The Acts of Convention

Resolved, That the 67th General Convention:

1. Responding to the action of the 66th General Convention, which approved in principle a form of regular support for theological education and instructed the Board for Theological Education in consultation with others to bring to this Convention a comprehensive plan for the funding of the accredited Seminaries of the Episcopal Church, now establishes as policy that each parish and mission of the several Dioceses within the fifty states of the United States, and the Convocation of the American Churches in Europe [as well as its territories and the Diocese of Washington], shall give annually at least 1% of its net disposable budgeted income (item E less line 1754 of the Annual Parochial Report) to one or more of these accredited Seminaries;
2. That to implement this action, each Diocese as defined above in item A shall adopt a procedure by Resolution of its Convention, or by other appropriate means, to assure that each parish and mission annually contributes at least this 1% to the support of one or more of the accredited Seminaries of the Church; this procedure to be adopted as soon as possible and by no later than January 1, 1984, and to be reported to the Board for Theological Education for presentation to the next General Convention;
3. That each accredited Seminary of the Episcopal Church shall submit an annual report to the Board for Theological Education of its income from the parishes and missions of the Church;
4. That each of these Seminaries shall present to the Board for Theological Education prior to each General Convention a report regarding its mission and goals, and progress in fulfilling them;
5. That these Seminaries, their Boards of Trustees, and the Council of Deans shall take the initiative to strengthen the partnership between the Church and its Seminaries and to improve the dialogue with congregations and Dioceses by providing them with current information about the Seminaries and listening with equal concern regarding the mission, goals, and quality of theological education; and by responding directly to Dioceses and congregations about their expressed concerns;
6. That Dioceses, parishes, and missions be encouraged also to support other programs and institutions of theological education that are of importance to their educational and missionary goals;
7. That this General Convention requests the Presiding Bishop to continue to designate one Sunday each year as Theological Education Sunday, to be observed at that time or some other appropriate day by all parishes and missions as an occasion for interpreting the work of the Episcopal Seminaries and other programs for theological education.