June 5, 2015

In about two weeks, the 78th General Convention of the Episcopal Church will meet from June 25 through July 3 in Salt Lake City. Every three years, the two Houses of General Convention - the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies - meet as the primary governing and legislative body of The Episcopal Church. It is a time for legislation, fellowship, worship and community-building. This year's convention is being called the "convention of screens", as we will use new technologies and digital devices instead of reams of paper and 3-ring binders. It is also historic in that we will prayerfully consider structural changes in the Episcopal Church to support mission and ministry for the 21st century. We will also elect a new Presiding Bishop and consider legislative initiatives that could define our common witness and mission for years to come.

The Diocese of San Joaquin will be represented at General Convention (GC) by Bishop David Rice and our Deputation: Nancy Key (Lay 1 & Co-chair), Cindy Smith (Lay 2 & Chair), Jan Dunlap (Lay 3), Bill Latham (Lay 4), the Rev. Canon Kate Cullinane (Clergy 1), the Rev. Glenn Kanestrom (Clergy 2), the Rev. Michele Racusin (Clergy 3) and the Rev. Luis Rodriguez (Clergy 4). Three Clergy alternate deputies will also be in Salt Lake City - the Rev. Paul Colbert, the Rev. Lyn Morlan and the Rev. Anne Smith.

Why "deputy" and not delegate? Deputies are not delegates; that is, they do represent a diocese, but are deputized to make educated voting decisions not based on a constituency in their diocese, but based on their prayerful consideration of each question and issue and the dictates of their conscience. They hear testimony, engage in debate and prayer, and are led by the Holy Spirit in their vote.

The Deputation for San Joaquin began our preparation for GC about a year ago when we gathered in Berkeley with the other five deputations from throughout California State to discuss the work to be done. Earlier this year, we met again with neighboring deputations to dig into the work of the committees, commissions, agencies and boards of the church (CCABs) that are interim bodies between our triennial General Conventions. We have continued reviewing the work of the CCABs and the resulting resolutions with two day-long meetings of our deputation over the last two months. There we have examined and discussed the reports and resolutions contained in the 600+ page Blue Book ("Blue Book" is a hold-over term from an earlier era - there is no longer a book with a blue cover. It now exists as a collection of downloadable web-based digital reports. But we all know how Episcopalians love tradition, so despite the fact that it's neither a "book" nor "blue," the title "Blue Book" remains!).  

Our work at GC will also include 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. In addition to their work in the main legislative session with more than 800 deputies, seven of our Deputies have been assigned to various legislative committees. During legislative committee meetings, resolutions are perfected and hearings are held to allow conversation and testimony. There is sure to be important and challenging work on the resolutions submitted as the result of the interim Task Force for Reimaging the Episcopal Church (TREC) and the Task Force on the Study of Marriage.

The Deputation is planning to email a daily "Deputy Dispatch" to the Diocese throughout GC to keep you updated and informed on what's happening in SLC. Each of the twelve Dispatches will feature insights from our Bishop or one of our Deputies and easy access to information about General Convention. The "Deputy Dispatch" will be sent to anyone currently receiving the Friday Reflection. We hope you will enjoy this connection to our Diocese's participation in the wider church.

We invite you to share our experiences at the 78th General Convention of the Episcopal Church.

Cindy Smith (Chair) & Nancy Key (Co-chair)