Tag: TEC

Deacons log, star date 6282024

Published on by The Rev. Jason A BurnsLeave a comment

There were several measures that I didn’t talk about last night because I was tired, so I will fold them into todays update.

A135 Compensation for Non-stipendiary Clergy is an important step for the church. I think that most people don’t realize what this resolution actually does, but I see it clearly. What it does it is encouraging every diocese of The Episcopal Church (TEC) to ensure that all clergy remain active in the Church Pension Group so that we all have access to the benefits of the organization. While it is not a mandate, it is as close as it gets. The measure is clear that it apply to clergy in all orders under the age of 72 and implies that the diocese should pay the stipend if congregations cannot.

A092 Access to Ordination and deployment cannot be denied to any cleric or lay person because of their theological beliefs. Effectively this is an anti-discrimination resolution.

A091 was a resolution that would add a definition of doctrine to Title IV. The concern was that if clerics use authorized liturgies, such as the new marriage liturgy that they could be brought up on disciplinary charges for not upholding the doctrine of TEC. I voted against this resolution because I saw it as noting more than an attempt to insure that the liturgy and catechism in the 1979 prayer book would remain the doctrine of the Episcopal church, even if changes were made to it. While I understand that the point of the resolution was to create harmony between the various view points about marriage and other issues, I emphatically do not believe that we should be enshrining the 1979 prayerbook in such a way. The resolution failed the House of Deputies (HOD) by a narrow margin. While we did vote to amend Article X of the Constitution, which redefined the prayerbook, it clearly says “The Book of Common Prayer, as now established or hereafter amended by the General Convention, shall be in use in all the Dioceses of this Church.” Which means that when we vote to change it, it is changed and that is now the new doctrine of the church. So with the passage of A160 which passed today, marriage is now defined as a life-long union between two people, and an “unconditional, mutual, exclusive, faithful and lifelong commitment intended for the couple’s mutual joy.” If we had passed A091 clergy would be able to adhere to the catechism as printed in the BCP and be safe from disciplinary action. I feared that this would have led to the creation of two churches and slowed the progress of the church.

The bishops spent 45 minutes discussing the term apartheid and determined that they would not be able to agree with the HOD on calling the actions of the Israeli Government such a thing. While the HOD was very disappointed with this decision, we agreed to adopt the compromise resolution D013 which called for the condemnation of “the acts and laws of the Israeli Government that result in the fragmentation, segregation, and dispossession against the Palestinian people and the Occupied Territories.” which is apartheid, it just doesn’t use the language. One might think that such a resolution is meaningless, but I promise you that it isn’t. When a mainline Christian denomination condemn the acts of others it will be reported in the news and leaders will notice that. It also gives us something to point to as people of faith, so when we are discussing it with friends or when we decide to call our leaders we have something to point to in making our argument.

We applauded as we approved the juncture of Eastern and Western Michigan to create the Diocese of the Great Lakes and when we approved the merger of the Dioceses of Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, and Milwaukee, into the Diocese of Wisconsin.

By the end of the day many of us were queuing into the system to speak in favor of resolutions simply to keep debate moving, and when I say speak in favor I mean we would go to the microphone and say, “I rise to concur”. Many of the resolutions today we no brainers, such as should we approve Harriet Tubman to be in Lesser Feasts and Fasts, obviously we all agreed, but as the rules of debate require 6 minutes of debate or three people to speak in favor or against in order to end debate we were doing whatever we had to do to move on.

Ultimately we dealt with 396 resolutions. What that means is that we either Approved them, Rejected them, Referred them to an Interim Body for Study, or agreed to Take no Further Action, which is code for this needs more work. We spent an inordinate amount of time debating about debating, which I found quite frustrating at times because even though I agree that rules of order are important, the HOD often gets caught up in word smithing and losing sight of the bigger picture.

Ultimately I have greatly enjoyed my time at General Convention. I am told that I am apparently good at the legislative process, I can see through the fancy words and get to the heart of what is being attempted. I can say that in most cases my decision of whether to vote in favor or not was easy, but there were many times when discerning the right way to vote proved difficult. I was fully in favor of using the word apartheid, I was even in favor of using the word genocide but voted against it hoping the bishops would then go along with our wishes on apartheid. When it came to A091, the definition of doctrine, I kept flipping back and forth as people spoke to their reasoning both for and against, but ultimately I decided I was against, which was my original inclination. There were other resolutions I struggled with, but in all honesty I can’t remember which ones at the moment as I am quite tired.

I had a wonderful time getting to know my fellow deputies and I look forward to coming again in 3 years, assuming I am reelected.

The slow march of progress

Published on by The Rev. Jason A Burns1 Comment

We had another late session today, ending at 8:50. I got back to my room just in time for the presidential debate.

We passed many resolutions tonight regarding liturgy. The alternative language for Eucharistic Prayer C has finally been completed and authorized. The alternative language for the Good Friday liturgy has been authorized for trial use. The Revised Common Daily Lectionary has been authorized as well as a new lectionary for Lesser Feasts and Fasts.

We heard great testimony in support of resolution C032 which we passed unanimously, adopting the following prayer and “expressing remorse for the role The Episcopal Church played in the irreparable harm suffered by Indigenous children who attended Indigenous boarding and residential schools in the 1800s and 1900s.”

A PRAYER TO REMEMBER THE INNOCENTS 

Ohiŋni wičhauŋkiksuyapi kte.  “We will always remember them.” 

Dear Lord, Almighty God, we pray for all Indigenous children who were in residential and boarding schools in Canada and the United States.  Some died there; we ask that you give assurance to   their descendants that their souls are with you and their ancestors. Some survived there; we ask that you give your healing grace to all who endured hardship while there and are still struggling with those memories. Lastly, we ask you to help us guard our children against harm in this world. All this we ask in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever.  Amen. 

In addition we authorized the removal of William Porcher DuBose from the calendar of Lesser Feasts and Fasts a known racist and KKK member. This information has already been changed the status on Wikipedia. In addition we passed resolution D074 renouncing the theology of slavery held by the Rev. James Clark, the 11th president of the HOD. Our action has been noted on his Wikipedia page.

This was a great day for the church in terms of our efforts to atone for the sin of racism and our complacently and blatant participation in it.

The matter I wish to speak to the most is resolution D023, titles Support for the Association of Episcopal Deacons. I am pretty sure I mentioned it before, but want to give a full accounting of what it took to get it passed. One might think that General Convention (GC) is not a political institution, but you would be wrong. Resolution D023 first went to the House of Bishops, were it was gutted in less than one minute of debate. What I mean is that the entire funding request was stripped from the resolution within a few seconds of debate beginning and left as nothing more than a thank you resolution for the work of the Association for Episcopal Deacons. The chair of the committee who had recommended adoption of the resolution was notified relatively quickly and since she was in my deputation I was informed quickly as well. I don’t remember exactly how we all found out, but within a short period of time nearly every deacon in the HOD knew what had happened and were quite upset. We were upset, not only because the money had been removed, but because it was done by the bishops without any real thought or discussion to how it may make their deacons feel to have the people under whom we serve dismiss our request out of hand.

The next day we had a joint meeting of the HOD and the HOB to hear the presentation of the budget. It was during this that I asked my now, apparently famous question, of where the order of deacons is represented in the budget of the Episcopal church. The response was that if presented with a resolution requesting money to support deacons then the Joint Standing Committee on Finance would be able to consider it.

The committee agreed to meet the following morning to address the issue, so I got on the deacon group chat and told everyone to be there. The next morning more than 20 deacons descended upon the committee room, knowing we would not be able to testify in any way, but to his credit Bishop Barker of Nebraska took ten minutes prior to start of the meeting to ask us why we were there and what we were seeking. We shared our frustration over how quickly the resolution funding was gutted and how much it hurt us and made us feel completely dismissed, which is par for the course. We talked about how we need support as an order to grow the order, we need consistency in the training of deacons, like there is for priests, because we ae deacons of the church, not just our diocese. So it is important that there is consistency in expectations across the entire church. We said that we need support with continuing education and fellowship. For his part, Bishop Barker publicly apologized to us and then set to work with the committee to craft a new resolution that made it clear that the request for funds is a one time request and that some of the funds will “be used to work with the Executive Committee to “also be used for the AED to engage with Executive Council in creating a working group to support the development of a long-term plan for the ongoing support of the diaconate in The Episcopal Church, and to present it to the 82nd General Convention.” This is huge because it is calling on TEC to actually listen to AED and work with us to support deacons. While this is a well crafted resolution the committee was concerned about it passing. So a strategy was created. The committee voted to put it on the Consent Calendar in both houses, which means it would be passed without discussion. Then the bishops on the committee said that if it was removed from the consent calendar in the HOB then they would speak to it and focus on the fact that the money was a one time allocation, that the Joint Standing Committee on Finance was only being asked to consider the funding, and that the resolution is really about TEC working to support deacons better.

Following the committee meeting the deacons took it upon themselves to work the HOD. We got the word out to every deacon in the room that we had to keep resolution D023 on the consent calendar. So we all spoke to our deputations, and even allies we knew we had in other deputations to make sure it was left right were it was. The strategy worked, and during the morning session today the HOD voted to accept the first and second consent calendar, which included our resolution. So step 1 was complete. Next up, the HOB.

I overheard the bishop of Rhode Island talking with another deputy while waiting to enter the Province 1 dinner. He indicated that he had been yelled at by his deacons for the lack of support for the resolution. From what I hear many bishops got an earful about it, and frankly rightly so! This afternoon we got word that the HOB was debating the resolution, after pulling it off their consent calendar. Because of the committee chair in my deputation we were getting a play by play report of who was supporting the resolution. Many bishops spoke in favor of it, including the Most Rev. Katherine Jefferts Schori, who is on the board of directors for AED. After a reasonable amount of debate the HOB Concurred with the HOD and passed the resolution.

This experience shows me that if you pay attention that it is possible to affect change at General Convention. Most resolutions are disposed of without much effort. They are either passed, rejected, or sent into the either when we vote to “Take no further action” which usually means this needs more work. Most of the time both houses end up agreeing with each other and no one bats an eye about it, but in this case many people felt it was important to push back. The reason our efforts were successful is because we rallied to work together. We worked with the committee and took the time to ensure that we were all doing what we could to reach the out come we all wanted and our efforts paid off. There is a great article in The Living Church about resolution D023.

GC has gotten real

Published on by The Rev. Jason A Burns2 Comments

In 1978, the Medical Missions that ministered to the Navajo people were organized by General Convention into the Navajoland Area Mission. For the past 46 years the faithful Episcopalians of this region have worked to build communities of faith, including raising up several of their own to be ordained priests and deacons. As a mission area their congregations have been under the care of the Presiding Bishop’s office who has appointed Bishops to oversee the area. Today, the House of Deputies voted unanimously to welcome Navajoland Mission Diocese into communion with General Convention, while the resolution still needs to pass the House of Bishops, that is clearly a formality at this point. What this change in designation means is that they are now free to hold a diocesan convention, adopt a diocesan constitution and canons, elect their own bishop, and call their own clergy to serve in their parishes. During debate over the resolution the President of the House of Deputies suspended the rules of debate, specifically so every member of the Navajoland deputation could speak. Their words moved me a great deal, almost to the point of tears and I will not try to repeat what they said because I will never be able to capture the sense of joy and jubilation they expressed at knowing that they will now be able to shape the future of their spiritual lives on their own terms. They likened it to The Long Walk, which is the name given to the forced removal and eventual return of the Navajo from and to their ancestral lands. Experiencing the creation of a new diocese is not something that occurs every day and I felt privileged to be able to participate in the process.

While you might think that nothing could top the great news about Navajoland Mission Diocese, you would actually be correct, but there were several other very important resolutions that passed the House of Deputies today. Resolution D039, which condemns censorship across the United States was passed. The resolution focusses on the growing trend of states and municipalities banning books about the LGBTQ+ community and many other things. The official youth presence to General Convention spoke to the fear they have by the wave of book banning across the nation.

Resolution D011 which called on the US congress to ban military style weapons, bump-stocks, and high capacity magazines was met with great debate. One deputy very passionary opposed the resolution believing that it is pointless to pass such resolutions instead of doing something that might actually have an effect. While I applaud her desire for action, I also recognize that she missed a very important component of the resolution, which was the authorization for the Office of Government Relations to lobby congress on behalf of the entire church. I draw this to your attention, not to shame the deputy who spoke, I would never do that, but to try to demonstrate that sometimes governing bodies have to take steps that seem hollow in order to allow the people that know how to take action to do so.

Resolution D031 addresses the ongoing harm of coercive and abusive Christian ministries – and several people spoke against this resolution. They felt that the inclusion of crisis pregnancy centers a.k.a. pregnancy resource centers, are in a different category than Indigenous boarding schools, that these organizations do their best to provide care for the people that come to them, which is likely true. We also heard that while they may do their best, in many cases their best involves telling patients that God will not love them if they terminate their pregnancy or that they will likely have a miscarriage anyway so it doesn’t matter what they decide to do (these examples came from a deputy, who happens to be a sociologist and specifically studies crisis pregnancy centers). The resolution passed and I am glad that it did because the only way we will be able to atone for the harm done in the name of God is if we acknowledge that the harm occurred. It is also important that we not split hairs, what was done at Indigenous boarding schools well into the 1930s and what is done at pregnancy resource centers is the same, in both cases people who claim to have the best interests of the people in their care at heart are using their position to manipulate and indoctrinate people against their will.

The last thing I will discuss is the latest on resolution A023. A023 originally asked GC to allocate $450,000 to the Association for Episcopal Deacons. Yes, that is a ton of money. Yesterday we got word that the House of Bishops removed all funding from the resolution, for various reasons I will not go into. In response to this Joint Committee #19 began to work behind the scenes as the resolution had come through their deliberations with a recommendation to adopt. As the chair of the committee is a deputy from my diocese she let me know what they were up to and I was able to get the word out to the other deacons who are in attendance at the convention. At 7:30 this morning the committee met and the gallery was filled with deacons. While the meeting was for deliberation only the bishop co-chair took some time to speak to us about why we were there so he could get a sense of our concerns. We made it clear that for the bishops to cut all funding from the resolution, without even discussing the resolution, its intent, or with any thought to how it might make their deacons feel, hurt a great deal. We reinforced our feelings of being the unseen and unsupported order within the church, reiterating that we just want recognition and support for formation, continuing education, and other areas. For his part Bishop Barker clearly heard us and apologized to us during the committee meeting. The entire committee then worked to craft a replacement resolution and develop a strategy to get it passed in both houses.

It was a busy and emotional day and I suspect that much of what I have written does not live up to my literary standards, but as the French say c’est la vie! Until tomorrow, be quick to love and make haste to be kind.