Grace and peace,
Last Saturday, delegates from across the Diocese of Washington, both laity and clergy, gathered at the National Cathedral for our annual convention. This business meeting was preceded on Friday evening with a eucharist “Service Towards Repentance”. During this service, Bishop Mariann offered public repentance on behalf of the Diocese for the sins of racism that have adversely affected our brothers, sisters, and siblings of color in our Diocese and the Black community at large. The “Service Towards Repentance”, was a primer for some of the resolutions that were be considered the next day in the business meeting.
Presented on Saturday were three resolutions related to reparations and movement towards equity in our Diocese and community. The first resolution was an acknowledgement of our past culture of exclusion and our intention to move toward equity in all facets of our lives. The second resolution established a committee for implementation of reparations in our Diocese. This committee will oversee the diocesan efforts towards reparations and the allocation of financial resources dedicated toward these efforts. The third resolution in this trio, is about setting aside $5 million over ten years, which will come from multiple diocesan resources. It will become a part of the reparations rendered by our Diocese. These funds will, at the discretion of the Reparations Committee, be allocated to the black churches, clergy, and community in an effort to right wrongs and move toward equity in all our efforts. All three of these resolutions passed with strong support.
These three resolutions, and the “Service Towards Repentance”, are the result of the efforts over the past few years of the supporting committees, the investigations into the history of the diocese, as well as individual parish histories, including our own. This is a significant step for our Diocese as we work to build a culture of equity.
There were two additional resolutions presented at Convention. There was a resolution encouraging all parishes to participate in a no-cost energy-usage study to create a baseline of our energy usage. This will enable us to measure, and directly address, energy conservation needs and opportunities. The final resolution was offered in support of affordable healthcare as a means of addressing social justice. The efforts noted including working with legislators, hosting community forums, and working towards affordable healthcare for all. Both of these resolutions also passed handily.
During the Bishop’s address to the assembly, two items of note came to light. First, after 5 years, it is time for a thorough review of the Diocese’s Strategic Plan. It is time to see what worked, what needs more work, and where do we go from here.
The other item of note is that a committee has been working diligently on establishing guidelines for congregational giving. At the 2026 Diocesan Convention we will be asked to establish a congregational giving standard. St. John’s 2025 giving to the diocese is budgeted at $6,000; this is well below the suggested 10% of pledge and plate ($46,000). The diocese recognizes that not every parish can give at the 10% level; they are seeking to establish an appropriate minimum level for all parishes. This work will come before us the next year.
This work of our diocese is important because it goes hand-in-hand with our spiritual work. It is not unlike the work of the Vestry of this parish. The work of the Vestry is a ministry, it reflects our spiritual work, even as it focuses on the management of the fiduciary affairs of the parish. All that we do is from God and the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Peace
Fr. Henry+
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