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Convention Summary Available

August 2009

The 76th General Convention considered 419 pieces of legislation: 192 came from our Committees, Commissions, Agencies and Boards (A Resolutions); 32 Resolutions from Bishops (B Resolutions); 87 from Dioceses and Provinces (C
Resolutions); and 108 Resolutions from Deputies (D Resolutions). (This compares to the 75th General Convention, at which there were 169 A Resolutions; 36 B Resolutions; 52 C Resolutions; and 98 D Resolutions.)

Download the summary of these actions prepared by the General Convention Office (also available, along with the adopted budget, or go to the the web at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/gc2009).

Presiding Bishop tells convention to spread the 'good news' at home

By Lynette Wilson, July 17, 2009
[Episcopal News Service – Anaheim, California] In the final hours on the final day of the 76th General Convention, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori reminded the bishops, clergy, laity and guests of the power of words.

"We've heard lots of words these last 11 days. We've used those words to make policy, to claim our missionary heartbeat, to bind ourselves in solidarity with the least, the lost and the left out, she said in her July 17 sermon. "Some of us have even had to eat our words – unexpected things have happened, we've made mistakes, and we may even have misused our words. We have eaten Word, sacramental Word becoming flesh in us, that our words might come closer to that original Word."

In following with the liturgical cycle, and the day's eucharistic theme, Living Ubuntu: Feast Day for William White, the day's collect spoke of White's "wisdom, patience and reconciling temper." White presided over the Episcopal Church's first General Convention in Philadelphia in 1785. Read more ...

African-American youth are impressed with church's mission focus, inclusiveness

By ENS staff, July 15, 2009
[Episcopal News Service -- Anaheim, California] Meeting the Presiding Bishop, exploring the exhibit hall, serving as lay eucharistic ministers and visiting with church leaders were just some of the agenda items for a group of 11 young African Americans visiting General Convention under the auspices of the Office of Black Ministries. Read more ...

Visiting primates learn church dynamics

"I will tell my people that this church is directed by clergy and laity, not the bishops, here, because that's quite different from my context," said Bishop James Ochiel, of the Anglican Church of Kenya. Bishop Ochiel is one of more than 70 international guests, including 13 communion leaders, who have attended the 2009 General Convention of the Episcopal Church in Anaheim, California.

Read this full story, and all the other news in the Episcopal Life Daily, here (3.7MB PDF file)...

Bishops affirm openness of ordination process

By Jerald Hyche and Pat McCaughan, July 13, 2009

[Episcopal News Service -- Anaheim, California] After more than two hours of discussion and with a standing-room-only crowd watching, the House of Bishops on July 13 adopted an amended version of Resolution D025, which affirms the openness of "any ordained ministry" to gay and lesbian people. Read more ...

Welcome to the St. Thomas New Media Page
for the 76th General Convention in July, 2009

The St. Thomas New Media Page is being built in anticipation of The Episcopal Church's triennial General Convention, to be held July 8-17 in Anaheim, California.

General Convention is the bicameral governing body of the church. The second largest legislative body in the world, it is comprised of the House of Bishops, with upwards of 200 members, and the House of Deputies, with clergy and lay representatives from 110 dioceses, at more than 700 members.

On this New Media page, we hope to provide direct feeds to videos, syndicated news feeds, and other Web-based coverage of the historic General Convention.

In the sidebar of this page will be brief video feeds from the national church and the convention, and other relevant news items.

And in the body of this page, we hope to place links to the various components of the ECC's soon-to-be-launched "Media Hub."

Here is some of what is anticipated for the Media Hub, due to launch around July 1, 2009:

ECC GENERAL CONVENTION MEDIA HUB

"The Media Hub provides a way for telling the story of General Convention in real time," said Mike Collins, director of digital media.

"The Media Hub will help make the work of our church and the legislative process more transparent," said Chris Clement, web developer.

Seven areas will be featured on the Media Hub: calendar, video stream, Flickr photos, activity area, legislative tracker, Twitter feed, and resources.

Calendar

The first is the complete calendar of events, detailing the daily GC09 schedule as well as special events during both the day and evening hours. "On each item in the calendar," Collins said, "there will be an icon to indicate if the event will be covered live, or if video on-demand is available."

Live Video Streams

The largest area will be the live video stream of many wide-reaching events occurring GC09, such as briefings, legislative hearings, and special events. "The live stream will vary every day," Collins explained, "but the programming will all be listed in the calendar." There will also be a library of videos on-demand, including all the sermons presented at the Daily Eucharists.

Flickr Photos

Another area, the Flickr photos, will feature snapshots of aspects of life at GC09. Deputies, alternates, bishops and visitors will be able to easily upload photos to this site at the Church Center booth in the exhibit hall.

Activity Area

The Activity area will aggregate content that is relative to GC09 from a wide array of sources, including Episcopal News Service; articles from diocesan publications, religious and secular press; comments from people on Twitter and Facebook; and other sources.

Legislative Tracker

The legislative tracker will enable viewers to follow the life of a resolution and ties directly into the actions and votes of GC09 through the GC database.

Twitter Feed

Media Hub's Twitter feed will be a source for announcements. "It's our way of letting people know offsite or in the hall when an event is about to begin, if a room has changed, when something goes live," Collins explained. "We can quickly communicate with the entire General Convention and those watching offsite."

Resource Section

The final area, the resource section, will list links to maps, things to do in Anaheim, directions, and other information.

Thanks go out to the ECC for making this historic event so available, so "instantly" to so many of us in the church. Keep watching this page as the time for General Convention approaches.