The 79th General Convention of The Episcopal Church took place July 5-13, 2018 in Austin, Texas. Significant statements and decisions related to The Episcopal Church emerged from this gathering, including trial marriage rites for same-sex couples, transgender access, Safe Church training, statements on racial reconciliation, and study of lay family leave benefits.
NAES has compiled a list of resolutions adopted by GC79 that may be of interest to Episcopal schools, along with a brief overview of the role General Convention plays in the Church.
What is General Convention?
The General Convention is the governing body of The Episcopal Church. Much like the United States Congress, General Convention is a bicameral legislature, consisting of the House of Bishops (current and former bishops) and the House of Deputies (elected clergy and lay representatives from each diocese).
General Convention gathers every three years for approximately ten days and acts through the adoption of resolutions. A resolution becomes an Act of Convention after both Houses adopt it in the same form and at the same General Convention.
The work of General Convention includes:
- adopting legislation of concern to the Church;
- amending the Book of Common Prayer, the Constitution, and the Canons of the Church;
- adopting a triennial budget for The Episcopal Church;
- and electing candidates to offices, boards and other committees.
Although individual bishops and deputies at General Convention may have deep ties to one or more Episcopal schools, neither NAES nor Episcopal schools as a group have representation in General Convention’s legislative bodies.
How is the work of General Convention relevant to Episcopal schools?
The majority of resolutions passed at General Convention address any
number of social, theological, or institutional issues of importance to
The Episcopal Church. As such, they are not binding on Episcopal
schools. Nonetheless, NAES believes that Episcopal school leaders should
be aware of and take seriously formal statements and calls to action
adopted by General Convention, particularly those that can inform school
programs or policies.
Some resolutions are in the form of changes to the Canons of The
Episcopal Church (church law). These may, in fact, be binding on
Episcopal schools that are “subject to the authority of the church.” Two
recent examples are the resolutions related to lay pension and medical
benefits which were passed a General Conventions of 2006 and 2009. The
2018 General Convention did not produce canonical changes that would
directly impact Episcopal schools.
NAES has compiled below a list of resolutions of the 79th General
Convention that we believe are of most interest to Episcopal schools.
Accepted Resolutions
Safe Church – Defining, Preventing & Reporting
A048 – Establish Task Force to Oversee Creation of Training Materials for Safe Church/Inclusion
A108 – Amend Canon III.6.5(g,h) Addressing Harassment and Sexual Misconduct
A115 – Adopt/Implement Charter for Safety of People Within the Churches of the Anglican Communion
Legislation related to Lay Personnel
C019 – Task Force: Church-Wide Paid Family Leave Policy
A223 – Family Leave Policies – Study and Distribution of Model Policies to Dioceses for Study/Action
A237 – Investigation of Pension Parity Resolution – CPF/Church towards True Parity
Inclusion
C034 – Task Force: Ministry to People with Mental Illness and their Families
C022 – Supporting Transgender Access
C054 – Inclusion of Transgender People – Guiding Principles
B004 – Encouraging the Language of Dismantling Racism and Racial Healing/Justice/Reconciliation
A037 – Encourage Interreligious Engagement
A036 – Affirm Ongoing Work and Dialogue with Ecumenical Partners
D086 – Inclusive Practices for Diverse Representation – Schedule, Geography, Working Parent
Liturgical Alterations and Resources
A066 – Add Thurgood Marshall, Pauli Murray, and Florence Li Tim-Oi to Lesser Feasts and Fasts, 2018
A087 – Develop Relationship Pastoral Resources – Intimate Relationships Other than Marriage
D078 – Authorize Holy Eucharist, Rite II (Expansive Language) for Trial Use
B012 – Marriage Rites for the Whole Church
A218 – The Proposed Book of Occasional Services
A219 – Refer Portions of The Proposed Book of Occasional Services back to SCLM
A283 – Multicultural Liturgies for Occasional Services