Article Archive
The Honorable Byron Rushing talks about how resolutions at General Convention allow us to have discussions about what is important in our lives as Christians. This often means taking a look at ourselves, including the decision to include women in the House of Deputies and forming a coherent mission strategy when it came to people…
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SALT LAKE CITY — Years of study and debate over same-sex marriage have led the Episcopal Church to a familiar point. Its leaders must decide whether to act now, or to wait. Delegates to the church’s 78th General Convention, which officially begins Thursday, will vote on a task force’s proposal to revise the church’s canons…
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In the first of a series of viewpoint essays, Deputy Bonnie Perry of Chicago and Deputy Jennifer Adams of Western Michigan debate Resolution A002, which would make General Convention unicameral.
General Convention passes an amazing variety of resolutions, from social justice to liturgical resources to sweeping new initiatives. But for convention, like many institutions, where the rubber hits the road is the budget. The big question is not, how many great ideas can we pass, but where are we willing to put our money? Back…
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The world beyond church walls was the primary focus of today’s opening press conference with Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, General Convention Executive Officer Michael Barlowe, and House of Deputies President Gay Clark Jennings. “We speak many languages,” said Jefferts Schori in her opening remarks. “We are increasingly focused outside of ourselves rather than on…
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SALT LAKE CITY – When you walk through the main entrance to the Salt Palace convention center you might be startled by a wooden bonking sound. Be sure to look up. Above your head are eleven wooden chimes (twelve should be there but one is missing). Windmills high in front of the building on West Temple Street…
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In this four minute video, the Honorable Byron Rushing talks about how the Episcopal Church awoke to social and political issues in the wake of the Civil War.
I have made the joke flippantly in the past, but it really is true—the gathering of Episcopalians from around the world for General Convention is much like the assembling of the Avengers. We sit surreptitiously in airports, glancing at each other out of the corner of our eyes—is that one of us? Could that be…
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Psychologists have long worked to treat the symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Bishop Jay Magness believes the church needs to do much more to minister to combat veterans and others who have experienced extreme violence. As vice chair of the Standing Commission on Anglican and International Peace with Justice Concerns, Magness helped draft Resolution A047, aimed at…
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In many ways, the 78th General Convention is nothing if not a convention about church growth. This designation may sound strange to deputies with paperless binders full of canonical amendments on structural minutiae and theological treatises on same-sex marriages and the proper channels to allow the Episcopal Church to perform them. Yet both of these…
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So at this General Convention, for the first time, I am a legislative aide. When I signed up, this sounded exciting. I had visions of emulating the characters from the West Wing—all fast talking and quicker walking, because my job was so very urgent. From my two orientation sessions yesterday, I realized that this job…
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