On March 6, House of Deputies President Gay Clark Jennings was a lead signer in an amicus brief submitted to the Supreme Court of the United States in support of reversing the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling against civil marriage equality.

The brief, developed in part by Christopher Hayes, chancellor of the Diocese of California, was also signed by 21 Episcopal bishops and more than 200 Episcopal clergy and lay leaders, and cites five General Convention resolutions: Resolution D007 from 1994, Resolution D039 from 2000, Resolution A095 from 2006, Resolution A167 from 2006 and Resolution A049 from 2012.

"The case before the court concerns civil marriage, not the Christian sacrament or religious marriage as celebrated in any other faith," said Jennings in a press conference. "In our diverse and pluralistic society, no religion's belief or practice should be permitted to restrict the rights of people to marry and receive equal protection under the law. No one's religious freedom is threatened by ending unjust legal discrimination.

"As religious leaders, we know that same-sex couples make vital contributions to our civic life. They work hard, raise children, volunteer and pay taxes, just like opposite-sex couples," she said. "There is no reason that they should not enjoy the same dignity and legal protections. All of our communities will be stronger when marriage equality ends legal discrimination and makes the lives of same-sex couples and their children more safe and secure."

The amicus brief filing was covered in USA Today, the Christian Science Monitor, the Detroit Free Press, the Living Church and Episcopal Cafe.

Jennings has also joined other faith leaders in submitting amicus briefs to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, appealing marriage equality decisions in Missouri, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota.

On March 21, President Jennings spoke to the Deputies of Color meeting in Salt Lake City:

"A couple of weeks ago, some small change, fifty years in the making, came to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Congressman John Lewis, lion of the civil rights movement, received the Jonathan Daniels Humanitarian Award from the Virginia Military Institute.

"...In his acceptance speech at VMI, Lewis, who was beaten by state troopers on Bloody Sunday in Selma, noted that Daniels was seen by many people in the South as an 'outside agitator.' He said that Daniels 'found a way to get in the way,' to get into 'good trouble, necessary trouble.' He said that others who got into 'good trouble, necessary trouble' were Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Lewis himself."

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Structure, Identity and Magical Thinking

Jennings participates in Acts 8 blog challenge

Last week, President Jennings participated in the Acts 8 "Blogforce" challenge on the mission of The Episcopal Church:

"In the last few years, there's been an identity crisis brewing in some of the churchwide structures of the Episcopal Church. The decidedly dour name of the New York corporation under which the Episcopal Church does business----the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society----has somehow reared its head outside of legal and corporate documents, and the staff at the Church Center-known colloquially as 815-has adopted a moniker of "The Missionary Society."

"We didn't really need more evidence that we need to think about church structure. But if we did, we'd have it in this perceived need to distinguish the corporate structure of the church and its staff from the people of the Episcopal Church seeking to carry out God's mission in congregations and dioceses across the church.

"Here's the hazard in confusing structure and identity:  We might be seduced into thinking that if we make a few big, grand gestures----change the name of the church, rearrange some departments, get rid of our bicameral General Convention----we have taken the problems that confront us seriously.  As human beings, we're all a bit susceptible to that:  we get a new haircut, or a new Facebook profile picture, or a new set of frames for our glasses (check out my new ones next time we meet) in the hope that it will somehow make us fundamentally different, fresher, better, more relevant."

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Getting Ready Together

Deputies collaborate in preparation for Salt Lake City

On March 7, deputies from the Dioceses of  San Joaquin, California,  El Camino Real, and Northern California met together.

Executive Council Holds Final Meeting of Triennium

Jennings thanks Presiding Bishop in opening remarks

President Jennings and Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori at the October 2012 Executive Council meeting

On March 19, President Jennings spoke to the opening session of Executive Council:

"This is our last Executive Council meeting of this triennium. It has been a great privilege to serve with all of you, and I am grateful that each of you has been called to be servants of mission in this way. I must give special mention to Bryan Krislock who has served as a member of Council for eight years--26% of his entire life! His reward is to serve as my parliamentarian in the House of Deputies this summer.

"As we prepare for the election of a new presiding bishop, I especially want to give thanks for the tireless ministry of Bishop Katharine these nine years, and for the dignity and spiritual clarity with which she has led our beloved Episcopal Church and guided it through turbulent times in the Anglican Communion. Her commitment to the Five Marks of Mission has inspired all of us to care for the poor, remember the outcast, and heal the world. As a woman who entered seminary just weeks after the Philadelphia Eleven were ordained, I have particularly admired her ability to handle with grace the particular challenges that come with being the first woman to hold any position of leadership, and I will always be grateful that we have served together. Thank you, Bishop Katharine, and thanks to all of you. I look forward to our work together these next few days."

Read her remarks.