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To: The Vestry of Every Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Easton
From: The Committee on Constitution and Canons
Thomas Hylden, Chair
The Rev. Frank St. Amour, Secretary
The Rev. James Kamihachi
The Rev. Margaret Brack
David Ormond
Ernest Cornbrooks
Regan Smith, Chancellor (ex officio)
Date: December 12, 2024
The Committee on Constitution and Canons (“Committee”) has before it three proposed authorized amendments for submission to the 157th Annual Convention, scheduled for March 6-8, 2025. The proposed amendments, and the Committee’s recommendation with respect to each, are discussed below. The full wording of the amendments, and supporting statements of their sponsors, are linked.
1. Proposed amendment to Canon 602.4 concerning the composition of the Cathedral Chapter. (The Chapter is the Cathedral’s analog of a parish’s Vestry.)
The amendment would reduce from three to two the number of members of the Chapter that are appointed by the Bishop and from twelve to eight the number that are elected by the Cathedral congregation, thereby harmonizing the Canon and the Chapter bylaws.
The Chapter proposed an identical amendment at the 2023 Annual Convention, and the Committee recommended its approval. That amendment inadvertently was withdrawn, however, before being voted upon, so the Chapter has resubmitted it. The Committee considers the amendment to be corrective and technical in nature.
The Committee recommends approval of proposed revised Canon 602.4.
2. Proposed amendment to Canon 701.2(i) concerning vestry bylaws relating to
relationship with the cleric.
The amendment would amend Canon 701.2(i) to require that parish bylaws address (deletions [bracketed], additions in bold):
“The election, calling, [removal,] powers, duties, [and] obligations, nurture, and support of the rector [and other clergy], consistent with the Constitutions and Canons of the Episcopal Church and of the Diocese….”
The requirement that parish bylaws address removal of a cleric, along with other issues, is longstanding. It was not changed in the comprehensive review that culminated in the adoption of the current Constitution and Canons. It previously appeared in Article XIII of the Diocesan Constitution and appears to date back to at least 1960.
The Committee believes that the removal of clergy, as well as the reconciliation of differences between parish and clergy, are matters of parish governance and procedure that properly belong in bylaws, even if the bylaws simply incorporate by reference the National and Diocesan Canons.
We note also that the Model Parish Bylaws, most recently revised in April 2019, include a provision that the vestry, in calling a Rector, “shall have power and authority to… set out the terms, conditions and provisions of the Rector’s employment.” Grounds for removal are a term of employment.
The Committee agrees that parishes and clerics, and all God’s people, should nourish and support each other. We nonetheless recognize, as do the Diocesan and Episcopal Church canons, that differences and conflicts may arise. The fact that the Canons require bylaws to address the removal of clerics (as well as the removal of vestry members and parish officers, see Canons 701.2(f) and (g)), does not mean they discourage nurture and support. In fact, the Canons require reconciliation efforts before removal, see Diocesan Canon 704 and Episcopal Church Canons III.9.14 -.15.
The Committee sees no reason to change this canon or to restrict parishes and clerics, beyond the requirements of the national and diocesan constitutions and canons, in how they address termination and other aspects of employment in their bylaws and contracts.
The Committee recommends disapproval of proposed revised Canon 701.2(i).
3. Proposed new Canon 703.3, requiring two-thirds vote of vestry before a parish
may seek the Bishop’s assistance in identifying candidates in the search for a
new rector.
The proposed canon would restrict the ability of a parish and the Bishop to communicate when a rector retires or otherwise leaves the parish. First, it appears to preclude the Bishop from initiating any conversation with a parish regarding nominations to fill a vacancy unless first invited to do so by the parish. Second, it appears to preclude the parish from seeking the Bishop’s advice on the subject unless a two-thirds supermajority of the vestry votes to do so.
The provision would hinder communication between parish and Bishop at a time that can be uncertain and with a decision that is critical in the life of a parish, the selection of a new Rector. Episcopal Church Canon 9, Sec. 3, concerning the appointment of priests, in fact requires such communications. In particular, the parish must notify the Bishop promptly in the event of a vacancy. It must provide the Bishop with the names of the candidates it is considering. The Bishop then has 60 days to communicate with the vestry regarding the candidates. The vestry may not vote on calling the rector until it has met to consider the Bishop’s comments.
Since communications between Bishop and vestry are required once the vestry has determined who the candidates are, the Committee sees no reason to preclude them in advance of that determination absent a super-majority of the vestry.
The Committee is not aware of a problem this proposal would address. It does not agree that the procedure outlined in the proposal “simply and explicitly state[s] the existing customary procedure of the Episcopal Church,” which is the only reason given for it in the attached explanation.
The Committee recommends disapproval of the proposed new Canon 707.3.
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The Committee thanks the sponsors of the amendments for their thoughtfulness, consideration, and courtesies in submitting the proposals and responding to the Committee’s questions concerning them. We look forward to the Diocese’s consideration of them at the Annual Convention.
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