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Posted: Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Notes from the June 14 9:30 a.m. media briefing

The deadline for filing resolutions is 5 p.m. today

For a picture of the size of General Convention, consider that as of 3 p.m. on June 13 there were:

839 registered Deputies
306 registered Alternates
230 registered Bishops (including guests)
365 ECW Triennial participants
27 Youth Deputies

Credentialed media can request tickets beginning at 3 p.m. for the 7:30 p.m. public hearing on the Windsor Report and Special Commission on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion (see below). The hearing will take place in the Hyatt Regency ballroom. Ticketed seating will be reserved until 7:15 p.m., after which all remaining seats will be available on a first-come, first serve basis.

A Special Order for the purpose of receiving nominations for the President of the House of Deputies will take place at 11:30 a.m. today. If no other nominations are received, Bonnie Anderson, the current vice president, will be elected by acclimation.

Trustees for the Church Pension Group will also be elected today by the House of Deputies.

The House of Bishops will go into private session today from 2-2:30 p.m.

Brief Wisdom:
"The language of a resolution should not give the sense of more power than the resolution actually has." Bishop Chilton Knudsen, Diocese of Maine, responding to a question on the debate in the House of Bishops over the use of one verb versus another when crafting a resolution.

June 14 morning legislative committee hearings

Consecration of Bishops

The Joint Legislative Committee on Consecration of Bishops has recommended that General Convention consent to the election of Bishop Marc Andrus to be bishop of the Diocese of California. Andrus currently is suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Alabama and would succeed Bishop William Swing when he retires later this year. Andrus' confirmation now moves to the House of Deputies, then to the House of Bishops, for action.

Canons

After recognizing opposition to the proposed overhaul of the church's Title IV disciplinary canons, the committee decided to attempt a substantial rewrite of resolution A153 before the end of General Convention. The purpose of the rewrite is "to attempt to see if … we can end up with a product that honors the work of the task force and moving Title IV to something that reflects our theology," said Stephen Hutchinson of the Diocese of Utah, the lay vice chair of the committee. The committee will meet at 2 p.m. in the Union D room of the Hyatt Regency to discuss priorities concerning the new revisions. The current text of the resolution can be read at http://gc2006.org/legislation/view_leg_detail.aspx?id=160&type=ORIGINAL

Ecumenical Relations

The committee engaged in animated discussion about relations with other faiths. Resolution A056 invites the Episcopal Church to engage in interreligious dialogue. Discussion centered on how the resolution presents the Christian beliefs and how that might affect conversation with people of other faiths. Discussion on A056 will continue at the 2 p.m. committee meeting, Hyatt Regency, room Delaware D. For text, see http://gc2006.org/legislation/view_leg_detail.aspx?id=59&type=ORIGINAL

The committee also considered resolution A055 (http://gc2006.org/legislation/view_leg_detail.aspx?id=61&type=CURRENT), which calls for interim Eucharistic sharing with the United Methodist Church. The resolution is one step in an ongoing process which may lead, in time, to full communion between the Episcopal Church and the UMC. After hearing the concerns and stories of several deputies to General Convention, the resolution was approved and will be sent to the House of Bishops.

Special Committee on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion

The committee finalized the language of resolution A159 that discusses ways by which there might be inter-Anglican consultation and participation on Standing Commissions of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. The text can be read at http://gc2006.org/legislation/view_leg_detail.aspx?id=200&type=CURRENT

The committee will continue to discuss and reflect on the June 13 hearings and refine its resolutions during the 2 p.m. session today. This evening at 7:30 p.m. in the Regency Ballroom in the Hyatt Hotel, the committee will focus on resolutions A160, A161, A162 and A163, which deal with the expression of regret, election of bishops, public rites for blessing same-gender unions, pastoral care and Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight (DEPO).

The House of Bishops and House of Deputies are in session until 12:30 p.m.

Legislative committees meet again from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.; also 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The afternoon legislative sessions in the House of Bishops and House of Deputies are scheduled for 3:45 p.m. – 6 p.m.

To track the status of legislation, go to http://gc2006.org/legislation

For complete audio, visual and print coverage of the 75th General Convention, including PDFs of the Convention Daily newspaper and audio and video of the Convention Nightly newscast, go to http://www.episcopalchurch.org/ens/gc2006news/

Also visit the collaboration space of the Episcopal News Service and Episcopal Communicators at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_16233_ENG_HTM.htm