wfn.org | Episcopalians plan for 2003 General Convention

[Daphne Mack <dmack@dfms.org>]

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99-087

Executive Council plans for future, proposes Minneapolis for 
General Convention in 2003

by James Solheim

(ENS) The Executive Council of the Episcopal Church, meeting 
for the first time in the Diocese of Fond du Lac in Wisconsin, 
continued its work on a budget process, laid plans for new 
program initiatives in preparation for next summer's General 
Convention, and proposed Minneapolis as the site for the 2003 
convention.

In the opening plenary on June 14, House of Deputies 
president Pamela Chinnis reported that she had been "energized" 
in her meetings with the church on the local level, that it was 
"refreshing" to meet church members who were concerned with "how 
to live a Christian life in today's world." This is the challenge 
always before us, to balance care for the institution of the 
church, Christ's body, with commitment to the mission of the 
church, to bring the reconciling love of Christ to all the 
world."

Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold reported on his own 
encounters with the church in recent months. He said that the 
recent meeting of the bishops in Texas revealed continuing 
attempts by the bishops to serve as "a community of wisdom" for 
the whole church." Despite "some tensions among certain bishops," 
he is convinced that they are in a "good, solid place" and want 
to work together on the issues facing the church.

Commenting on the recent report on authority by the Anglican 
Roman Catholic International Commission (see ENS May 26), he 
encouraged Episcopalians to regard it "not as a finished 
document" but rather an invitation to reflection, especially 
about the ministry exercised by the bishop of Rome.

The Zacchaeus Report, now being sent to all congregations by 
the Episcopal Church Foundation, is a "careful sampling" of how 
people at the local level view their church (see separate 
article). It reveals broad recognition that the church is alive 
and well and doing effective ministry, especially in dealing with 
differences, he said. It also reveals some "real concern about 
how decisions are made," he added. But it is clear that 
"Episcopalians find their identity through worship--the Eucharist 
is central to their lives."

Griswold said that a recent meeting of the board of the 
Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief endorsed a capital funds 
drive to celebrate its 60th anniversary and will study how the 
drive can best be "integrated" into the life of the church. 

Following a trip to Washington, where he met with 
Congressional leaders as well as representatives of the World 
Bank and civil rights advocates, Griswold issued a statement 
urging them to address the issue of world debt and the heavy 
burden it places on developing nations (see statement in 
Newsfeatures). The conversations in Washington also raised 
questions about his own role in public affairs.

Addressing the future

Council members, under the leadership of the planning and 
evaluation committee, engaged in small group discussions about 
the future program of the church. As a result they urged programs 
to promote diversity, expand the capacity for communication and 
develop leadership for the future, without affecting the church's 
emphasis on or support for global mission and programs in peace 
and justice.

"We want to become a church rich with diversity, we want to 
enhance communications for the 21st century and we want to make 
disciples and apostles," said the Rev. Bavi Rivera of California, 
chair of the committee. 

Treasurer Stephen Duggan reported that national income is 
"quite strong," and that 70 percent of the dioceses are pledging 
at or above the requested formula. "There is no indication that 
any portion of the budget will be significantly out of line," he 
said, and that the good news is that the church will be "close to 
budget" for the second consecutive year.

The council continued to develop a more flexible and 
responsive budget process, one that Duggan has been advocating in 
this triennium. Griswold urged the council not to start with 
budgets, because that too often highlights scarcities, but to 
look first at mission and then the monetary resources. He quoted 
the late Cardinal Suenens of Belgium who said, "The trouble with 
the church is that it lives with such low expectations."

Griswold said that the church should ask, "What are the 
gifts of grace and signs of abundance among us? Where is the 
energy and passion and how can they be linked, how do we 
encourage and support ministry?" He added that "we need to be 
stretched as individuals and as a church," trying to "imagine the 
future we want for ourselves."

The council endorsed plans for a new network of all the 
groups involved in world mission into an Episcopal Partnership 
for Global Mission, to provide "greater coherence in the midst of 
some confusion," said the Rev. Titus Presler of Massachusetts in 
his presentation on behalf of the planners. The network would 
address "some misunderstanding and even some competition" and 
attempt to overcome distinctions between what are often perceived 
as official and unofficial mission efforts, he said.

Anti-racism training session

Council members spent a morning in anti-racism training, a 
crucial effort by the church to deal with a subject that "grieves 
the Holy Spirit," according to Griswold in an introductory 
meditation. Racism is "a denial of communion," he said, which 
undermines "the very nature of the church," adding that it is 
"blasphemy" to say that we live in the love of God and the 
fellowship of the Holy Spirit and not take seriously what 
communion demands of us.

The council commended the presiding bishop and staff for its 
diplomatic initiatives and humanitarian efforts in the Balkan 
crisis and pledged to support continuing attempts by the 
religious community to seek healing and reconciliation. Richard 
Parkins, fresh from visiting refugee camps in Macedonia, 
described those efforts to support refugees and seek their return 
to Kosovo.

The council also urged Congress to pass comprehensive gun 
control legislation, restricting access to firearms by children 
by stiffening background checks for purchases. It recommended a 
response to gun violence at next summer's General Convention.

The Rev. Karen Parker, an observer to council from the 
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, offered a sobering 
assessment about the fate of the new proposal for full communion, 
Called to Common Mission, based on strong opposition to adoption 
by Lutherans of the historic episcopate. "What impedes my hope is 
that the opposition is strong and well-organized," she said. An 
alternate proposal that would seek a continuing relationship 
between the two churches without sharing the historic episcopate 
is gaining support, she said.

Council members journeyed to the nearby city of Fond du Lac 
for a reception and a special Fortieth Annual Eucharistic 
Festival with a packed congregation at the Cathedral Church of 
St. Paul the Apostle. Bishop Russell Jacobus and the presiding 
bishop preached. The cathedral emptied during the procession, 
adoration and benediction of the blessed sacrament on the lawn of 
the cathedral, followed by a picnic.

--James Solheim is director of the Episcopal Church's Office of 
News and Information.