| Resolution Number: | 1985-C049 |
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| Title: | Urge the Church to Emulate the Social Witness of the Church in South Africa |
| Legislative Action Taken: | Concurred As Amended |
| Final Text: | |
Resolved, That the 68th General Convention of the Episcopal Church in thanksgiving to Almighty God for the heroic life and work of the Church in Africa and of Desmond Tutu, Bishop of Johannesburg, urge each Diocese and Congregation of the Episcopal Church to learn from such witness in order to follow its example by offering ourselves in service to others and by committing ourselves to eliminate the evils of injustice and discrimination on the basis of race, sex, nationality, physical and/or mental condition or social or economic status where it exists at home or in any other place.
| Citation: | General Convention, Journal of the General Convention of...The Episcopal Church, Anaheim, 1985 (New York: General Convention, 1986), p. 200. |
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Legislative History
| Author: | |
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| Originating House: | House of Deputies |
| Originating Committee: | Committee on National and International Problems |
House of Deputies
Original Text of Resolution:
(C049)
Whereas, Bishop Tutu, at great personal risk, bravely speaks out against the evil South African practice of apartheid, which forcibly separates black South Africans from white South Africans by assuming white South Africans are inherently superior on the basis of race alone; and
Whereas, Bishop Tutu has been honored for his brave expression and especially because of his faith in peaceful change while warning his countrymen of the evil of apartheid and the dangers of no changes with the 1984 Nobel Prize for Peace; therefore be it
Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That the 68th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, because of the heroic examples of people such as Bishop Tutu, and in thanksgiving to Almighty God, urge each Diocese and Congregation of the Episcopal Church to learn about the life and work of the heroic Church in Africa and become better examples of the Christian faith by developing improved understanding and relationships with other people regardless of race, sex, nationality, physical and/or mental condition or social or economic status.
Proposed Committee Amendment:
Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That the 68th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, because of the heroic examples of people such as Bishop Tutu, and in thanksgiving to Almighty God, for the heroic life and work of the Church in Africa and of Desmond TuTu, Bishop of Johannesburg, urge each Diocese and Congregation of the Episcopal Church to learn about the life and work of the heroic Church in Africa from such witness in order to follow its example by offering ourselves in service to others and by committing ourselves to eliminate the evils of and become better examples of the Christian faith by developing improved understanding and relationships with other people regardless of injustice and discrimination on the basis of race, sex, nationality, physical and/or mental condition or social or economic status where it exists at home or in any other place.
Motion carried
Resolution adopted
(Communicated to the House of Bishops in HD Message #107)
House of Bishops
The following message was received from the House of Deputies:
HD Message #107: C049 Amended (Bishop Tutu, Apartheid and South Africa).
The House concurred
(Communicated to the House of Deputies in HB Message #139)
Resolution Concurred by Both Houses, September 12.
| Abstract: | The 68th General Convention urges Church members to learn from and to follow the example set by Bishop Tutu and the Church in Africa. |
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