240th Annual Convention of the Episcopal Church in Delaware

Friday and Saturday, November 22 – 23, 2024

Atlantic Sands Hotel & Conference Center

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

The annual convention may still feel like it is a long way off but there are a number of important deadlines that are much closer, see below:

Upcoming deadlines

September 24

• Certification of delegates and clergy
• Registration for voters (lay and clergy)
• Resolutions

October 8

• Nominations for publication

October 25

• Nominations close

Nominations

Deadline for publication: October 8

As members of the Episcopal Church in Delaware, we all share in its leadership and oversight, often by serving on parish and diocesan teams and committees. Any active Episcopalian in the Episcopal Church in Delaware may nominate someone to serve on a diocesan-wide body. You may nominate yourself as well. Please prayerfully consider a person you know who might be ready to serve at the diocesan level. 

An open letter from the Nominating Committee can be found here.

To ensure that all nominees are included in all diocesan publications, the deadline for nominations is Tuesday, October 8, 2024. The final closing date for nominations is Friday, October 25, 2024.

To make a nomination, click on the nomination button below or click here. If you have questions, feel free to email the Rev. Ted Olson, nominations chairperson, or Jon Barrett, secretary of convention. Below are diocesan offices to be filled at the convention.

Certification of voters (lay and clergy)

Deadline: September 24, 2024

Certification ensures that persons entitled to speak and vote at the convention are able to do so. This year, our annual convention will use clickers, secure electronic handheld devices, for voting. Training on this system will be provided at convention. During certification, you will also be able to complete the registration section, which requires a credit card for completion. This way, the two processes are combined for ease of use.

Lay voters: Your parish delegation is selected by your vestry (Canon 2). Certification of your delegates and alternates must be completed by the senior or junior warden or, if the senior or junior warden is not available, the secretary of the vestry. To certify a parish delegation (lay delegates and alternates), use the Certification of Delegation Form. Click here to complete and submit the Certification of Delegation Form.

Clergy voters: (Article IV, Section 2). For past conventions when voting only required printed ballots, clergy were certified to vote when they checked in at the convention site. However, with the change to the electronic system you need to certify by September 24, 2024, as registration will be completed at the same time. To certify a clergy, use the Certification of Clergy Form. Click here to complete and submit the Certification of Clergy Form.

Article IV, Section 2 of the Constitution and Canons states that those members of the clergy who fit the following criteria are eligible to vote:

“Every bishop, priest or deacon of the Protestant Episcopal Church who is canonically

resident in this diocese, and every clergy person not canonically resident but licensed by the bishop

and exercising an appointed ministry in the diocese, shall have a seat in convention. Every bishop,

priest or deacon of the Protestant Episcopal Church who is canonically resident in this diocese and (a) holds a cure or office in this diocese, (b) who shall have resigned a cure or office on account of age or physical incapacity, or (c) who holds neither a cure nor an office in this diocese nor has resigned a cure or office on account of age or physical incapacity but is in good standing and has reported, in writing, to the bishop each January or (d) whose ecclesiastical duty, for which the approval and the certification by the ecclesiastical authority are necessary, requires residence outside the jurisdiction of this diocese (including, but not limited to, a chaplain in the Armed Forces of the United States), shall have a vote in convention.

Every clergy person not canonically resident but licensed and exercising a ministry in the diocese as

clergy in charge of a congregation in union with the convention of this diocese, or in a ministry with

diocesan appointment shall have a vote in convention except when the diocesan convention is voting

on the election of a bishop to serve in this diocese.”

Registration

Registering for convention means the enrollment of all people attending the 240th convention. For many years, certifying a lay delegation or a clergy person was separate from registering for convention. To simplify the process, registration will be completed during certification, and requires a credit card for completion. Registration is separate from making a hotel reservation.

Registration enables planners to set up properly for meals, convention seating, worship layout, voting, and a hundred other details. There is a fee to register, paid at the time of registration.

As was stated in the Call to Convention, the 240th Convention will be an in-person convention. The 240th Convention will be held at the Atlantic Sands Hotel and Conference Center, 1 Baltimore Avenue, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware 19971.

Hotel Reservations

Don’t forget to make a hotel reservation for you and your delegation promptly. It requires separate action on your part. We are pleased to provide you with the contact information to book a reservation for the Atlantic Sands Hotel and Conference Center. Please note that space is limited, so it is advised to book your spot as soon as possible. Book your group rate by calling 1-800-422-0600 to make a reservation, and refer to The Episcopal Church in Delaware block #11134.

Please note that the last day to book is Wednesday, October 23, 2024, to receive your special group rate of $139.00 per night.

Resolutions

Deadline: September 24, 2024

Anyone who plans to submit a resolution to convention is invited to do so on time — that is, by September 24, 2024. This deadline allows voters the time to properly review and discuss each idea well in advance. This year we will again use a process that has been used in other dioceses. A hearing on resolution(s) will be held by Zoom in advance of convention. This will reduce the work on resolutions that needs to be done on the day of convention since any resolutions will have already been thoroughly discussed. While our rules of order technically permit late resolutions to be submitted up to convention day, these are only considered when a super-majority of voters approve hearing them. Late resolutions (often referred to as floor resolutions) are any debatable resolutions received after the 60-day deadline (September 24, 2024). These may only be introduced at the convention if a super-majority (two-thirds) agrees to receive them. Late resolutions are strongly discouraged. Therefore, convention will be urged to reject consideration of any late resolution that could have been submitted on time and instead resolution writers are urged to submit any late resolutions (on time) for the next convention. Having our collective business organized on time is a major way to help keep our gathering focused on mission and ministry and not bogged down in late legislation. To submit a resolution, complete and submit the resolution form.

Elections

All voting at the 240th convention will take place using clickers, handheld devices for voting. Everyone will receive their own unit, which is a remote device with ten buttons that uses radio technology. The clickers are designed to keep data safe and secure, and we can display the results in real-time on the main event screen using PowerPoint, without requiring an internet connection.

The morning of convention, November 23, 2024, all registered attendees will be taught how to use the clickers. The voting system is simple and easy to learn.

Please remember that the convention webpage, is a centralized repository of information and instructions for the 240^th Annual Convention.

Issue date: September 20, 2024