Church that meets every three years. Deputies and bishops representing each of 109 dioceses carry out the work of the Church at each Convention.

The reports to the Convention which are being widely discussed as the convention approaches include the Report of the Task Force on the Study of Marriage and the Report of the Task Force for Reimagining the Church, which are included in the Blue Book.

 

Convention Conversations Underway

St. Mark’s, Brunswick, hosted the first of five conversations taking place around the Diocese among Deputies and interested parishioners.


Bishop Benhase speaks to the first of five conversations around the Diocese in preparation for this summer’s General Convention of the Episcopal Church.

The Bishop and Deputies held the first of five conversations around the Diocese in advance of the General Convention at St. Mark’s, Brunswick, this past Saturday. Twenty-one persons took part in the wide-ranging discussion considering the matters to be considered at the convention.

The General Convention, which meets in Salt Lake City from June 24th – July 3rd, 2015, is the governing body of The Episcopal Church that meets every three years. Deputies and bishops representing each of 109 dioceses carry out the work of the Church at each Convention. If you wish to converse with our Bishop & Deputies about issues facing this Convention, then they will be available on the following dates in these locations:

Meeting Dates and Times
May 16 at 4 p.m. – Holy Comforter, Martinez
May 30 at 10 a.m. – Christ Church, Savannah
June 6 at 4 p.m. – St. Paul’s, Albany
June 13 at 2 p.m. – Trinity, Cochran

 

Nominees for Presiding Bishop

Pictured below from left to right are the nominees: Bishops Breidenthal, Curry, Douglas, and Smith.

The Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop announced the names of the bishops it will nominate this summer to succeed Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. The four names will be formally submitted to the General Convention during a joint session on June 26, the day prior to the day set for the election by the House of Bishops of the 27th presiding bishop. The nominees are:

  • The Rt. Rev. Thomas Breidenthal, 64, Diocese of Southern Ohio
  • The Rt. Rev. Michael Curry, 62, Diocese of North Carolina
  • The Rt. Rev. Ian Douglas, 56, Diocese of Connecticut
  • The Rt. Rev. Dabney Smith, 61, Diocese of Southwest Florida

The committee’s formal announcement, along with biographical information about each nominee, is posted on the General Convention website: Presiding Bishop Nominees.

 

Conversations Around the Diocese

The General Convention, which meets in Salt Lake City from June 24th – July 3rd, 2015, is the governing body of The Episcopal Church that meets every three years. Deputies and bishops representing each of 109 dioceses carry out the work of the Church at each Convention.

If you wish to converse with our Bishop and Deputies about issues facing this Convention, then they will be available on the following dates in these locations:

Meeting Dates and Times
May 2 at 4 p.m. – St. Mark’s, Brunswick
May 16 at 4 p.m. – Holy Comforter, Martinez
May 30 at 10 a.m. – Christ Church, Savannah
June 6 at 4 p.m. – St. Paul’s, Albany
June 13 at 2 p.m. – Trinity, Cochran

Reports & Proposed Legislation
The reports to the Convention which are important include the Report of the Task Force on the Study of Marriage and the Report of the Task Force for Reimagining the Church. Reports to General Convention are assembled in what is called the Blue Book. Reports filed to date may be viewed here: Blue Book Reports

The work of the Convention will also include the passage of a church-wide budget for 2015-2018 as well as the House of Bishops’ election of a new Presiding Bishop. The Report from the Standing Committee on Liturgy and Music calls the convention to authorize “The Witnessing and Blessing of a Marriage,” “The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage 2,” and “The Form of Solemnization of Matrimony” from “Liturgical Resources I: I Will Bless You and You Will Be a Blessing, Revised and Expanded 2015,” beginning the First Sunday of Advent 2015, under the direction of the bishop exercising ecclesiastical authority.