What Happened at General Convention?
The 79th General Convention of the Episcopal Church met this year from July 3 through July 14 in Austin, TX. I have never attended a General Convention and am quite glad there are people who feel called to do so in my place. There is a convention every three years with delegations from each of the 109 dioceses. Add in visitors, representatives from probably every Episcopal ministry, vendors, and invited guests and the website says over 10,000 people will attend.
General Convention is divided into a House of Bishops which includes all active and retired bishops and the House of Deputies made up of lay people, deacons, and priests. Resolutions are introduced in either house and must be approved by both houses for adoption. After meeting for about 2 weeks, 517 resolutions were approved.
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| Delegates from the Diocese of Alabama |
So, what did they do? There wasn’t much controversy this year, although anytime 2 or 3 Episcopalians are gathered, you know there is a good chance for differing opinions. Some of the decisions that seemed to get a lot of attention on social media included (and these are in no particular order):
Phyllis and I took the time the other night to watch the two addresses of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry. His preaching inspires me. It is well worth the time to watch both his opening address and his sermon at the General Convention Revival service. Because 9 dioceses in the Episcopal Church are from countries outside the United States where the primary language is Spanish, Bishop Curry has a translator during his sermon at the Revival service and she is amazing to watch. First is his opening address to the Convention
This is his sermon at the Convention Revival liturgy.
- The Diocese of Cuba was unanimously readmitted to the Episcopal Church. For the past 51 years, the Episcopal Church of Cuba has functioned as an autonomous diocese in the Anglican Communion since separating from the Episcopal Church in the United States in 1967.
- We will not have a new prayer book in the foreseeable future, but there will be new liturgies for use in addition to the 1979 Bood of Common Prayer. There is a really good article outlining the resolution HERE.
- General Convention approved $5.8 million in funding for new church ministries and for mission enterprise zones.
- Diversity in the Church received a lot of attention and I think this is good. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry quote a song many of us grew up with, "Jesus Loves the Little Children. All the Children of the World" to remind us that growth in the Church focuses on all people, not just the ones that look and live like we do.
Phyllis and I took the time the other night to watch the two addresses of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry. His preaching inspires me. It is well worth the time to watch both his opening address and his sermon at the General Convention Revival service. Because 9 dioceses in the Episcopal Church are from countries outside the United States where the primary language is Spanish, Bishop Curry has a translator during his sermon at the Revival service and she is amazing to watch. First is his opening address to the Convention
This is his sermon at the Convention Revival liturgy.
Finally, go to our Diocese of Alabama webpage at www.DioAla.org, click on the General Convention tab, and listen to Bishop Sloan's video about General Convention.
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