Membership

Mandate

“It shall be the duty of the Commission, as to all mission outside the United States, to review and evaluate existing policies, priorities and strategies, and to promote partnership for global mission among the various groups within the church, to plan and propose policy on overseas mission, and to make recommendations pertaining to the Executive Council and the General Convention.” [Canon 1.1.2(n)(9)]

Work Summary

The Standing Commission on World Mission (SCWM), guided by a heightened awareness of the great gift God has given us in the fellowship of the Anglican Communion, gave priority to activities in the following areas during the 2004–2006 triennium:

• Responded to General Convention Resolution 2000–A150: World Mission Vision, in particular, the exploration of the document Companions in Transformation: The Episcopal Church’s World Mission in a New Century and its implementation;
• Prepared proposals for implementation of General Convention Resolution 2003–A151: World Mission Funding;
• Monitored the work of, and collaborated with, Episcopal Partnership in Global Mission;
• Monitored through covenant committees, the ongoing work of autonomous provinces that were once a part of the Episcopal Church;
• Monitored and reviewed concerns in overseas dioceses.

The Commission as a whole met four times: February 2004 in Tampa, Florida; October 2004 at St. Mark’s Church, San Antonio, Texas, coinciding with a meeting of the Covenant Committee for Mexico; April 2005, at Nashotah House Theological Seminary, in conjunction with a meeting of the Episcopal Partnership for Global Mission; and November, 2005, in Quito, Ecuador, which included a consultation with the Dioceses of Ecuador Central and Ecuador Litoral, and a presentation by the General Secretary of the Latin American Council of Churches.

In addition, Commission members attended the annual conventions of the Convocation of American Churches in Europe; a meeting of Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation; the Joint Committee on the Philippine Covenant; and the missionary retreat in Istanbul, Turkey.

Overview

This triennium has been a time of considerable promise and anxiety: promise because Episcopalians are increasingly aware of their engagement with the Anglican Communion and of their desire for shared mission, but anxiety because conflict threatens that fellowship. Two documents in particular, both a partial response to The Windsor Report 2004, speak to our sense of promise and opportunity:

• “The Gift of Communion” is a set of reflections that gives voice to various SCWM members, several of whom come from outside the United States, that reconciliation in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion may begin in a re-commitment to mutual responsibility and interdependence in the body of Christ.
• The report of the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Mission and Evangelism¹
  Footnote:  ¹See Resolution A126, p.324
  (IASCOME) to the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC). The Report’s opening begins, “The Anglican Communion is at an exciting time of change and possibility,” and continues to offer a Covenant for Communion in Mission outlining specific ways Anglicans can “share in God’s healing and reconciling mission for our blessed but broken and hurting world.” The ACC commends the Covenant for study and application, and SCWM encourages wide reading of the IASCOME report and application of the Covenant. The documents are available online at:

  http://www.episcopalchurch.org/gc2006/

Continuing exploration of “Companions in Transformation”

The 74^th General Convention received the SCWM’s vision statement, Companions in Transformation: The Episcopal Church’s World Mission in a New Century. The Church was called to study the document and requested that the Commission “make specific programmatic and budgetary proposals to the 2006 General Convention” (2003–A150).

The SCWM reprinted Companions with the study guide that it prepared to facilitate discussion, and has sought to have the document translated into Spanish and French. Working with the Office of Anglican and Global Relations (AGR) at the Episcopal Church Center, the SCWM solicited feedback regarding the use of Companions in Transformation throughout the Church. The survey results indicated three things: (I) Companions re-energized interest in common mission where it was used; (ii) several seminaries found it useful for world mission courses; and (iii) new contexts for our Church and Communion may call for missional commitments and vocabularies unanticipated by Companions.

Feedback from the Seminary Consultation on Mission (SCOM) observed that Companions tends to focus on what the Episcopal Church can deliver, with too little consideration of what it could receive from others and from God. SCOM also worried that Companions too often stressed the individual rather than communities as the core of mission work. Perhaps our new context calls our Church to corporate forms of mission which open us more fully to the initiatives of our companion churches.

Other events in the life of the Commission and the Church caused us to see the vision of Companions in new light. The Windsor Report 2004 and the Covenant for Communion in Mission led us to consider how transforming mission may depend on koinonia—fellowship in mutual regard. The IASCOME report and the Panama Declaration, signed by bishops in Latin America, October 2005, emphasized the importance of extensive conversations and regional consultations in the coming years of building Anglican koinonia.

The 2005 visit of the Presiding Bishop to East Asia further underscored the importance of face-to-face engagement across provinces and dioceses. The Commission believes that the Church should encourage more interpersonal visits so our leaders and people may continue to build relationships in this way.

The Latin American Council of Churches shared with the SCWM on ways that contextual challenges of globalization have renewed mission collaborations among churches previously alienated from one another. Hearing that Anglican churches have played an important role in that regional renewal, the Commission believes that the Church should investigate how the Anglican Communion’s own challenges might open new and unforeseen mission collaborations among its churches worldwide.

In summary, the Commission is keenly aware that Companions in Transformation does not stand alone. Ongoing deliberation must reshape its vision, and supplemental resources will be needed to realize its best use as an educational text. However, Companions does describe significant forms of our common mission, and serves as a useful resource for evaluating and proposing specific policies. For these reasons, the Commission’s work is guided by the document’s vision, as the following resolutions will make clear.

In considering specific programmatic proposals emanating from Companions, the Commission was also mindful of Resolution 2003–A151, which requested that funds from expiring international covenant grants be “re-deployed in other areas of the church’s global engagement, and especially to world mission.” In response to this request, the Commission in its first four resolutions, propose budget amounts for mission programs and expanded mission education initiatives. These amounts would also slow the steady decline in the percentage of the DFMS budget reserved for global mission—from 25 percent in 1995 ($10.6m of $42.5m) to 15 percent in 2006 ($7.7m of 49.5m). The SCWM’s resolutions also include several new proposals which respond to emergent challenges in our Church, thereby taking steps toward re-engaging global discipleship and re-committing the Church to the reconciliation of all things.

Mission sending and receiving programs of the Episcopal Church are in the forefront of living out our global life in Christ. Boundary-crossing engagements among the overseas dioceses of the Episcopal Church, as well as with the churches of the wider Communion, build companionship, bring transformation, and embody life-reconciling hope. These mission engagements call for continuing attention in the 2007–2009 triennium and beyond.

Resolved, the House of _____concurring, That the 75^th General Convention of the Episcopal Church affirm and celebrate the reconciling ministries of its missionaries; and be it further

Resolved, That the Convention direct the Office of Anglican and Global Relations to recruit, receive, and send missionaries especially capable of engaging in God’s reconciling work in the specific arenas of challenge facing our Church and Communion in the coming triennium; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention request the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget, and Finance to provide such budget allocation so as to maintain the Volunteers for Mission and Appointed Missionary programs with adequate institutional and pastoral support: a minimum of $1,100,000 per year (not including YASC), with $834,000 per year for Appointed Missionaries and $267,000 per year for Volunteers for Mission, for a minimum of $3,300,000 for the 2007–2009 triennium.

EXPLANATION

Our missionaries, those sent overseas and those received into our fellowship, embody a major way by which the Church engages the Communion and the wider world. As our Church seeks to understand and finds its role within God’s reconciling ways, our missionaries provide the Church with unique cultural, theological, and ecumenical expertise and perspective on the world. As the incarnate link between churches at home and overseas, they are our ambassadors on the ground, and often provide crucial consulting and networking expertise for programs of companionship and mutual support.

In response to many overseas invitations and to domestic hopes for enhancing the Church’s missionary presence, Companions in Transformation: The Episcopal Church’s World Mission in a New Century calls for a significant increase in the number of missionaries sent and received, increasing staff support and pastoral care for them, and nurturing new, perhaps more specialized kinds of missionary vocations. For example, Companions calls for doubling the percentage of minority missionaries by 2020 while adding one hundred new missionary vocations. Some expansion over recent years has been possible through funds raised by mission companions for missionary sending and support—well over $600,000 during the current triennium.

Nevertheless, rising health care, travel, and insurance costs have stretched the Mission Personnel budget. To simply maintain our current number of missionary vocations, the allocation for Volunteers for Mission and Appointed Missionary programs must increase. At the same time, the SCWM encourages the Office for Anglican and Global Relations (AGR) to deploy its existing staff resources to develop those mission placements which support collaborative endeavors among provinces and dioceses, and those bearing exceptional promise for illuminating new avenues of reconciliation.

Resolved, the House of _____ concurring, That the 75^th General Convention direct the Office of Anglican and Global Relations, in collaboration with the Office of Ministries with Young People, to develop resources for the pastoral care and vocational formation of participants in the Young Adult Service Corps; and be it further

Resolved, That the Convention direct the Office of Anglican and Global Relations to increase the number of placements available in the Young Adult Service Corps from ten to fifteen per year; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention request the Joint Committee on Program, Budget, and Finance to consider a budget allocation of $550,000 for the implementation of this resolution.

EXPLANATION

In 2000, the 73^rd General Convention created the Young Adult Service Corps (YASC) for the purpose of inviting young people to participate in the wider mission of the Church by serving with overseas dioceses and provinces. Response has been enthusiastic, with qualified applications exceeding available placements, and overseas invitations exceeding available candidates. Recognizing the YASC as a significant part of the Church’s renewed commitment to companionship with the Communion and to the cross-cultural formation of young people, Companions in Transformation: The Episcopal Church’s World Mission in a New Century calls for the Church eventually to provide this opportunity to at least one young person from every diocese of the Episcopal Church.

The YASC plays a significant role in the spiritual life and vocational formation of emerging leaders in the Church. Without its own program staff, YASC relies upon collaboration and consultation from already stretched staff for even the most basic, necessary spiritual direction and pastoral care. The Standing Commission on World Mission, in accordance with the first priority of Executive Council for the next triennium, urges the Office of Anglican and Global Relations to further develop facilities for mentoring support and pastoral care in order to adequately support vocations to the Church of young people in cross-cultural service. Increasing the budget from $350,000 for 2004–2006 to $550,000 for 2007–2009 would enable the YASC to provide five additional placements per year, as well as identify and deploy this additional pastoral support.

Resolved, the House of _____ concurring, That the 75^th General Convention direct the Office of Anglican and Global Relations to ensure the development of a range of world mission educational materials and resources designed for use among all ages in the various contexts of Christian community; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention request the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance to consider a budget allocation of $180,000 for the implementation of this resolution.

EXPLANATION

The most consistent response to Companions in Transformation: The Episcopal Church’s World Mission in a new Century has been the request for materials and resources for education in world mission. Mission engagement begins with greater awareness in the parishes, particularly among the young who are increasingly cognizant of, and invested in the relationship of their Christian faith to the international issues that claim their attention and drive their consideration of their future. Christian educators have been asking the Episcopal Church to invest accordingly to develop a variety of materials for world mission education to be used at the parochial level for all members, particularly the young, and to guide continuing education in the full range of church contexts.

Resolved, The House of _____ concurring, That the 75^th General Convention direct the Office of Anglican and Global Relations to provide increased resources and programmatic support for short-term overseas mission pilgrimages; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention request the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance to consider a budget allocation of $120,000 for the implementation of this resolution.

EXPLANATION

The 2004–2006 triennium witnessed a surge in congregational short-term mission activity and, with it, growing recognition that mission trips are far more than short-term travel tours. There is indication that the quality of appropriate mission design, preparation, guidance in the field, and post-mission reflection varies considerably, impacting mission success and Christian formation accordingly. Well-prepared missions with continuing follow-up nurture the mutually responsible and respectful cross-boundary relationships the Episcopal Church seeks to nurture and up-build. A common response from parochial leaders to the SCWM's request for feedback to Companions in Transformation: The Episcopal Church’s World Mission in a New Century is for readily available and knowledgeable mission consultative assistance to guide their best efforts in planning and executing successful short-term overseas missions.

Resolved, the House of _____ concurring, That the 75^th General Convention of the Episcopal Church provide funding toward cross-cultural and international experience for seminarians; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention request the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance to consider a budget allocation of $180,000 for the implementation of this resolution.

EXPLANATION

Every year there are far more requests for grants for cross-cultural and international experience from seminarians than there are funds to provide such support. Yet it is widely recognized that active participation in world mission by seminarians leads to increased awareness of our engagement in world mission by the congregations they serve. The Standing Commission on Ministry Development has considered recommending that these types of experiences be required of seminarians but is all too aware that without adequate support the financial cost is too high.

At present, the Seminary Consultation on Mission (SCOM) has an annual income of $65,000 from its $1.2 million endowment established by Venture in Mission with which to provide internships to about 25–30 students and faculty per year or only about five percent of all seminarians annually. By providing an additional annual allocation of $60,000 to SCOM, the General Convention would enable nearly twice as many seminarians, 45–50, to participate in cross-cultural internships annually.

Covenants

Covenants with provinces and dioceses formerly part of the Episcopal Church are an important commitment of our Church. The Commission monitors these covenants, as well as the autonomy processes and developments in these provinces, largely through the reports of the covenant committees and AGR. These communications are critical to the health and integrity of the covenant committees’ work.

Resolved, the House of _____concurring, That the 75^th General Convention of the Episcopal Church direct that its representation on covenant committees consist of one bishop appointed by the Presiding Bishop and one priest, deacon, or layperson appointed by the President of the House of Deputies. Terms for these members shall be six years, rotated so that one of the two shall be appointed at the start of every triennium. There shall also be one member from the Standing Commission on World Mission and one liaison from the Executive Council selected from those bodies for three-year terms to the committees; and be it further

Resolved, That the 75^th General Convention prohibit any person from serving as a representative of the Episcopal Church to a covenant committee for more than six consecutive years; and be it further

Resolved, That the 75^th General Convention direct its covenant committee representatives to prepare a report after each of their meetings which will include the minutes of the meeting, provide an update on the use of any Episcopal Church funds, outline any future projects that were planned, and describe any policy recommendations that were raised by members of the delegation; and be it further

Resolved, That the 75^th General Convention direct its covenant committee representatives to file their report with the Standing Commission on World Mission, the Executive Council Standing Committee on International Concerns, and the Office of Anglican and Global Relations at the Episcopal Church Center within sixty days of the adjournment of each meeting; and be it further

Resolved, That the 75^th General Convention of the Episcopal Church direct the Standing Commission on World Mission to include in its future triennial reports an update on covenant committee work, along with any resolutions related to covenant committee work.

EXPLANATION

The Episcopal Church is involved in several covenant relationships with Anglican provinces and dioceses overseas. Covenants involve nurturing mutual understanding and support in the form of prayer, mission, and financial aid. The Episcopal Church’s policy relative to the committees that oversee our covenant relationships is not clearly defined. The guidelines for appointing members are based largely on precedent, and not all covenant committees file reports. This resolution clarifies this system while also staggering and limiting the terms of members in the same manner of the Committees, Commissions, Agencies and Boards (CCABs).

This resolution also ensures that the General Convention will be kept aware of covenant progress through the triennial reports of its Executive Council and its Standing Commission on World Mission. This awareness will give the Church a better understanding of the opportunities we have to support each other. Furthermore, these new reporting guidelines will create means of accountability for the funds that are sent to our covenant partners in the form of block grants. The SCWM is in full support of this resolution as developed by the Standing Commission on Structure of the Church.

Resolved, the House of _____ concurring, That the 75^th General Convention of the Episcopal Church endorse the “Commitment to be Companions in Christ” between the Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil and the Episcopal Church, as expressed in the text below, and by this affirmation authorize the signature of the Episcopal Church on this Covenant:

The Commitment to be Companions in Christ –

Between the Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil and the Episcopal Church.

Preamble: the Episcopal Church and Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil share a missionary history in Brazil of over 100 years. The work in Brazil was initiated in 1890 by missionaries Lucien Lee Kinsolving and James Watson Morris, from the Virginia Theological Seminary. In 1907 the missionary efforts in Brazil resulted in the establishment of a missionary district of the Episcopal Church under the leadership of Bishop Lucien Lee Kinsolving. In 1965 this missionary district became the autonomous Province of Brazil, and the Episcopal Church concluded ongoing financial obligations in 1975. In 1990, at the celebration of the centennial of the Church of Brazil, the Presiding Bishops of the Episcopal Church and Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil agreed to establish a Bilateral Committee to reconnect and reconcile dynamics of distance that occurred during and after the establishment of Brazil’s autonomy. The experience of the Bilateral Committee has been one of reacquainting the Churches, re-establishing friendship, sharing vision for ministry mission, and encouraging diocesan companionships. The Bilateral Committee believes the endorsement of the following Commitment to be Companions in Christ will be good for the souls of both provinces. The Bilateral Committee also believes it is wise and appropriate to solidify and make public and structurally accountable this ongoing commitment to one another.

EXPLANATION

When the Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil became an autonomous province in 1965, after more than 80 years as part of the Episcopal Church, there was no formal agreement between these two churches regarding the terms of their separation and the continuing relationship between them. The Presiding Bishops’ Bilateral Committee, formed in 1990, developed this agreement which formalizes the relationship and the Bilateral Standing Committee, heralding a new era of renewed commitment to shared mission engagement and companionship between our two autonomous provinces. This agreement may also serve as a model for covenant with other provinces as they become more financially independent but seek to maintain a close relationship.

Resolved, the House of _____concurring, That the 75^th General Convention of the Episcopal Church include in the budget of the 2007–2009 Triennium $100,000 for each of the calendar years 2008 and 2009 as contributions to the Centennial Endowment Fund of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines, in partial implementation of Resolution 2000–B012; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention request the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance to consider a budget allocation of $200,000 for the implementation of this resolution.

EXPLANATION

Resolution 2000–B012 authorized the creation of a Centennial Endowment Fund for the Episcopal Church in the Philippines (ECP) and pledged the action of Executive Council to implement the solicitation of special thanksgiving offerings for the Endowment Fund. While noting that the Executive Council was able to commit an initial amount of $250,000 towards the projected goal of $1.5 million dollars, it has not developed a plan for raising monies towards that goal. At the end of 2007, full financial autonomy for the ECP will be realized but fund-raising for the Endowment Fund has fallen short of expectations. The ECP has made every effort to increase their contributions to the Centennial Endowment Fund, and clergy in five of the six dioceses of the ECP have been operating on reduced budgets and salary cutbacks for clergy in order to increase the size of the Fund. This resolution, following up on the prior work of Executive Council, will constitute our good faith response to the commitments made in Resolution 2000–B012.

The Episcopal Church Overseas

One of the great gifts and blessings of the Episcopal Church is its worldwide composition. World mission begins within our own Church, in which dioceses in and outside the United States, live in companionship with each other, sharing witness to Christian faith in circumstances often far different from their own. In particular, the Commission welcomes the dioceses of Venezuela and Puerto Rico who have enriched the depth of the Episcopal Church since their recent admission as dioceses and have furthered our mission in Province IX and beyond.

The SCWM notes that the Diocese of Haiti, which has one of the largest memberships, and one of the highest proportions of lay leadership in the Episcopal Church, lives in a difficult social and political situation. Its thriving ministry is an overwhelming testimony to the diocese’s foundations of faith and to the Episcopal Church’s political and missional solidarity.

The Diocese of Equador Central hosted the SCWM at its October 2005 meeting and apprised the Commission of the difficulties they have experienced in recent years and of the efforts underway to return the diocese to a sound pastoral and financial footing. During the meeting, the Commission also met with members of the Diocese of Ecuador Litoral.

The Commission is pleased that the Convocation of American Churches in Europe has expanded its mission in Europe. The SCWM acknowledges the good efforts of the four Anglican bodies with presence on the European continent to work cooperatively, and the close connections with the Old Catholics and the Lutherans.

Resolved, the House of _____concurring, That the 75^th General Convention of the Episcopal Church acknowledge and affirm the efforts of the Church Pension Group to establish appropriate formulae for pensions which meet the existing and future needs of clergy in the overseas dioceses where compensation for service has been limited by standards and costs of living, and asks that the cooperative work with overseas dioceses be continued.

EXPLANATION

The SCWM has long been concerned about inadequate retirement pension coverage for most of our overseas clergy. The Church Pension Group has listened to the concerns of clergy in overseas jurisdictions of the Episcopal Church and has entered into conversations about appropriate pension calculations in which considerations concerning differing standards and costs of living in the countries of service have been acknowledged and appropriately weighed. This work needs to be acknowledged and continuing efforts need to be steadfastly encouraged.

The Anglican Communion

In the course of our relationships with other provinces of the Anglican Communion, the SCWM notes the following:

Cuba: Under great hardships and limitations, La Iglesia Episcopal Cubana (Diocese of Cuba) continues to exercise an important ministry of presence and witness in Cuban society. The Church’s leadership is making intentional efforts to foster supportive and nurturing relationships with other provinces within the Anglican Communion. The SCWM will continue to monitor these processes as well as to promote ways to support the ministry and mission of La Iglesia Episcopal Cubana.

Theological Education in the Anglican Communion: Discussions on how to better equip the people of the Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church to live out their Baptismal Covenants often stress the strategic importance of sound, theological education. Many Anglican churches want to increase educational opportunities and the quality of training for lay and ordained ministries. The Episcopal Church needs to foster cross-cultural educational opportunities in its overseas dioceses. Increased faculty and student exchanges may help address some of these priorities, as well as help build koinonia in our Communion. Other needs may require our commitment to develop new teaching models appropriate to overseas contexts. The Commission feels that theological education should be an important priority during the 2007–2009 triennium.

Accountability, transparency and leadership: Being true companions in transformation requires that there be transparency in administration and mutual accountability in matters of personnel use and financial commitment among all jurisdictions of the Anglican Communion. While it welcomes the initiatives already taken, such as the workshop for treasurers, the SCWM recognizes the need for more opportunities for adequate training in leadership and management for both clergy and lay leaders. The SCWM is particularly concerned that overseas dioceses of the Episcopal Church and other provinces receiving grants be guided by norms of transparency and mutual accountability between them. The Commission is grieved by the pain and difficulties faced by the Churches in Ecuador and Mexico when this trust was violated. This difficult aspect of mutuality and interdependence needs the entire Church’s careful consideration in the coming years.

Francophone ministry: The SCWM received a report on the Francophone Conference held in Montreal, Canada, in July 2005. French is a major language in our own church, as well as in other parts of the Anglican Communion, yet there is little support for Francophone ministry and very few materials and major church documents are available in French.

Resolved, the House of _____ concurring, That the 75^th General Convention of the Episcopal Church officially recognize the already existing Francophone Network; and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention ensure consistent budgetary support for French translation and interpretation services as agreed at the 74^th General Convention in 2003, thereby acknowledging, affirming, and celebrating the growing ministry and presence of French-speaking peoples in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, and be it further

Resolved, That necessary resources be allocated to enhance the Episcopal Church Center’s ability to work with the growing numbers of French-speakers within the Episcopal Church in the United States and overseas and in the wider Anglican Communion, and be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention request the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance to consider a budget allocation of $150,000 for the implementation of this resolution.

EXPLANATION

The Diocese of Haiti is one of the largest dioceses of the Episcopal Church with a membership exceeding 100,000 persons; the Convocation of American Churches in Europe is doing substantial ministry with French-speaking peoples; and there is a growing presence of Haitian congregations in the continental United States. Our Anglican neighbors in Canada and in the Caribbean include large French-speaking populations, and French is the primary language spoken in several African provinces. The recently established Francophone Network shares worship, educational, and theological resources available in French. Funding Francophone support and recognition of the Francophone Network will signal our commitment to this vital ministry of our church.

SCWM Priorities for the 2007–2009 Triennium

Companions in Transformation

• Continue monitoring and implementing Companions in Transformation (2003–A150);
• Monitor mentoring process and pastoral care for the Young Adult Service Corps; and
• Continue participation in Episcopal Partnership for Global Mission and hold one SCWM meeting conjointly with EPGM during the triennium

The Episcopal Church Overseas

• Monitor developments in the overseas dioceses, including developments toward greater self-support, mutual accountability and transparency, and in theological education; and
• Continue the Commission’s involvement in the Convocation of American Churches in Europe and its ecumenical and cooperative work with other Anglican jurisdictions and with the Old Catholics and Lutherans.

The Anglican Communion

• Hold a Commission Consultation on Mutual Responsibility and Interdependence in the Body of Christ in 2007;
• Study the role and needs for enhanced opportunities for theological education;
• Continue to review the autonomy processes;
• Continue to receive and review covenant committee reports; and
• Monitor developments in the Diocese of Cuba.

Proposed Budget for the 2007–2009 Triennium

The Standing Committee on World Mission will meet at least five times during the triennium, including two meetings outside the United States. Funding for a consultation on Mutual Responsibility and Interdependence will be held in conjunction with one meeting in 2007, and representative participation in the annual meetings of Episcopal Partnership for Global Mission and other meetings is also needed. To meet its programmatic and policy-making responsibilities, the SCWM requests funding of $20,000 for 2007, $33,000 for 2008 and $27,000 for 2009, for a total budget of $80,000 for the triennium.