A Final Report from the Diocese of Georgia Deputation

“Jesus Christ is Lord” and “The heartbeat of the Church is mission.” These are two of the many statements approved of by the 76th General Convention of The Episcopal Church you are unlikely to hear reported in the media. Why? Because they are not controversial. Controversy sells newspapers and generates viewers, but it does not grow churches.

The Worship of the Church
One of the joys of the General Convention is the daily Eucharist with more than 2,000 people soaking in the rich and spirit-filled liturgy and music. The Sunday service with closer to 10,000 worshippers included the ingathering of $7 million in donations to the United Thank Offering over the past three years turned in symbolically by the diocesan UTO chairs with Carolyn Gay representing the Diocese of Georgia. We also benefited from the excellent daily meditations and prayers on the floor of the House of deputies. Through all of our legislative sessions we felt the presence of the Holy Spirit.

The Mission of the Church
In spite of what you may have heard, a push toward mission at the local level was the focus of this convention. This was done with an eye toward subsidiarity. The opposite of hierarchy, subsidiarity is the principle that tasks and decisions should be made at the lowest possible level.

When it comes to the mission of our church, the most appropriate level is usually the congregation, where the primary work of the church happens and at the diocesan level for diocesan-wide efforts, such as youth programs and camp. Seeing the heartbeat of the church as mission, the convention encouraged further participation in God’s mission in the coming year.

One resolution said the convention “challenges dioceses and congregations to participate in one new or ongoing project that engages in a relationship with another part of the Body of Christ in the world.” We look forward to the Diocese of Georgia responding to this call to mission.

Public Narrative on Mission
Part of the convention involved training in Public Narrative offered by Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. The idea is that in very brief form (just four minutes) one learns to tell a story of a point of decision or something else in your own life, that connects then to the group you are addressing to bring them into the story, showing how it is part of their story. Then one finishes with the now piece which gives the call to action. This form was used for bishops and deputies to connect emotionally on the mission of the church. We were challenged to come up with a plan of action and to tell our stories in such a way as to encourage others to join us in mission.

Approving the Budget
A major responsibility for every General Convention is to set the budget for the coming three years. This convention faced the concern of responding to God’s call to mission while dealing with the reality of declining revenue. Responding to these changes within our church, The Episcopal Church budget was cut by roughly a quarter, effecting virtually every line item, but not cutting support to appointed missionaries of our church. Acknowledging that dioceses also face budget constraints, diocesan asking is to be reduced by one percent a year for the coming three years.

Your Deputation’s Votes
Your Diocese of Georgia bishop and deputies have sought to faithfully represent you in this convention. This does not mean that we have tried to weigh how the decisions we make will be viewed back home. That approach would be fruitless as every yes or no vote cast on issues of great substance will disappoint and hurt someone in our diocesan family. There is no one view in our diocese on the issues that face our church as a recent poll conducted as part of the search for our next bishop makes clear.

Instead, your deputation has sought to read carefully the exact text being considered, rather than just whatever words will make headlines. We have prayed and struggled over how to account for the best decision on a complex resolution with the rather imprecise and clumsy tool of a yes or no vote.

In the end, it seems that our votes probably have accurately reflected the opinions of our diocese in that the lay votes have been in line with majority of lay people in south Georgia, while the differing votes of the clergy deputation has reflected the more mixed views of the clergy of our diocese.

Know this first and foremost. This convention’s actions will have no effect whatsoever on the worship in your congregation this Sunday, or on any of the other Sundays. This is true whether you and your congregation are pleased or angered when you read of the work done by this once-every-three-years meeting. You will all continue to worship together, love one another and seek to follow Christ as individuals and as a congregation. And our common mission in response to our common faith will go on. You were not all of one mind on all that faces our church before this convention and you are not all mind now. But you can and will be one in the ways that matter most when you worship and serve our Triune God together.

That said, we hold ourselves accountable to you for our actions and will report here how your deputation acted on the resolutions, which are generating interest around The Episcopal Church and beyond. For all of these, we encourage you highly to take the time to go to view the full text of the resolutions available online at http://gc2009.org/ViewLegislation/ This is a bit time consuming, but our votes were based on the full text of the resolutions and not how others, or even we ourselves may characterize the topic.

Your deputation voted 4-0 in both lay and clergy orders against C023, which asked The Episcopal Church to work to oppose the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines a marriage as a union of one man and one woman. The resolution was approved by the House of Deputies, but was rejected by the House of Bishops and referred to a committee. While there were some differing opinions among us, with some certainly in favor of anything to assist in full civil and human rights for homosexual persons, the text of the resolution itself called on all Episcopalians to work on this issue. We could not support any resolution which seemed to indicate that this is a matter about which people of good conscience are all in agreement.

Resolution C056 called for the church to develop, over the next three years, theological and liturgical resources concerning the blessing of same gender relationships and allowed for a “generous pastoral response” in areas where those unions are sanctioned by civil jurisdictions. This resolution did not endorse same gender blessings, but called for study and allowed for a pastoral response, which some may interpret as permission to allow for the same. Your lay deputation voted 4-0 against passage of this resolution, with the clergy 3-1 in support of passage. The House of Deputies concurred with the House of Bishops who first approved this resolution.

Resolution D025 was a lengthy resolution with seven resolves, which has already been reported on variously by the media. The stated intent was to commit our denomination to the Anglican Communion while describing honestly where The Episcopal Church is in its understanding of issues of sexuality. To understand what was and was not approved, it is preferable that you read the full text of D025 at the link above. The lay order of our deputation voted 4-0 against, with the clergy vote divided 2-2, making our clergy vote a no vote.

You will see by this record that we were not one in our votes. Yet we assure you that we were not divided. Every vote that your deputation cast was with the best interest of our diocese at heart. Through the whole convention and in every vote your deputation saw Christ working through one another. This is no small matter. We trust that you too will find our prayerful consideration of the matters to have been worthy of the faith in Christ that is in us, even if you cannot agree with each of our decisions.

Final Thoughts
None of us agreed with all of the decisions on the 361 resolutions acted on by the convention. We trust our Lord to affirm our church where it has acted rightly and to correct our church where we err. In the meantime, we return to the diocese we love, where we are of one mind about our one mission to know Christ and to make him known in our lives and through the mission of our church. We thank you for your prayers for us during the General Convention and join you in your prayers for our congregations and their members as we move ahead in our life together.

We were honored to serve you for two weeks of meetings, which make up the convention. We were joined in this by others from the Diocese of Georgia including some who volunteered at the convention and others taking part in the Episcopal Church Women triennial meeting which met alongside us.

All of us, who met here, are excited about where God is leading our diocese in mission. We look forward to returning to Georgia and rejoining you in that work.

Clergy Deputies:*
The Rev. Frank Logue
The Rev. Billy Alford
The Very Rev. William Willoughby III
The Rev. Jim Shumard
The Rev. Sister Deborah Magdalene

Lay Deputies:
Molly Greneker
Buck Crosby
Bill Steinhauser
Charlie Hough
Bill Bruce

*The Rev. Joy Fisher also served as a clergy deputy, but had to return home early and did not have the opportunity to read and sign on to this text. The Rev. Sister Deborah Magdalene was deputized by Bishop Louttit to serve as an alternate and in that capacity did serve on the floor for debate.

A Report from the Front Lines of Mission

The following is my religion column for Friday's issue of the Tribune & Georgian.

I am writing from Anaheim, California. I came to this town, better known as the home of Mickey Mouse and the rest of the Disney characters, to serve in The General Convention of The Episcopal Church. If you attend a church that is part of a denomination, rather than an independent congregation, then your church has one of these immense meetings as well. While this report from a meeting of Episcopalians might not seem quite so relevant to my Southern Baptist, United Methodist and other friends, our common interest in proclaiming our faith in Jesus Christ is why I am writing.

I am rather fond of saying that I don’t like organized religion, but that it beats disorganized religion. Attending days of committee meetings, hearings and legislative sessions, all lasting from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. for 11 days in a row would tax this theory as much as anything I know.

Being in a denomination also puts a congregation and its members in a large family. Like any large family, there will be relatives to whom you wish you weren’t related. I won’t hold y’all accountable for all the people and statements made by those in your denomination, and I hope that y’all will trust me as a fellow Christian and do the same when it comes to my Episcopal family. Know that we believe Jesus to be the way, the truth and the life and that we seek to worship and serve him as our Lord.

Yet, here I sit on one of the front lines of the mission of the Kingdom of God. Yes, I know that the real mission of those who follow Jesus is to reach out to a lost and hurting world. Our task in following Jesus is to share the good news of the love of God to the outcast, lost and lonely. And our job is to feed the hungry, visit those in prison, and to do those other tangible acts of love that make real the love we feel for our neighbors in response to the love we have for God.

With all that said, it is within denominations that we find the resources to carry out these ministries. Many non-denominational churches do find ways to be about mission both in Camden County and around the world. Often the scope of this work is astounding. But the abilities of tens of thousands of churches banded together open the doors to forwarding the Gospel and its ministries in ways not possible for an individual congregation. Look back at the tremendous work accomplished by Baptist missionaries as a result of the many congregations who supported that effort and you see what I mean.

So here at the General Convention, the 1,000 church leaders setting the budget for our denomination for the coming three years are on the front lines of mission. The budget is the tool we use to combine our efforts in mission. As we set our priorities for how we spend our dollars, we set our priorities for carrying out the ministries to which we feel God has called us.

Times are tight for our denomination and I will bet that finances are tight in your church’s larger family as well. Truth be told, the times are almost certainly challenging for your congregation too. It’s the shrinking finances of local congregations that tighten the purse strings of denominations.

Just as with city and county governments who can do any and all programs in times of growth, but must set new priorities when the economy slackens, so too with churches. Now is the time when we as denominations and congregations must set our priorities anew. With fewer dollars to spend, we have to decide, of the many good things we can do and should support, which we will actually support financially.

I am convinced that God has not called us to do less, when times are tight, but to do more. Our friends and neighbors are more in need than ever. Ask your pastor. He or she has been dealing with more and more of your neighbors in need of assistance for food, housing, and so on. Camden County has lots of hurting people. Our neighbors need us. And because of the slow down in economic growth, our great non-profit groups are suffering as well. Just ask Camden House or Habitat for Humanity of Camden County or Missions for Camden. They need your time and money now more than ever.

Here I sit in California, deciding later today on many budget matters for my denomination. It is the front line of mission work. There you sit in Camden County needing to decide how you will spend the ten percent of your household’s money that is your tithe to God. You too are on the front line of mission. The decisions you make in your own finances and in the finances of your congregation will say more about what you believe about God than any statement of faith could ever accomplish. In fact, in many ways that matter, your checkbook and your calendar are your own personal statement of faith. What will you do in the coming week to advance the kingdom of God using these tools of time and money which God has so graciously given you?

An Update from Anaheim

The Diocese of Georgia deputation on the floor of the House of Deputies

A major shift in action is taking place here at The General Convention as most committees have finished their hearings and their consideration of resolutions. Those perfected, committee approved resolutions are making their way to either the House of Bishops or the House of Deputies for debate and a vote. To be passed as an action of the convention, any resolution must get passed in the same form by both houses. The House of Deputies started today three days behind as debate has taken longer than anticipated. But it does take time to work through weighty issues prayerfully and with due consideration.

For example, we considered today a major revision to the calendar of Lesser Feasts and Fasts, considering adding very many persons as examples of a faithful life in which others see Christ. Personally, I find it to be far too much to be considered at once and an unhelpful change to our calendar. Debate showed I was not alone in this opinion. Many would want a slower process as we have had in the past, rather than accepting en masse such a large group of persons for our calendar of saints. But my view was felt by only about a third of the House and some actions related to the calendar have passed, though the bulk will be considered this afternoon. If passed, it is a trial revision to be revisited after three years of usage by the church. And that is as it should be.

Know that your Diocese of Georgia deputation is reading resolutions carefully and responding with the prayer and care one should expect for this gathering. We appreciate your prayers for our work and that of the House of Bishops.

Over at the Diocese of Georgia's General Convention page there are more frequent updates from the deputation.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, C1 Deputy
Diocese of Georgia

Grow in Grace

Alongside the General Convention of the Episcopal Church is the triennial meeting of the Episcopal Church Women. Their theme this meeting is Grow in Grace. Today, our diocesan offering for the United Thank Offering was given by Carolyn Gay at the main Eucharist for the two meetings (ECW and GC).

Pictured here is Marcie Cherau of the Diocese of Georgia who is on the National ECW Board. She is a nominee for National ECW President. The election will be held tomorrow (Monday, July 13).

Meanwhile, the House of Deputies has a light day this Sunday. We worshipped with thousands of others from the nearby area in the main Eucharist. Next we head into a 2-6 p.m. afternoon legislative session. Ahead are weighty issues including whether to drop or change the current moratoria in place on Same sex blessings and ordinations, tough decisions about the budget in tightening economic times, and much more. We are now one day behind on legislation and needing to roll up our sleeves and get to the hard work of this meeting.

Please pray for your Diocese of Georgia deputation and the whole convention.

Public Narrative

The church does not have a mission,
the mission of God has a church

Built into The General Convention are four training sessions on public narrative. 1,000 bishops, deputies and guests are taking part, including both the Georgia deputation and our Episcopal Church Women conference representatives. Pictured here is a group from the Diocese working together in practicing the first of the three stages (which are The Story of Self, The Story of Us and The Story of Now).

Marshall Ganz of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government is leading the training. Ganz says, "Narrative, story telling, is how we learn to access the courage to confront the unknown, to make choices to act upon them, choices informed not only by our head, but by our hearts," He goes on to say, "Narrative, then, is a way we can communicate our own values, experience the values that we share with one another and find the courage to confront challenges to those values that require action. Through public narrative, we learn to link our own calling to others, and action, in other words, it is a way to put Ubuntu into action"

The idea is that in very brief form (just four minutes) one learns to tell a story of a point of decision or something else in your own life, that connects then to the group you are addressing to bring them into the story, showing how it is part of their story. Then one finishes with the now piece which is the "How do we respond? What do we do now?" action component.

The training is in response to a resolution from the last convention which called for a dialogue on mission in the church. We are using this public narrative training to focus on mission.

Today, each person at our table shared a two minute story from their life which could be used in this technique. It was amazing how much we learned about people we already know through just these short vignettes. The training will continue on Saturday afternoon and will conclude Monday night.


Here, telling the story of our own conference center Honey Creek is that center's director Hamp Stevens. He is at the Episcopal Camp and Conference Center booth in the exhibit hall. Note the picture of the Honey Creek chapel in the lower left hand corner of the banner (click on this picture, or any of the photos on this page, to see a larger version of it).

Hearings

Much of the work of The General Convention of the Episcopal Church is currently taking place in committees. In the committee rooms, committees made up of appointed bishops, priests, deacons, and lay persons hold hearings to get input from all here and then work to perfect the resolutions before them before bringing those resolutions to the convention floor.

Pictured here is Bishop Miguel Tamayo Zaldívar who is the interim bishop of Cuba speaking about the effect the U.S. embargo has had on the congregations in that diocese. The National and International Concerns Committee also heard testimony from Bishop George Packard, who overseas our military, prison and other chaplaincies, on torture and just war. In all that committee heard testimony on seven resolutions last night.

Meanwhile, other committees were considering things like establishing closer Episcopal connections to Presbyterians and the Church of Sweden as well as the hot button issue of Marriage Equality.

Comittees worked into the night last night and begin again this morning at 7 a.m., then a legislative session begins at 8.

peace,
Frank+
C1 Deputy, Diocese of Georgia

We Have Lied to Ourselves

Tonight, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams kicked off a panel discussion on the global economic crisis with a 20-minute reflection. He said that we have lied to ourselves about our place in the universe. We have pretended that we could have limitless growth in a limited universe. The Archbishop called on all persons of faith to name the economic crisis as a crisis of truth and to advocate for truth and transparency in all our dealings.

Then he highlighted how a Christian response would go deeper than others because of the theology of the Body of Christ. He said, "We are made so that what is given is given to us so that it may be given in turn."

He went on to point out that the word wealth originally referred to well being, and certainly not merely to the accumulation of financial resources. He asked us to consider what it would mean to recapture that ideal, saying that it would involve recognizing (among other things) that the economy is a wholely owned subsidiary of the environment.

The panel discussion then went on with three young adults offering perspectives from their work in the context of working in varying contexts within the church where issues have come to be more critical in the wake of the economic crisis. It was a thought-provoking evening discussion that wiped out chance for supper (until late) as it was followed by hearings in all committees on a wide variety of issues.

General Convention Photos

The view of the House of Deputies in action from the Diocese of Georgia's tables.


The National and International Concerns Committee in action.


A snail seen in front of the Marriott, seemed an appropriate metaphor for the convention which is getting going slowly. Though a freight train may be a better metaphor as it starts slow and then gets barreling along.

Boots on the Ground

Thanks to Julius Arial, I am online in Anaheim, California at the 76th General Convention of the Episcopal Church. The once every three years meetings have taken place since 1785. The Diocese of Georgia is represented by our Bishop, Henry Louttit, in the House of Bishops. In the House of Deputies, I am serving as the chair of the deputation. The other clergy deputies are the Rev.s Billy Alford, Joy Fisher, and William Willoughby, with the Rev. Jim Shumard here as both a convention volunteer and a clergy alternate. The lay deputies are Molly Greneker, Buck Crosby, Bill Steinhauser, and Charlie Hough with Bill Bruce serving as the lay alternate.

We are now underway with committee meetings and hearings on resolutions taking up most of the day. There is also a daily Eucharist service and legislative sessions. A host of resolutions are being considered. I am serving on the Dispatch of Business Committee, which functions like air traffic controllers for the meeting. Molly is on the missions committee and Billy+ has been involved with preparations for the convention as well as in committee work. There are others here from the Diocese of Georgia as volunteers, as visitors and also as participants in the Episcopal Church Women's triennial meeting, which runs concurrently.

My lunch break is over and I am heading back to the National and International Concerns Committee to assist them in getting their legislation through the convention (traffic control). We will work to get some updates from myself and others from the Diocese of Georgia. If possible, I will move those to the Diocese of Georgia website. In the meantime, know that the Diocese of Georgia has "boots on the ground" and we are here praying, listening, commenting and voting on matters that can greatly effect our denomination. Please pray for us as we seek to faithfully represent the diocese we love.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, C1 Deputy, Georgia

Ubuntu

As I wrote yesterday, I am in Anaheim, California for The General Convention of The Episcopal Church. The theme for this once every three years meeting is "Ubuntu, I in You and You in Me." It was spelled out at length in a book by the Rev. Micahel Battle sent to deputies in advance of the convention. Those of us in the Diocese of Georgia know Michael Battle as he has spoken to us in our diocesan convention and taught at Honey Creek.

Michael did the Church a service in traveling to South Africa to study with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and learn from his battle against Apartheid. From this, he came to write about the theology of Ubuntu, a difficult to translate word that reveals the African thought that I am because we are. I find my identity in us.

It is a very African way of approaching both philosophy and theology and it is deeply grounded in scripture. Christianity has always been a team sport and even solo Christians (hermits for example) know that they are "a part of the main" to borrow a phrase from Anglican poet John Donne.

So I am at The General Convention, fully entering into my own small role in this large meeting, knowing that I need the Body of Christ (those with whom I agree as well as those who make me embarrassed to be Christian) and it is in that Body that I myself am found. Because of Christ's presence in y'all, I am.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue
Clergy Deputy, Diocese of Georgia

We Join in Council

Wisdom cries out at the gates:
let those who seek to discern wisely
sit and reason together in my presence!
And so, Holy One, we join in council here.
In the urgent concerns and in the clutter of our agendas,
may your Wisdom be our guide,
that we may love kindness, do justice,
and in humility desire only you;
we pray in the name and through the Spirit
of Jesus, the Beloved. Amen.

Today, I am traveling to Anaheim, California. I am going there to serve through July 18 as a clergy deputy for the Diocese of Georgia in the once every three years General Convention of The Episcopal Church. Bill Bruce is also making the journey for Bill to serve as a lay alternate deputy to the convention. Bill will be on hand if a member of the lay deputation needs to leave. He will also spell deputies out so that we maintain a full deputation on the floor for the full meeting.

Having served as an alternate deputy in 2003 and a deputy in 2006, this will be my third General Convention. This time, I will serve on the Dispatch of Business Committee, which is involved in the behind the scenes work to keep the business of the convention flowing. It should be an interesting view of things. It will involve as schedule of working typically from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Meeting regular since 1785, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church will have 1500 clergy and lay representatives called deputies and alternates and nearly 200 bishops. It is a massive event with 8,000 to 10,000 total attendees, including exhibitors, visitors, guests and media.

I will be busy, and internet access of $12.95 a day and beyond my reach, but I have set this blog (which auto posts to Facebook as well) so that it will continue to give daily updates of quotes and the like so that this blog will continue even while I am taking part in the councils of the Church. Official news of the meeting will be posted here: Episcopal Life coverage. I will post a photo and note or two if time permits, but will make fully and prayerfully taking part in my work in California the priority.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue
Clergy Deputy, Diocese of Georgia

The prayer above was written by the Rev. Jennifer Phillips.