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Our Goal:
The Full Inclusion of All the Baptized in All the Sacraments
Three years ago
during the last
General Conventionn
our Diocesan bishop and delegation worked closely with Integrity and
other allies to block approval of
resolutions that would have blocked approval for any additional LGBT
bishops as well as resolutions barring blessing of same-gender
relationships.
On
the last day of convention, through highly unusual parliamentary
tactics, an infamous measure - resolution
B033
− was rammed through the Convention. B033 called upon “standing
committees and bishops with jurisdiction to exercise restraint by not
consenting to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose
manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to
further strains on communion.”
Clearly, “manner of life” was code for “gay and lesbian persons with
same-gender domestic partners.” AS Integrity notes, "Even though B033
violates the nondiscrimation provisions of the national canons, it has
effectively prevented any qualified LGBT candidates from being elected,
confirmed, and consecrated as bishops within TEC."
Integrity believes that TEC is on the tipping-point of becoming
unequivocally welcoming and affirming of LGBT people. We hope they are
right and that General Convention 2009 becomes a decisive opportunity
for our church to move
beyond
its
de facto
moratorium on additional LGBT bishops and
forward
on the blessing of same-gender relationships.
Our Hopes For Anaheim:
- To move beyond Resolution B033. Adopted in haste and
under external pressure in 2006, this ill-considered resolution has
been used to bar qualified LGBT persons from consideration in
elections to the episcopacy.
- To move toward adopting rites to affirm and bless all
relationships of mutuality and fidelity between two people who love
each other. Since 2003, some bishops have been allowing parishes
to bless LGBT couples as a matter of pastoral practice. Various 2009
General Convention resolutions ask for changes ranging from
inclusion of such rites in the Book of Occasional Services through
rewriting of the marriage service in the Book of Common Prayer.
Once again, we are working with Integrity Integrity to achieve a full
and equal place within the Church for all of God's children.
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2009 General Convention Info
Integrity's General Convention 2009 Links
What is a General Convention?
In our
church, decisions affecting the Episcopal Church of the United
States are made through a General Convention which meets every three
years. Like the Diocesan Convention we hold each year, the General
Convention works through a House of Bishops and a House of Deputies.
Every Bishop in our church is entitled to vote and speak in the
House of Bishops. Clergy and lay leaders are elected by each diocese
to comprise the House of Deputies. Here's a good
Introduction to General Convention.
Where is the General Convention?
The 2009 General Convention will be held in the Convention Center
in Anahiem, Ca from July 8 through 15, 2009.
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