A highlight of General Convention 2018 will be The Episcopal Church Conversations (TEConversations), three innovative, inspirational and informative sessions featuring brief talks, videos and engaging interludes.
TEConversations will be part of the three Joint
Sessions of General Convention, each focused on one of the three
priorities of General Convention – Racial Reconciliation, Evangelism and
Care of Creation.
“The TEConversations that have been planned use an
effective modern form to address priority topics for our Church and our
society,” commented the Rev. Canon Dr. Michael Barlowe, Executive
Officer of General Convention and chair of the Joint Standing Committee
on Planning and Arrangements. “The inclusion of TEConversations
is a prime example of how our joint sessions, an older legislative
tool, can be remixed for the contemporary needs of our Church and its
leaders.”
TEConversations will be presented during Joint Sessions
of the House of Bishops and House of Deputies which include visitors,
volunteers and others in attendance at General Convention 2018. For
those not attending, the TEConversations will be livestreamed and available for viewing on the Episcopal Church website and the General Convention website. Each TEConversations session will be 90 minutes and will include three
speakers, videos, music interludes and deeper small group engagement.
The speakers represent international leaders, well-known Episcopalians,
and rising voices in the church.
Get more info and a schedule of speakers here.
Monday, May 21, 2018
Thursday, May 17, 2018
Planning Team for House of Bishops’ Pastoral Response presents information on listening session
The Planning Team for the House of Bishops’ Pastoral Response to #MeToo
has presented information for the Listening Session, which
is scheduled for July 4 during General Convention and will focus on
listening, liturgy, and steps for healing.
In their statement, the Planning Team said,
"We understand that the process of sharing reflections requires great vulnerability and trust. It is the hope of the bishops that this Listening Session will help us to hear the depth of the woundedness of many of God’s children in the Church and work for healing and wholeness. We pledge that each letter that we receive will be treated prayerfully and with the utmost confidentiality and respect."
"The Listening Service will be held in the main worship space of General Convention on July 4, from 6:15 pm Easter to 7:00 pm and will be webcast for the entirety of our Church so those who would find this helpful may share this moment with us. If this event re-opens wounds, we encourage the individual to do what is most helpful, including reaching out to the Pastoral Care Team at General Convention."
"This service is offered by the House of Bishops as a pastoral response. A pastoral event of this kind has never been offered before. This will not be a perfect offering; there will be mistakes, but it is our prayer that in those mistakes there will be healing grace; that the courage of those sharing their reflections will be heard with safety, compassion, and mercy; and that all who gather in person or virtually will find they are transformed by the hearing of truth and the power of our liturgical life. It is in our liturgical life that we gather at the most painful times of loss and suffering to find safety, healing, and renewal."
In their statement, the Planning Team said,
"We understand that the process of sharing reflections requires great vulnerability and trust. It is the hope of the bishops that this Listening Session will help us to hear the depth of the woundedness of many of God’s children in the Church and work for healing and wholeness. We pledge that each letter that we receive will be treated prayerfully and with the utmost confidentiality and respect."
"The Listening Service will be held in the main worship space of General Convention on July 4, from 6:15 pm Easter to 7:00 pm and will be webcast for the entirety of our Church so those who would find this helpful may share this moment with us. If this event re-opens wounds, we encourage the individual to do what is most helpful, including reaching out to the Pastoral Care Team at General Convention."
"This service is offered by the House of Bishops as a pastoral response. A pastoral event of this kind has never been offered before. This will not be a perfect offering; there will be mistakes, but it is our prayer that in those mistakes there will be healing grace; that the courage of those sharing their reflections will be heard with safety, compassion, and mercy; and that all who gather in person or virtually will find they are transformed by the hearing of truth and the power of our liturgical life. It is in our liturgical life that we gather at the most painful times of loss and suffering to find safety, healing, and renewal."
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
House of Bishops’ Pastoral Response to #MeToo invites reflections, offers listening and steps to healing
In
an open letter to the Episcopal Church, an invitation is extended to
share reflections on sexual harassment, abuse, and exploitation. A
selection of the reflections will be read at a special listening session
during General Convention 2018. The House of Bishop’s Pastoral
Response will be a sacred space for listening and further
reconciliation on Wednesday, July 4, 5:15 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Central
Time. Those at General Convention 2018 in Austin, TX, are welcome to
attend; those not in Austin will be able to participate remotely via a
live webcast.
“Over past months, the #MeToo movement has
brought the prevalence and depth of pain caused by sexual harassment,
abuse, and exploitation out of the darkness, creating a platform of
courage and support for women to share their personal stories,” states
the letter, signed by Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry and Bishop Mary
Gray-Reeves of El Camino Real, Vice-President of the House of Bishops.
The deadline for submitting reflections is Friday, May 25. Click here for the full letter.
Thursday, March 1, 2018
House of Deputies Special Committee on Sexual Harassment and Exploitation appointed
House of Deputies President Gay Clark Jennings has appointed a House of Deputies special committee to draft legislation on sexual harassment and exploitation for this summer’s General Convention.
"In January, Presiding Bishop Curry and I called the church to examine its history and end the systemic sexism, misogyny and misuse of power that plague the church just as they corrupt our culture, institutions and governments,” Jennings said. “We asked Episcopalians to consider what roles each of us is called to play in the church’s collective repentance.”
Since then, scores of women from across the church have contacted her. “On Facebook, via email, by phone and in person, women have been in touch to share their stories and let me know that they want to be part of changing the church’s culture on these issues,” Jennings said. “I am delighted to harness their energy by appointing this committee.”
The group, which Jennings will chair, is divided into five sub-committees that arose from ideas that women contributed to a Facebook discussion on the House of Deputies page in late January. One group will draft legislation concerning theology and language, while others will address issues of structural equity including pay and benefits, the Title IV disciplinary process, and social justice for women. In response to the presiding officers’ call for the church to examine its history, a sub-committee will draft legislation proposing the creation of a truth and reconciliation process.
A roster of the special committee, created under Article X of the House of Deputies Rules of Order, is available on the House of Deputies website.
"In January, Presiding Bishop Curry and I called the church to examine its history and end the systemic sexism, misogyny and misuse of power that plague the church just as they corrupt our culture, institutions and governments,” Jennings said. “We asked Episcopalians to consider what roles each of us is called to play in the church’s collective repentance.”
Since then, scores of women from across the church have contacted her. “On Facebook, via email, by phone and in person, women have been in touch to share their stories and let me know that they want to be part of changing the church’s culture on these issues,” Jennings said. “I am delighted to harness their energy by appointing this committee.”
The group, which Jennings will chair, is divided into five sub-committees that arose from ideas that women contributed to a Facebook discussion on the House of Deputies page in late January. One group will draft legislation concerning theology and language, while others will address issues of structural equity including pay and benefits, the Title IV disciplinary process, and social justice for women. In response to the presiding officers’ call for the church to examine its history, a sub-committee will draft legislation proposing the creation of a truth and reconciliation process.
A roster of the special committee, created under Article X of the House of Deputies Rules of Order, is available on the House of Deputies website.
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
The SCLM Report on Prayer Book Revision: Join the conversation
Through resolution A169, the
2015 General Convention directed the Standing Commission on Liturgy
and Music (SCLM) "to prepare a plan for the comprehensive revision of
the current Book of Common Prayer and present that plan to the 79th
General Convention."
At the outset, it's important to
remember that General Convention did not ask the SCLM to begin revising
the Book of Common Prayer! Rather, it asked for the construction of a
plan for revision for the 79th General Convention (2018) to consider.
The request was for a thorough and linear process. No efforts to revise
the Book of Common Prayer took place this triennium, because that was
not what the SCLM was asked to do. The Episcopal Church, through
General Convention, has yet to decide whether to revise the prayer
book. It will have that conversation this summer at the 79th General
Convention in Austin, Texas (July 5-13, 2018)
The SCLM report to General Convention proposes two options: a) a comprehensive plan for full-on prayer book revision, and b) a plan for a deeper, church-wide engagement with our existing prayer book, which includes a proposal for translations in Spanish, French, and French Creole. The considerations of the SCLM Report on Prayer Book Revision are plentiful and varied.
The SCLM hopes that you will take the time to read the report, and use the SCLM blog to ask questions as well as offer your insights and opinions. Welcome to the conversation!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)