Convention Report: Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017
233rd Annual Convention of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut
November 17-18, 2017 - Hyatt Regency in Greenwich, CT

Resolutions ( full text of originals here)  
 
 
View of the Convention floor  Friday Nov. 17 - photo by Alli Huggins

FRIDAY RESOLUTIONS AND STATUS - See Convention Report for Friday, link here 
 
SATURDAY RESOLUTIONS:

06: Proposed Baptismal Covenant Language Reflecting Our Unity with All Creation - Adopted as amended
The resolution asks General Convention to authorize a trial addition of an additional questions to the Baptismal Covenant. An amendment was added to add "and restore" to the words of the proposed new question, and it passed. Final text of the amended resolution:
    Resolved, that the 233rd Convention of the Diocese of Connecticut submit to the 79th General Convention of The Episcopal Church the following proposed resolution:
    Resolved, the House of ________ concurring, that the 79th General Convention authorize the trial addition to the Baptismal Covenant of an additional question concerning our responsibility as baptized Christians to care for God's creation; and be it
    Resolved, that the additional question and response be worded as follows:
    "Will you cherish the wondrous works of God, and protect and restore the beauty and integrity of all creation?"
    "I will, with God's help."; and be it further
    Resolved, that use of this additional question and response be authorized for trial use as part of the Baptismal Covenant for the triennium following the 79th General Convention, beginning on the first Sunday of Advent 2018.
 
07:  Reduce our Carbon Footprint - Adopted as amended
The resolution asks ECCT to affirm the 2011 House of Bishops Pastoral Teaching on the Environment, take specific action steps to address climate change, and submit the resolution to General Convention as a "memorial resolution." An amendment, which passed, clarified that the resolution's specific action steps for "living lightly and gently on God's good earth" were examples and not a comprehensive list. The final text:
   Resolved , that the 233rd Convention of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut affirmthe House of Bishops' 2011 Pastoral Teaching of the Environment, as described in Appendix A of this resolution; and be it further 
   Resolved , that as individuals and communities of faith of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, we set an example, in the spirit of the Paris Climate Accord, by making intentional decisions about living lightly and gently on God's good earth, for example, through energy conservation, renewable energy, sustainable food practices, gardening, and resting off the grid; and be it further
   Resolved, that the worshiping communities of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut work collaboratively with local governments, other denominations and communities of faith, as well as community partners and other stakeholders, to take concrete steps to address climate change in our local communities; and be it further
   Resolved, that the 233rd Convention of the Diocese of Connecticut submit to the 79th General Convention this resolution as a memorial resolution. We ask that it be memorialized by General Convention as a witness to our individual and communal commitments to living lightly, while advancing the House of Bishop's 2011 commitment to "advocate for a "fair, ambitious, and binding climate treaty,'" by participating in future meetings of the United Nations Conference of Parties on Climate Change as an active, faithful, and engaged voice for all of God's good earth.  
     
08: The Merger of St. John's, East Hartford and St. John's, Vernon - Adopted
The resolution ratified the merger of St. John's, East Hartford and St. John's, Vernon into one parish of Saint John's Episcopal Church. The text is as follows:
   Resolved, that the 233rd Annual Convention of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut ratifies the merger into one parish of Saint John's Episcopal Church of East Hartford and Saint John's Episcopal Church of Vernon, such merger having been approved by, and undertaken in the manner and under the conditions required by, the Bishops and Standing Committee in keeping with Canon I, Section 13 of the Canons of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut; and be it further
   Resolved, that the resulting parish shall be a single ecclesiastical corporation possessing all the rights, privileges, immunities, franchises and obligations of each of the merging Parishes, and all the rights and interests in property belonging to or due to each of the parishes so merged shall be vested in such resulting parish without further act or deed, in accordance with Canon I, Section 13 of the Canons of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut; and be it further
   Resolved, that the resulting merged parish shall be named Saint John's Episcopal Church.
 
09: Assessing our Resources for Participating in God's Mission - Adopted
This resolution is a followup to last year's Resolution 4 and represented a request by the Resolution Task Force to continue its work, taking next steps. Multiple amendments were offered about consultants, buildings, and the terms of the proposed assessments, however in the end, none of those passed. The resolution passed in its original text:   
   Resolved , that the 233rd Annual Convention of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut continues to give thanks for the new and exciting ways that Episcopalians in Connecticut are collaborating to participate in God's mission through Regions, Region Missionaries, Ministry Networks, and the Mission Council; and be it further  
   Resolved , that the 2016 Resolution #4 Working Group continues to work with Regions and Region Missionaries by undertaking Region Needs Assessments that include, but are not limited to: 1) identifying programs and activities to further participate in God's mission across parishes and Regions; and 2) determining the financial resources necessary to achieve identified goals; and be it further  
   Resolved , that the 2016 Resolution #4 Working Group engage a consulting firm, as appropriate, to assist with Region Needs Assessments; and be it further
   Resolved , that the 2016 Resolution #4 Working Group report back to the 234th Annual Convention as to its findings, including: the results of the Region Needs Assessments, and any other recommendations to assist the Episcopal Church in Connecticut in our next steps in God's mission.
 
10: Revising Diocesan Canons - Adopted as amended 
The resolution itself was to adopt the changes in an appended redlined version. The changes in Canon VII, Section 1(D) were to add the Assistant Treasurer and Secretary of Convention to Mission Council; in Canon 1, Section 11(B) they were to restructure the canons for clarity, remove implementation language no longer needed, add the advice and consent of Standing Committee and Mission Council before any action, and remove the status category of "aided parish" as inflexible and impractical. Changes in 11(C) were to provide that parishes facing termination may appear before the Standing Committee along with the Mission Council (previously had been Mission Council only). An amendment was offered, and passed, to clarify that the "cumulative draw" referenced in Canon 1, Section 11(B) is "for operations." The redlined version of the changes, now approved, are here (except the two-word amendment as noted here.)   
 
11:  Selection of a bishop -  Adopted
This resolution proposes that the ECCT Faith and Order Commission return next year with changes in canons that allow us to elect bishops. The current canons reference deaneries and an executive council, neither of which currently exist, and the process needs to be reviewed in light of other recent changes in ECCT. The text:
   Resolved , that Faith and Order Commission examine the changes in the Canons of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut adopted in 2016 that render our current plan for electing bishops obsolete, study the selection processes in other dioceses as to the election of bishops in God's church, and work with the Bishops, Chancellor, and leadership bodies, to identify a process which would be faithful to the work of the Task Force for the Re-Imagining of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut (TREC-CT); and be it further 
   Resolved , that the Faith and Order Commission report back no later than the 234th Annual Convention with a plan for the selection of bishops in the diocese and propose any policy or canonical changes necessary to implement a new process for electing a bishop.
 
12:Clerical Standing - Adopted
The resolution was offered because while the canons of The Episcopal Church (TEC) and ECCT may reference "clergy in good standing," neither defines what that means. Debate clarified that whatever is proposed for ECCT will not be in conflict with TEC canons. Full text:
   Resolved, that the Faith and Order Commission, in consultation with the Bishops, Commission on Ministry, Mission Council, and Standing Committee, report back to the 234th Annual Convention with a definition of "clergy in good standing" for all three orders of ordained ministry.
 
13:  Use of Other Anglican Books of Worship - Adopted
The resolution asks General Convention to allow dioceses to use any book of prayer or worship authorized for use elsewhere in the Anglican Communion, with permission of the bishop diocesan. Full text (see original resolution for formatting)
   Resolved , that the 233rd Annual Convention of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut submit the following resolution to the 79th General Convention of The Episcopal Church:
   Resolved , the House of ______ concurring, that a new section 2 be added to Title II, Canon 4 of the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church, to read: Use of Other Anglican Books of Worship: With the permission of the Bishop Diocesan, any book of prayer/worship authorized for use by a Church or Province of the Anglican Communion may be used in congregations or ministries within that diocese.  
 
14: Minimize Gendered Language in Prayer Book Revision  - Adopted with amendments 
The resolution directs General Convention to make a specific request of the Commission considering Prayer Book revisions. The text of the resolution to General Convention was successfully amended twice - first, to replace "gender neutral" with "gender expansive," and second, to replace "to eliminate" with "to amend." Several other amendments spoke to preserving "poetic beauty," however all were defeated. Final text:     
   Resolved, that the 233rd Annual Convention of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut submits the following resolution to the 79th General Convention of the Episcopal Church:
   Resolved , the House of __________ concurring, that the 79th General Convention direct the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, as it considers revision of the Book of Common Prayer, to amend, as far as is practicable, all gendered references to God, replacing them with gender expansive language.

The annual magazine of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, just printed, was distributed to attendees of the Annual Convention. It begins mailing next week to households whose names and addresses were sent to The Commons following a request last year. Updates on those mailing lists are welcome at any time.
 
Click here, or on the image, to read it online. 
 

Elections (bios on this page) 
 
Elections opened on Friday afternoon and closed at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Results:

STANDING COMMITTEE  
Ashley Pilar Atencio - 3 year term 
Danielle A. Gaherty- 3 year term

The Rev. Tracy Johnson-Russell- 3 year term 
The Rev. Peter Freely Walsh- 3 year term
The Rev. Diana McKelvey Rogers- 1 year term
 
MINISTRY NETWORK MEMBERS ON MISSION COUNCIL:
The Rev. Linda Spiers
The Rev. Amjad John Samuel 
Carolyn C. Clement

Bishop's Annual Address 

It's time to stop talking about the end of Christendom and instead to start talking about the beginning of a new apostolic age, said Bishop Ian T. Douglas in his Annual Address - and he talked about new understandings and new practices for participating in God's mission.  
 
He offered a four-part description of what a parish or worshiping community might look like in this new age, s hared five spiritual practices that we have been using across ECCT and might use even more broadly, and suggested three places/horizons where he believes God is calling us to engage.    
 
Link here to read the full text online, get a PDF,  link to the video, or link to the audio only.

Bethany House of Prayer    
 
Member of Bethany House of Prayer provided two opportunities Friday, and  two on Saturday, for contemplative prayer in the midst of our deliberations. More information about them is here: http://www.bethanyhousearlington.org/ 
 

One-minute stories from the Regions    
 
Spread over the two days are six one-minute video interviews with people from our different Regions, talking about a ministry in which they're involved. The content varies but the format is the same for each. The first two showed Friday; the others on Saturday. All are posted on ECCT's YouTube Channel or click on them individually:

Convention Eucharist, Friday, Nov. 17. Photo by Alli Huggins.

EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN CONNECTICUT
PARTICIPATING IN GOD'S MISSION


290 Pratt Street | Box 52 | Meriden, CT 06450 | 203-639-3501