Episcopalians are a very orderly bunch. It starts with our liturgy and permeates everything else.
There is simply a way that some things are done, and when doing them, they must be done well. It occurs to me that after last week’s Rambling about The Province IV Synod, anticipating the General Convention which starts in a few weeks, that it might be helpful to explain how the General Convention works and why it matters. The first bit to keep in mind is that history is important. We function in unique ways as a church, even within the Anglican Communion. That unique way is related to what has made us unique as a nation.
For all intents and purposes, there was a great overlap in the men who formed the government of our nation and the government of the Church once it became clear we could not continue on as the “Church of England” following the Revolutionary War. It was not literally the same men who crafted both (we know of at least one founding father who did both), and yet, the leadership of the day certainly influenced the church’s process. Our bicameral system is not identical, but similar to the Federal Government with our House of Bishops and our House of Deputies. The Deputies are the larger, senior house, with eight representatives from each diocese (864 in total – half lay, half clerical), while the Bishops are the smaller house, and include all living bishops in the Church (275, give or take a few).
In order for The Episcopal Church to accomplish anything at the highest levels, both houses must concur on legislative matters and anything that would affect the whole church. Like the political system in our nation, the Church’s system also provides room for dioceses to exercise some local authority within the parameters set by the General Convention, which they can do by alteration of instruments like the Constitution and Canons, Book of Common Prayer, etc. Just like in politics, there are times when some challenge the General Convention’s authority from a place of “state’s rights” or “diocesan rights” in this case, but the General Convention has remained the historic highest authority in the church. Of utmost importance to us as Anglicans is the lack of a Pope or a central, hierarchical authority figure.
The General Convention only meets once every three years, and when the Convention is not in session, decisions at the highest level are made by the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church, the makeup of which is elected by the Convention and the Provinces of the Church. The Presiding Bishop is the presiding officer of the Executive Council, and the President of the House of Deputies is the vice president of the Executive Council. They can make decisions for the Church within the parameters of the General Convention, but not make changes to our governing instruments mentioned above.
The real work of the General Convention happens off the floor in the work of Committees, Commissions, Agencies, and Boards (CCAB’s) within the Church. Here is where
hearings are held, documents crafted, studies done, all of which culminates in what makes it to the floor of the General Convention. While there are plenty of instances of changes coming from debate on the floor, it is very hard to edit large resolutions from the floor, so the CCAB’s work is essential. The Convention is only able to meet in as few as ten days because of all that behind the scenes work. As an indication of how much makes it to the floor, the binder that all deputies use to keep track of legislative work grew to at least four inches of paper printed on both sides at the last Convention. This time around they are renting iPads for all the deputies to eliminate the cost and waste of so much paper!
There is more detail to our ordered way of being, but this might give you a glimpse of the wonder and splendor (!) of the General Convention when it meets. It is a huge gathering. In addition to the 864 seated Deputies in the House of Deputies, there are the same number of Alternate Deputies, even though a large number of them aren’t in attendance. There are spouses, exhibitors, guests, the Tri-ennial ECW gathering – there are THOUSANDS of people gathered in one place to make the General Convention and its work happen. In some ways this is a strength of the church, and some ways it is an admitted weakness – depending on who you are talking to.
The great thing about the current system is the wide representation from all corners of the church in the deliberations and decision making of our highest body. Perhaps the biggest challenge is the size itself and the slow nature of the process, with the cost to the Church being second. It is not a perfect system, but it is the best system we have. It has allowed the Church to manage itself fairly well over time. Sometimes there is a benefit to being slow. It is always good to gather in great diversity. We do believe that the Holy Spirit blows through the General Convention, helping guide the hearts and minds of the Deputies and Bishops…although I sometimes wonder where the Spirit has run off to when we are debating an amendment to the amendment of an obscure resolution.
If it helps to put this all into perspective, the General Convention handles full-Church level issues so that Diocese can operate effectively on the local level, in turn allowing parishes to do the same in their neighborhoods. Each diocese has its own convention with elected representatives, as does each parish through their Vestries. At its best our system allows for a shared ministry between clergy and laity. Our system is not one that pits clergy and laity against one another, or segregates their ministry from one another, but one that calls us into community and working alongside one another.
If you would like more specifics on the General Convention and its work, please explore the General Convention website: www.generalconvention.org. Look for links to the 78th General Convention for 2015. You can find out who is going to be there, what is on the schedule, and you can find the “Blue Book”, which isn’t always blue, but represents all the reports of those CCAB’s mentioned above. Of particular interest may be the two Task Force reports, one on Marriage, the other on the Restructuring of the Church, which are found through the Blue Book link and by scrolling all the way to the bottom where the Task Forces are listed. If you are curious about anything coming before the convention, you will find it in the Blue Book!
I will host a session to discuss the convention and a few of the matters coming up at this particular convention on Sunday, June 21, following the 11:15 am service. We will gather in the Parish Hall. I am an Alternate Deputy at the Convention, and while I will get to be on the floor on occasion, it is highly unlikely I will vote on any of the “big” items at Convention. Feel free to come and ask questions and learn more about the Convention!
Tom+
Almighty and everlasting Father, you have given the Holy Spirit to abide with us for ever: Bless, we pray, with his grace and presence, the bishops and the other clergy and the other laity soon to be assembled in your Name at General Convention, that your Church, being preserved in true faith and godly discipline, may fulfill all the mind of him who loved it and gave himself for it, your Son Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. BCP p.255.