Convention Updates and Reminders

Dear Diocese of Florida,

Welcome to convention week! We are looking forward to seeing you Saturday and hosting a productive convention. We are energized and optimistic from the healthy conversation and debate that took place during our roadshow of pre-convention meetings in late October.

Following pre-convention and as we approach Saturday, we have several updates and reminders to share with you.

Resolutions

Revision to Resolution 2 on Clergy Delegates from the Convention Committee on Charter and Canons

The Convention Committee on Charter and Canons has been monitoring the excellent input received during the pre-convention meetings in Jacksonville, Gainesville and Tallahassee.  

In response to that input, the committee has adopted this committee substitute to its Resolution 2, which is also available on the convention webpage. We appreciate the pre-convention meeting attendees calling to our attention two desirable clarifications that we have now made to improve the resolution.  

The Canons Committee believes that the substitute, through the pre-convention attendees' input, now better expresses their long-held intention to provide Convention with a resolution that:

(i) presents an approach to clergy participation in line with the best practices utilized around the dioceses of our Church,

(ii) honors the input of canonically resident clergy who are not active in a parish or ministry, and

(iii) entrusts decision authority to canonically resident clergy in good standing who are "in the trenches" of active ministry in the parishes, missions, and ministries of our diocese, whether in the Diocese or not.

Amendments from the Floor

In consideration of the convention's in-person and virtual audiences, if you plan to bring a resolution amendment to the convention floor Saturday, we encourage you to email that amendment as a PDF to our convention secretary, the Rev. Sarah Minton, at sarahminton@smgcs.church, by Thursday, Nov. 9.

This of course is not a requirement, but it will allow us to upload and display your proposed amendment in a fashion that is visually clear and convenient for all audiences.  The amendment will still need to be introduced from the floor at convention.

The Registration Deadline is Today

In case you missed it, registration for the convention closes today at 5 p.m. ET. If you are a delegate and have not yet registered, please do so at your earliest possible convenience today.

This is to help ensure we have a proper quantity of food, beverage and other accommodations for all attendees.

Livestreaming the Convention

The convention will be livestreamed via the Diocesan YouTube channel.

With the great dialogue that took place during pre-convention, and considering the amount of business to be covered, there will not be a chance to interact with the digital audience. However, our communications and A/V teams will be monitoring the comment section for any technical feedback, such as low volume or microphone issues.

Visit our Webpage for All Convention Information

Our webpage at diocesefl.org/2023-diocesan-convention/ is a one-stop-shop for all convention information. This includes the agenda, nominations, resolutions, pre-convention livestreams, rules of order and more. We encourage you to review it before convention and to email us with any questions.

We look forward to seeing you Saturday for a productive convention that we hope represents a day where we can all begin to move forward positively and in unity.



Sincerely,

Your Standing Committee

The Rev. Joe Gibbes                 Mr. Ben Hill

The Rev. Teresa Seagle            Mr. Keith Daw

The Rev. Sarah Minton             Ms. Jackie Jones