The 79th General Convention of the
Episcopal Church will take place July 5-13, 2018 in Austin, Texas. The General
Convention is the governing body of The Episcopal Church. The Convention is a
bicameral legislature that includes the House of Deputies, which has more than
800 members (up to four clergy and four lay people from each diocese), and the
House of Bishops, which is comprised of more than 300 active and retired
bishops. The Convention meets every three years.
General Convention website - www.generalconvention.org
How does General Convention work?
The General Convention is the primary
governing and legislative body of the Episcopal Church. With the exception of
the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Constitution and Canons, it is
the ultimate authority in the Episcopal Church. General Convention comprises
two houses: the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops. It meets regularly
once every three years; however, the House of Bishops meets regularly in
between sessions of General Convention. All bishops, whether active or retired,
have seat and vote in the House of Bishops. Each diocese of the Episcopal
Church, as well as the Navajoland Area Mission and the Convocation of Episcopal
Churches in Europe, are entitled to representation in the House of Deputies by
four clergy deputies, and four lay deputies. Resolutions must pass both houses
in order to take effect.
How a resolution
moves through General Convention
When our representatives gather at
General Convention they take council together through a legislative process.
That process begins with resolutions that are proposed by Deputies, Bishops,
Committees, Commissions, Provinces, and Diocese of the Episcopal Church. Resolutions,
when adopted by the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops, become the Acts
of the General Convention and govern the way we live our understanding of the
Christian faith as a community of believers.
Resolutions have four sources:
"A" resolutions are submitted
by Committees, Commissions, Agencies and Boards
"B" resolutions are submitted
by Bishops
"C" Resolutions are submitted
by Dioceses or Provinces
"D" Resolutions are submitted
by Deputies
The Presiding Bishop and the President
of the House of Deputies assign each resolution to one of the parallel or joint
legislative committees in the House of Bishops and in the House of Deputies.
They also designate the resolutions to start in one House or the other.
Parallel committees meet jointly to review resolutions and hold hearings, but
vote separately on their recommendations. Resolutions with funding implications
also go to the Program, Budget & Finance Committee for review.
The committees decide if the
resolutions are accepted as is, or are amended or combined with another
resolution. The committees then decide to whether to endorse the resolution.
Resolutions then go to the House of
Bishops and House of Deputies where they are debated, sometimes amended, and
then voted on. Once a resolution is adopted by one House, it then goes to the
other for debate, amendment and adoption. Both Houses must concur on a
resolution for it to be adopted by General Convention.
The first General Convention -
Virginians were there!
