Summary of some highlights from General Convention 81
We had 11 people attend the meetings in Louisville, KY. GC Deputies – Clergy – Kim Fox, Angela Goodhouse, Robert Hoekstra, John Floberg; Lay – Carmine Goodhouse, John Baird, Robert Fox, Charlotte Peterson; Bishop – Brian Thom; ECW Delegates – Mary Massad, Vanessa Strobel (who was also a lay alternate deputy if needed)
We arrived Thursday, June 20 and Friday, June 21 to stay at the Courtyard by Marriott. We attended several meetings and sessions at the Kentucky International Convention Center, the Galt House Hotel, and the Marriott, Hyatt, and Omni Hotels.
Committees:
There were 23 legislative committees. All resolutions must be heard by the committees before coming to the floor. We had good representation on the committees.
Bishop Briam Thom was a member of Legislative Committee 19 – Title III Ministry
John Baird, deputation chair, was a member of Legislative Committee 8 – Congregational Vitality & Data-Driven Initiatives.
Charlotte Peterson was a member of the Legislative Committee 14 – Ecumenical & Interreligious Relations.
Besides the committees we had deputies active on other bodies:
Kim and Robert Fox represented the Native American voice as a member of the Deputies of Color committee.
Carmine Goodhouse is a member of the Executive Council Committee for Indigenous Boarding Schools and Advocacy.
Angelia Goodhouse is a member of the interim body – The A127 Commission: a resolution for Telling the Truth about The Episcopal Church’s History with Indigenous Boarding Schools. She has also been appointed to The Episcopal Coalition for Racial Equity and Justice.
John Floberg was a senior deputy, having been part of 7 General Conventions, and recognized as such.
VBinder
The VBinder contains all resolutions, elections, legislative actions, and consent calendars from the 81st General Convention. This comprehensive resource contains all actions taken during the convention. Make sure to check the VBinder for any detailed information.
https://www.vbinder.net/menu?house=HD&lang=en
Photos from the 81st General Convention Available
Photos from the 81st General Convention are now available on flickr for you to use.
If you use any of these photos in publications, please be sure to credit the photographers accordingly.
Photos by Scott Gunn : https://www.flickr.com/photos/scottgunn/albums/72177720318139350/
Photos by Randall Gornowich : https://flickr.com/photos/195929240@N04/albums/
Videos from General Convention
All videos from the House of Deputies, House of Bishops, worship services, press conferences, photos, and news are available at the Episcopal Church’s Media Hub. Visit the Media Hub to access all these resources and stay updated on everything from GC81.
https://media.episcopalchurch.org/video/?mc_cid=e8a0c45094&mc_eid=7c703ace9c
Two of our major elections were for Presiding Bishop and President of the House of Deputies.
Presiding Bishop Election
There were 5 candidates for Presiding Bishop. The House of Bishops were sequestered in Christ Church Cathedral on Wednesday, June 26 until electing the Rt. Rev. Sean Rowe as the 28th Presiding Bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church. His election was confirmed by the House of Deputies. He will serve for a nine-year term beginning November 1.
Rowe was chosen from among five nominees on the first ballot. Election voting results in the House of Bishops by ballot, with names listed alphabetically, were as follows:
The Rt. Rev. Scott Barker: 24
The Rt. Rev. DeDe Duncan-Probe: 9
The Rt. Rev. Daniel Gutiérrez: 17
The Rt. Rev. Sean Rowe: 89
The Rt. Rev. Robert Wright: 19
Rowe, 49, was ordained bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania in 2007 and became bishop provisional of Western New York in 2019. From 2014 to 2018, he served as bishop provisional of the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem.
Born in Sharon, Pennsylvania, Rowe earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Grove City College, a master of divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary, and a doctorate in organizational learning and leadership from Gannon University.
Rowe was the youngest Episcopal priest in the U.S. when he was ordained in 2000 at age 24, and he was the youngest member of the House of Bishops when he was ordained and consecrated at age 32.
Known for his research and work on organizational learning and adaptive performance in the church, Rowe serves as parliamentarian for the House of Bishops and the Episcopal Church Executive Council; chair of the Episcopal Church Building Fund; and as a member of the Standing Commission on Structure, Governance, and Constitution and Canons. He also serves on the Greater Buffalo Racial Equity Roundtable. In 2018, he became the first bishop to serve on the House of Deputies Committee on the State of the Church.
Two days after the election, Presiding Bishop-elect Sean Rowe, together with the planning committees for his transition and installation, announced that they will forego the traditional installation service in Washington National Cathedral in favor of a smaller, simpler ceremony in the chapel at the church’s New York headquarters. This service will be livestreamed, and simultaneous interpretation will be available in multiple languages to ensure churchwide access.
President of the House of Deputies election
Julia Ayala Harris, a deputy from the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma, was reelected June 25 as president of the House of Deputies of The Episcopal Church. Originally elected at the 80th General Convention in 2022, Ayala Harris’ second term as one of the denomination’s two presiding officers begins on June 28 at the close of the church’s 81st General Convention.
Ayala Harris, 43, is the first Latina and the first woman of color to serve as president of the House of Deputies. She resides in Norman, Oklahoma. A first-generation Mexican American and the daughter of an undocumented immigrant, she was reelected from a field of three candidates on the first ballot.
This was a historic slate of three women of color vying for the leadership position. Ayala Harris can serve up to three consecutive terms, or, in her case, a total of eight years. Ayala Harris received 521 votes, 107 more than the required number to elect. Candidate Zena Link of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts received 241 votes; the Rev. Rachel Taber-Hamilton, a candidate from the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, received 64 votes.
Other elections
Vice President of the House of Deputies
Five candidates stood for election. The Rev. John Floberg, from North Dakota, was one of the candidates. Other candidates were the Rev. Charles Graves, from Texas, the Rev. Ruther Meyers, from California, and the Rev. Steve Pankey, from Kentucky. Steve Pankey from Kentucky was elected on the second ballot as vice president. Second ballot results were Ruth Meyers of California, 278; Charles Graves of Texas, 71; Steve Pankey of Kentucky, 442; John Floberg of North Dakota, 21.
Executive Council
Elected were six lay members of the Executive Council, out of slate of nine, who included Heidi Kim, Minnesota, Gerlene (GJ) Gordy, Navajoland, Warren Hawk, South Dakota, Laura Russell, Newark, Katie Sherrod, Texas, and Grecia Christian Reynso, Dominican Republic. Two clergy were elected out of a slate of six. These are Lester Mackenzie, from Los Angeles, and Stannard Baker, deacon from Vermont.
Other elections included Michael Barlowe, from California, being reelected as secretary and N. Kurt Barnes, from New York, being reelected as treasurer. Elections were also completed for Trustees of the Church Pension Fund, lay, deacons, and priests to the Court of Review, lay and clergy members of the Disciplinary Board for Bishops, and lay, deacon, and priest members of the Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop.
Angela Goodhouse recognition
Deacon Angela Goodhouse, for her work on the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church, particularly raising the issue of Truth Telling.
Changes to Dioceses
It was approved that the Episcopal Church in Navajoland become a Missionary Diocese. There was excellent testimony from the deputation of Navajoland and celebration in the House of Deputies of this decision acknowledging them.
Juncture of The Episcopal Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan. The General Convention ratified the agreement of union between these two dioceses and creates the Episcopal Diocese of the Great Lakes.
Reunion of the Dioceses of Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, and Milwaukee into the Diocese of Wisconsin.
The boundaries of the Diocese of Hawaii were expanded to include Guam and Saipan and extinguished the separate entity of the Episcopal Church in Micronesia.
The House of Deputies recognized and warmly welcomed the deputation from the Diocese of Cuba who attended their first General Convention with seat, voice, and vote.
Presentations
Presentations were given to the House of Deputies by:
- Episcopal Relief and Development
- Episcopal Church Women and the Celebration of their 50th Triennial
- Episcopal Camps and Conference Centers
- the Official Youth Presence, and
- the Episcopal Coalition for Racial Equity and Justice
Special Orders of Business
We had special times set aside to discuss some important issues.
Amendments to the Rules of Order were discussed at two special order times.
Denominational Health Plan
Resolutions concerning the Holy Land
- D007 – Peace through Equal rights in Israel/Palestine – concurred
- D013 – Affirm the Imperative of a Palestine State – adopted with amendment
- D056 – Calling for a Ceasefire in Gaza – concurred
Budget
A joint session
Many other resolutions were discussed and passed or defeated. A few that stood out include:
- C008 would have decreased the assessment from dioceses to the national church to 10% by 2033. There was vigorous debate, and the resolution was defeated on a vote by orders (Clergy – 75 No, 10 divided, 21 yes; lay – 79 No, 12 divided, 15 yes)
- C032 – A Prayer to Remember the Innocents – “We will always remember them” – praying for all Indigenous children who were in residential and boarding schools in Canada and the United States. This prayer will now be the official prayer of The Episcopal Church for commemorating the lives lost, and its use will be encouraged in liturgies throughout the Church.
Prayer card can be downloaded:
- Discussion of site of 2030 GC83 – That the following sites be considered for the 82nd General Convention (2027): Phoenix, Arizona (Diocese of Arizona); Orlando, Florida (Diocese of Central Florida); Charlotte, North Carolina (Diocese of North Carolina); Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Diocese of Pittsburgh); and San Juan, Puerto Rico (Diocese of Puerto Rico).
- A086 Create a Task Force for Youth Formation and World Mission
- A092 Access to ordination and deployment
Courtesy Resolutions
- Greetings to former presidents of the house of deputies
- Expressed gratitude to several individuals and organizations
- Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Philadelphia Eleven, naming the eleven women and the three bishops who ordained them July 29, 1974.
- As a show of the influence of this event and the richness it has added to our church all the female clergy were invited to stand in the House of Deputies and be recognized.
- The HOD honored the life, work, and legacy of the late Rev. George Werner, who had also served nine years as vice president of the House.
- During the HOD morning prayer, after Chaplain Lester Mackenzie read the necrology, he began singing while convention volunteers distributed placards to each deputation. These placards bore the name of the city and the number of people killed and injured because of gun violence victims from mass shootings that occurred in each diocese during 2023. The placards hugged on the walls of the Christ Church cathedral symbolized pain and sadness with each new addition. This poignant tribute served as a somber reminder of the lives lost and the impact of gun violence on communities across the nation.
- Discussed the EpiscopalCoalition.org
Worship Celebrations
We worshiped together in three Holy Eucharist and three Morning Prayer services. The closing Eucharist on Friday, June 28 had as preacher the Presiding bishop-elect The Rt. Rev. Sean Rowe
and presider as the The Most Rev. Michael Curry, presiding bishop and primate.
Boarding School Talking Circle was held Tuesday evening, June 25 and was attended by a number of our deputies.
Community Covenant
A vast majority of deputies signed a voluntary community covenant, rooted in scripture, to respect the dignity of every person, seek Christ in all, strive for justice, care for creation, foster inclusivity and safety, pray for guidance, and support each other in accountability.
82nd General Convention will be held in July 2027 in Phoenix, Arizona
