This is a live blog covering the evening session of the House of Deputies that took place July 10, 2022.
cour·te·sy/ˈkərdəsē/noun
- the showing of politeness in one’s attitude and behavior toward others.”he had been treated with a degree of courtesy not far short of deference”
- the showing of politeness in one’s attitude and behavior toward others.”he had been treated with a degree of courtesy not far short of deference”
- the showing of politeness in one’s attitude and behavior toward others.”he had been treated with a degree of courtesy not far short of deference”
We are thanking Bryan Krislock, parliamentarian of the House.
Vice President Rushing of Massachusetts asks if it is in order to amend this resolution.
“Technically,” the chair says. “And the chair can’t wait.”
Rushing says were he of a mind to amend the resolution he would ask the parliamentarian to include regions south of the Mediterranean in his conversations regarding the polity of Greece and Rome. The parliamentarian receives a standing ovation.
President Jennings remembers that Krislock was part of the Official Youth Presence in 2003. “Everything is clearer with Bryan around,” she says, “and I present him with the House of Deputies medal with my deep gratitude.”
We are also grateful to Deputy Thomas Little of Vermont, the vice parliamentarian, who also receives a standing ovation.
Next, the House of Deputies of the 80th General Convention expresses heartfelt gratitude to The Rev. Nina R. Pooley, and appreciation for her presence and guidance as Voting Secretary before and during elections for individuals and votes on resolutions.
And with that, the House adjourns. Back in session at 9:30 a. m.
Lesser Feasts and Lesser Fasts, but feasts and fasts nonetheless
Deputy Meyers moves Resolution A007, which has passed the House of Bishops. It authorizes the Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018 for trial use. It passes overwhelmingly in a vote by orders.
Additional calendar commemorations
Resolution A008 which adds Simeon Bachos the Ethiopian Eunuch (August 27), Episcopal Deaconesses (September 22), and Frederick Howden, Jr (December 11) to the calendar for trial use. It passes overwhelmingly on a vote by orders.
Amending Article X, the sequel
Resolution A145, a second reading, allows any one General Convention to “Authorize for use throughout this Church, as provided by Canon, alternative and additional liturgies to supplement those provided in the Book of Common Prayer.”
This second reading has already passed the House of Bishops.
Deputy John Floberg of North Dakota says revision has to be followed quickly by translation for use among Indigenous people.
The resolution passes overwhelmingly on a vote by orders.
The New A059 passes
Deputy Ruth Meyers, chair of the Committee on Prayer Book, Liturgy and Music offers the new A059 (see lower in the live blog for background.) The House of Bishops passed the new A059 unanimously after a consideration that spanned two days and two significant revisions.
Deputy Matthew Mead of New York, who served on the Task Force for Liturgical and Prayer Book Revision, supports the resolution. He says the church cherishes the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. That love of the liturgy inspired revision and expansion and these new rights are also cherished. Understanding what is authorized and how it got authorized needs clarifying. The resolution responds to all of that.
Deputy Neil Raman of Pittsburgh is surprised to support the resolution. The church needs guardrails and a sensible process to guide creation and revision in liturgy. “Step out with faith into this process.”
Deputy Rachel Erdman of Maryland served on the Prayer Book committee and voted in favor of the original A059 with reservations. Her concern is that the guardrails we have in place with this resolution are not strong enough. The BCP should be revised comprehensively. She fears a patchwork BCP every nine years.
The House moves to FA047 filed by Deputy Jim Steadman of Northwestern Pennsylvania, co-chair of the legislative committee. The current resolution creates a task force and neither specifies its size, nor gives it a budget. This would set the size at nine members and allocates $30,000.
Deputy Matthew Olver of Dallas asks a clarifying question: How did the committee amended A059 as received from the House of Bishops. Deputy Meyers says one amendment was to bring the resolution into the necessary form as a constitutional change. It also inserted some language as a placeholder to maintain a place in Article X for a constitutional change that will be voted on later in the convention.
The House return to voting on the amendment. It passes.
The House returns to considering the resolution. Deputy Matthew Butterbaugh of Milwaukee say the resolution could lead to a new prayer book bit by bit by bit. He would prefer a prayer book and a body of authorized rites for church wide use.
Deputy Sam Candler says this resolution is now in its fourth stage. This is how good resolutions evolve in the Episcopal Church. It isn’t what our task force proposed, but it honors the spirit of our work. “It comprehends the diversity and breadth and love of this communion,” he says. “We pray in many ways but with a common Episcopal shape, a common Episcopal ethos.”
Deputy David Romanik of Northwest Texas says the resolution allows an end run around the process for revising Book of Common Prayer. The 1979 BCP came together after years of careful discernment and deliberation. Despite its flaws, it has a cohesive theology.
The resolution seemed to pass, but Deputy Olver of Dallas suggests a change to the constitution requires a vote by orders. However, Parliamentarian Kryslock says this is only the case on the second reading.
The dog ate our homework.
The dog ate our homework and the internet ate our first entry on the House of Deputies discussion of the budget. It was, if we must say so ourselves, elegant, yet precise. Incisive, yet comprehensive. Yellow, yet green. We are trying again.
During the first ten minutes of debate, dedicated to clarifying questions, has elicited concerns from Deputies that the church spends too little on evangelism and creation care.
PB and F chair Mike Ehmer of Northwest Texas says the budget doesn’t reflect the time that much of the staff devotes to advancing these priorities.
Deputies also expressed concerns about an increase in spending on government in this budget. Deputy David Quitmeyer of PB and F says this is because the church has to pay for two General Conventions during this budget period due to the COVID-driven delay.
Deputy Everett Lees proposes amendment FA037 the key part of which reads: A single assessment shall be applied to the remaining amount (balance) at a flat rate of 15% 14.75%; with any additional income to be funded by line 11c of the 2019-2021 budgetary surplus from short-term reserve, and be it further,
Resolved, that the 80th General Convention directs Executive Council to create a budget using a reduced assessment rate for the 2025-2027 Episcopal Church budget to be considered at the 81st General convention, and be it further,
Resolved, that the 80th General Convention asks Executive Council to set a plan for lowering the diocesan assessment to 10% by 2030, and be it further,
Resolved, that the Executive Council prioritize Racial Justice, Evangelism, Creation Care, and support for marginalized communities, when creating the budget for the next triennium.
Deputy Henry Baer of Oklahoma supports the amendment which would leave more money at the local level.
Deputy Patty Downing of Delaware opposes the amendment. The church is using $5 million from surplus to fund the current budget. That surplus is not an endless well. Reducing the diocesan asking will make it more difficult to balance the budget.
The amendment fails, although it garnered significant support.
Deputy Lees asks for an electronic vote on the amendment. The vote is 496-275 against the amendment.
The House moves to a vote on the budget. It passes.
But first, the budget
The evening session begins with consideration of the church’s budget for the next two years. The authorizing resolution is A228. Also, the budget itself is online.
The New A059
The house tonight will consider Resolution A059. It is a much different A059 that emerged from the final meeting of the legislative committees on Prayer Book, Liturgy and Music. You can read about that meeting here.
Bishop Lawrence Provenzano of Long Island, whose Resolution B011 was defeated in committee, introduced that resolution on the floor of the House of Bishops as a substitute to A059. In a very narrow vote the bishops approved it as a substitute, but rather than vote on it, they agreed , at the suggestion of Bishop Mark Hollingsworth of Ohio, to take it up at a time certain.
A number of bishops were aware that B011 would not pass the House of Deputies, and that in ignoring the work of a long-serving task force on liturgical revision in favor of a resolution filed at the deadline with the minimum of endorsements, could sour relationships between the houses. They convened a group led by Bishops Andy Doyle of Texas and Sean Rowe of the Dioceses of Northwestern Pennsylvania and Western New York to craft a substitute to the substitute. With Bishop Bonnie Perry acting as a liaison to her friend Deputy Ruth Meyers, chair of the legislative committee of Prayer Book, Liturgy and Music, and with some counsel from Deputy Sam Candler, a new text emerged.
“This substitute is the product of a dozen colleagues who worked very hard and collaboratively, and in conversation with colleagues from the HoD.,” Hollingsworth said in introducing it last night. “It is the best of what we do as siblings in Christ.”
Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley said she had been thinking “about the gift of this work, and what has occurred to me in the gift of separating out the process and the content. We can’t anticipate what’s going to come before us. What we do by voting for this is to ensure good process, without being taken hostage in ways that we can’t quite manage today.”
The substitute to the substitute passed (read the Episcopal News Service story), and here we are.