John Andren at General Convention

Day Four (Continued)

Obviously, the big news today was the House of Deputies consent to the election of Father Provenzano.

But the convention has much business to deal with. The first legislative session was held this morning. It was largely devoted to housekeeping and administrative tasks, such as electing officers, approving the schedule of meetings, and similar matters.

The opening Eucharist of the Convention followed the legislative session . Bishop Schori was the Celebrant. Sharing the Eucharist with over a thousand people was a very moving experience. The distribution of the elements was an example of the planning involved in a convention of this size. It only took about ten minutes for everyone to receive the bread and wine. Priests and Lay Eucharistic Ministers were stationed all around the floor. Hearing a thousand vioces respond "And also with you" as one voice was thrilling.

The rest of the morning and most of the afternoon were taken up with Legislative Committee hearings, sessions devoted to explaining the budget process (not the budget itself. That will be disussed later in the Convention.) and visiting the exhibits. Special interest groups, the many Societies and Religious orders that are present in the Episcopal Church (I was amazed at how many there are!) , and vendors of everything from vestments to columbariums were hawking their wares and services.

The afternoon legislative session again dealt first with procedural issues, suchs as codifying the rules for electing Trustees of the Church Pension Fund, officers of the House of Deputies and Members of the Trial Court of a Bishop. A significant resolution (which was adopted) set out dates and times for two sessions where the House of Deputies would meet (but not vote) as a committee of the whole to discuss the subject of Episcopal Elections and the Anglican Communion. The reasoning behind this resolution is to allow discussion on the issues that have created a divide between the Episcopal Church USA and other members of the Anglican Communion. There are passionate partisans on both sides of the divide, and these meetings will hopefully provide a forum for their passions to be given voice and made known to the Convention as a whole. At the same time the meetings will allow for voting to take place later in a (hopefully) calmer, less inflamed and more studied atmosphere.

Further on in this posting you will see a photo of the backdrop to the dais. The display of flags is very deliberate, as they are the flags of all the nations of the Dioceses of the Episcopal Church.

 Many other resolutions dealing with specific matters were adopted. These will all be published in a journal issued after the convention.

   P.S. The photos displayed in my postings are of better resolution that they appear to be. I'm working for the time being without a decent photoediting software package. Hopefully I'll find a way to incorporate better images.

Day Four

The big news of the day: The following resolution was adopted at the afternoon legislative session.

Resolved, pursuant to Article II, Section 2, and Canon III.11.3 of the Constitution and Canons of the General Convention, the Convention of the Diocese of Long Island hereby requests the consent of the House of Deputies assembled in General Convention to the Ordination and Consecration of the Reverend Lawrence Provenzano, Bishop-elect, as the Bishop Coadjutor of this Diocese.

The resolution passed without dissent and was greeted by sustained applause from the entire House of Deputies. The reaction was a reminder that the election of a Bishop is a very major event in the life of the Episcopal Church. Father Provenzano, who was seated in the rear of the room, was asked to come forward and be welcomed by the President of the House. As he reached the Deputations' table, we all joined in escorting him to the front of the room, all wearing the t-shirts we had made for the occassion.

June Gerbracht is modeling hers.

 

Day Three

The day's events included formal welcomes by Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori and by Bonnie Anderson, who is President of the House of Deputies. Both spoke of the challenges facing the Episcopal Church. Bishop Schori, described the current situation as a crisis, "..a decision point, one which may involve suffering" but "..it is our opportunity to choose which direction we will go and waht we will build."she goes on to say "We can make our decisions in hope, and we can speak the love of God through this church. And we can do it together."

President Anderson called deputies and bishops to "a deeper sense of mission to the poor." "This commitment to mission", she said, "has to occur because of, not in spite of, today's tough economic times." She told a moving story about what the words "The Episcopal Church Welcomes You" has meant to her. Her faith journey brought her to a congregation that not only welcomed her deeply but helped her see how her gifts could be put to use.

We then heard a presentation by Marshall Ganz of The Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University. Dr. Ganz spoke about Public Narrative, a leadership art we will be hearing more about in workshops over the coming days.

Several dozen international guests are attending the convention. This photo was taken as the group was touring the convention center. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent in an orientation session for new deputies.

In the evening the entire deputation, and some visitors from the Diocese, attended what for us was the main event - the hearing on Father Provenzano's election as Coadjutor of the Diocese. (If an election takes place within 120 days of Convention, that election has to be consented to by both Houses of the Convention. This hearing enabled the relevant committee to recommend consent.  Father Brewer introduced Father Provenzano to the committee, Valerie Crosdale, Elizabeth Belasco and Lynn Collins spoke in support, Father Provenzano then addressed the the committee, whose members asked questions, I had an opportunity to speak on Father Provenzano's behalf and then we were ushered out so the committee could deliberate. After only a short time, we were ushered back in and told that the committee had voted unanimously to send their consent to the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops for approval. Unanimously! A great step forward.

  A happy group indeed. This was a great day.

Day Two

A "light-duty" day. As a Deputy I was certified (my name was on the official list) and registered. I collected the initial load of material - a 4-inch three-ring binder already one-third full. This in addtion to the material sent to me in advance! That was the only official business of the day for a new deputy. The rest of the time was spent in conversation with Deputies not just from Long Island but from all the Provinces of the Church. I found it illuminating to talk with Deputies, lay and clerical, from parishes large and small and from Dioceses large in population but relatively small in physical area (such as New York and Long Island) and from Diocese small in population but relatively vast in space (such Minnesota, Montana and Nevada).

As luck would have it I chanced upon Father Provenzano and his wife, Jeanne. We had a long conversation about matters mundane (Have they settled into their new home. Are there any problems? Note: The Trustees are the owners of the property. If there are problems we get the call.) and matters important to the Diocese as a whole(Father Provenzano's hopes, plans and goals for the Diocese.) I come away from every meeting with Father Provenzano more convinced that we have found the right man for this time in the life of the Diocese.

Father Provenzano told me that he and Bishop Joslin have a long and positive history, having worked together at different times in their respective careers. Bishop Joslin in fact baptized one of the Provenzano's children. So it is a felicitous happenstance that Bishop joslin is the interim Bishop preparing the way for Father Provenzano to become Diocesan of Long Island.

Day One (continued)

  The flight to California was a reminder of how vast is this country: even at an average airspeed of 500 miles per hour it still takes the better part of six hours to go from coast to coast. Changing planes in Salt Lake City was a brief opportunity to see the Great Salt Lake (from the air) and the Rocky Mountains. Even on July 4th there were traces of snow on the higher peaks.

The flight aso gave me the opportunity to catch up on pre-convention reading material. Included in the materia was a report on the overall health of the Episcopal Church. Data on finances, giving, age, rates of growth and decline were illuminating.One chart portrayed the age of the Episcopal Church population side by side with that of the USA as a whole. Applying current birth and death rates to the data indicates that absent any other factors (such as dissension or defections for whatever reason)the Episcopal Church will experience 40,000 deaths and 21,000 births per year, a "natural" loss of 19,000 members per year. That's eqivalent to an entire diocese! Sobering numbers.

There is a wealth of information in this report, too much to out into this blog. I'll be happy to share it with you on my return.

I'll end this posting with two photos. The first is taken outside the exit from the baggage claim at John Wayne Airport. This really is Southern California! The second is of the sign that greets the Conventioneers.

 

Day One

In a few hours I will board a plane for Anaheim, California to attend the Triennial Convention of The Episcopal Church USA. I do this with a sense of excitement but also with some anxiety: there are major issues facing The Episcopal church. Over the next two weeks these issues will be discussed, debated and hopefully brought to a resolution. For the Diocese of Long Island, a major event will be the consent of the Convention to the election of Father Provenzano is Bishop Coadjutor. Father Provenzano and his wife are hosting adinner for the Long Island delegation one evening during convention.

I hope all readers will join with the Bishops and Deputies in prayer for a succesful convention, one that responds to the imperatives of the Gospel.