Meeting Dates and Sites

Introduction

Executive Council (Council) with the Presiding Bishop works between Conventions, implementing and monitoring the policies and programs authorized by the Convention, including budget oversight.¹

The Executive Council consists of forty voting members including 20 members elected by General Convention and 18 members elected by the nine provinces, who serve six-year terms. Half of these members rotate off Council each triennium. The Presiding Bishop serves as Chair, and the President of the House of Deputies serves as Vice Chair. There are three additional non-voting positions: the Secretary of General Convention, who serves as Secretary of the Council; the Treasurer of DFMS; and the Assistant to the Presiding Bishop for Administration, who serves as a DFMS Vice-President. The life of Council is enriched by the presence of representatives from two partner churches, the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

During each year of the triennium the Executive Council meets three times. Daily worship and Bible study provide the framework for each meeting’s deliberations and decision making. Although most of Council’s legislation is processed through the committees, Council does consider issues before it through plenary presentations by invited guests, the opening remarks of the Chair and Vice Chair, and scheduled “private conversations.”

The committees of Executive Council are Administration and Finance (A&F), International Concerns (INC), National Concerns (NAC) and Congregations in Ministry (CIM). Each committee studies matters brought before it and reports to the Council, which acts by resolution as appropriate. Reports of these committees and those from the other entities that report to the General Convention through the Executive Council follow this summary of Council’s function and work.

Summary of Work

In this triennium Executive Council's work addressed the mission priorities adopted by the 2003 General Convention. Among major actions:

Priority 1–Young Adults and Youth:

• Council established priorities and a process for the $1 million fund budgeted by General Convention for leadership development and spiritual formation with young adults and youth.

Priority 2–Reconciliation and Evangelism:

• Council supported an advertising initiative to reach diverse populations of the unchurched; and
• Participated in annual anti-racism training that included an eight-hour course during its meeting in Louisville, Kentucky;
• Pursued reconciliation within the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion as it engaged the process initiated by the Windsor Report.

Priority 3–Congregational Transformation:

• Council established a Mission Funding Initiative and adopted policies for the receipt and disbursement of its funds;
• Collaborated with various entities to strengthen life-long Christian formation and supported the development of appropriate materials for litury and education; and
• Discussed a demographic report that documented a membership decline in all mainline denominations, including the Episcopal Church.

Priority 4–Justice and Peace:

• Council urged support by dioceses and parishes for the Millennium Development Goals and received progress reports on diocesan responses to the MDGs;
• Provided funding to facilitate the Decade of Remembrance, Recognition and Reconciliation;
• Urged government action to address issues of violence, hunger, and human rights abuses, in various parts of the world, including Iraq, Sudan, Haiti, Guantanamo Bay and the Middle East; and
• Called for government to address the vulnerability of women, including asylum for women fleeing genital mutilation.

Priority 5–Partnerships:

• Council addressed the turmoil in the Anglican Communion (see below);
• Recognized numerous missionaries sent by the DFMS and by other mission-sending organizations;
• Made a gift of $250,000 to the Anglican Church of Canada in solidarity with its effort to make restitution for the suffering of the First Nations in Canada; and
• Joined Christian Churches Together in the USA.

The turmoil in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion that followed the 2003 General Convention's consent to the election of the Bishop of New Hampshire highlighted Priority 5's emphasis on "reaffirming the importance of our partnerships with provinces of the Anglican Communion and beyond and our relationships with ecumenical and interfaith partners." Council discussed the tensions evident in the Episcopal Church and supported the Presiding Officers in their efforts to promote dialogue about human sexuality and mutual support in the life of the church. In successive "Letters to the Church," Council encouraged Episcopalians to grow to appreciate diverse views and foster unity through shared commitment to God's mission in the world.

Tensions in the Anglican Communion were equally evident. Council was informed of developments through the Presiding Bishop's reflections on the Primates' Meetings and offered its views and support in the challenges of such inter-Anglican encounters. Council discussed intensively the Windsor Report of the Lambeth Commission on Communion after its October 2004 publication and heard presentations by the Episcopal Church's member of the commission and by an African bishop. In addition to urging parishes and dioceses to study the report, Council urged parishes and dioceses to initiate encounters with Anglicans around the world to listen and build relationships. Council anticipated that its own role would focus on helping the church prepare for addressing the issues at the 2006 General Convention.

The February 2005 call of the Primates’ Meeting at Dromantine, Ireland, for the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada to withdraw their members from participation in the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) prior to the 2008 Lambeth Conference prompted Council to undertake the very unusual course of gathering for a special meeting to consider its response. At its April 2005 special meeting in Mundelein, Illinois, Council decided to withdraw the Episcopal Church's three members from formal participation but asked them to attend the ACC as observers in order to report back to Council. Council supported the Presiding Bishop in the initiative that presented the Episcopal Church's rationale for its actions at the June 2005 meeting of the ACC in Nottingham, England. At its October meeting, Council was encouraged by the report of the reconciling presence of the Episcopal Church's listening posture and quiet witness at the ACC meeting.

As the situation of our church and the communion as a whole continues to evolve, Executive Council will continue to have an important role in interpreting events and advising the church. Logistical complications prevented Council from meeting outside the USA in Province IX during this triennium; but this should occur during the next triennium. Amid diverse views on Council itself, we are united in a common purpose of preserving relationships in the Anglican Communion.

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The Executive Council is responsible for maintaining the infrastructure that supports the church's mission. Balancing the budget was an important concern during this triennium. On the revenue side, based on consecutive years of stock market losses, the previous Council had increased to 5.5% per year the amount drawn on the endowment for use in the operating budget. Anticipating significant reductions in payments of diocesan commitments following the 2003 General Convention, Council initially reduced the $47,209,000 budget approved by Convention for 2004 by 4%. When actual revenues did not decline, much of the budget reduction was restored by the end of 2004. In June 2005, Council returned the endowment draw for the next triennium to the standard 5% used by many non-profit organizations. Council has been overseeing the renovation now underway at the Episcopal Church Center and has allocated up to $34 million for the project. Council is also grappling with the need to find a new home for the Episcopal Church Archives.

During this triennium Council sought to make its internal life as fruitful as possible for the church's needs. Continuing Council members coordinated community-building activities that increased trust and forged friendships among new members. Tree-planting at the Idaho meeting gave members an experience of offering ministry together. Council's mid-term self-evaluation prompted helpful discussion about communication and power-sharing.

Membership: Russell Palmore, Chair; Josephine Hicks, Vice-Chair; Bonnie Anderson; Ann Coburn; Thomas Gossen (as of 9/05); Kenneth Kesselus; Thomas Little; Diane Pollard; Tim Vann; Stacy Sauls; Ted Yumoto; Ex officio: Frank Griswold; George Werner; Patricia Mordecai; Kurt Barnes; Rosemari Sullivan until January 2005, replaced by Gregory Straub.

Committee Goal: Administration and Finance (A&F) facilitates the ministry of the Episcopal Church by supporting the Chief Operating Officer and the Office of the Treasurer while overseeing the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society (DFMS). A&F works closely with the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance (PB&F). A&F met at every regular Executive Council Meeting and by conference call in December 2003, May and September 2004, January, May, and September 2005, and December 2005 and February 2006.

As a result of A&F work, Executive Council:

• Approved long-needed renovation of the Episcopal Church Center in New York instead of moving the Church Center.
• Established and funded the Mission Funding Initiative to invite people of great resources and vision for the church to make major gifts to fund the mission of the church.
• Monitored and recommended adjustments to the 04–06 triennial budget including tracking the receipt of diocesan commitments to the DFMS budget.
• Created a protocol for addressing unfunded General Convention resolutions including approval of significant funding for indigenous ministries.
• Established budget priorities for the next triennium utilizing the results of a survey of church leaders and Church Center staff; and proposed a draft budget for 2007–2009 based on those priorities.

In its deliberations, A&F also:

• Reviewed financial statements, audit committee reports, and statements of operation for DFMS.
• Recommended establishment of various trust funds in accordance with established procedures.
• Reviewed Investment Committee reports and recommended approval of a payout rate from trust fund income.

Membership: Cynthia Black, Chair; Terry Roberts, Vice-Chair; Stephen Lane, Secretary; RPM Bowden; Dorothy Fuller; Sarah Harte; Theodore Mollegen; Wilfrido Ramos-Orench; Edward Rodman; Ex officio: Frank Griswold; George Werner.

Committee Goal: The Congregations in Ministry Committee (CIM) is a link with Church Center programs and the Standing Committees and Commissions of General Convention concerned with congregations and their ministries. CIM monitors related General Convention resolutions.

As a result of CIM work, Executive Council:

• Created a Young Adults and Youth Advisory Committee, with geographically diverse members, who recommended funding priorities for expending the $1 million allocated to Young Adult and Youth ministry by GC Resolutions 2003–A065 and 2003–A077.
• Adopted a Mission Funding Initiative to seek major capital gifts for ministry outside the GC budgetary process.
• Revised guidelines and the process for funding designated Christian Education grants from the Constable Endowment Fund.
• Received a report from the Employment Policies Task Force on the Church’s employment policies.
• Created the Executive Council Committee on Visual Arts to advise the Council and the Church on policies, procedures, and possibilities for the visual arts.
• Collaborated with the Standing Commission on Ministry Development to create a long-term plan for Christian Education and Formation (GC Resolutions 2003–B024 and 2003–A120).
• Authorized a feasibility study for an office of Disaster Planning for the Episcopal Church and encouraged dioceses and congregations to develop disaster plans.

In its deliberations, CIM also:

• Encouraged the Women’s Ministries Office to publish the women’s ordination survey that was authorized by Council in the last triennium (GC Resolution 2000–A045).
• Developed closer relationships with the ethnic desk missioners including inviting each staff person to participate in a Council Meeting; and affirmed the Office of Native American Ministries in its comprehensive plan to fulfill the Covenant for the Decade of Remembrance, Recognition, and Reconciliation, 1997-2007. (GC Resolution 2003–C008)
• Commended educational materials, including, the Episcopal Peace Fellowships, Creative Peacemaking, for addressing the culture of violence (GC Resolution 2003–D031); and the Catechism of Creation produced by the Committee on Science, Technology and Faith.
• Proposed that the State of the Church Committee, with the Director of Research for the Church, examine the parochial report form so as to gather data on diversity in the church in a response to the 20/20 Vision (GC Resolution 2000–A033).
• Proposed that the Communication Office be authorized to implement an online contribution system for the support of advertising efforts.

Membership: Catherine Roskam, Chair; Louie Crew, Vice-Chair; Titus Presler, Secretary; Carmen Brooks; Theodore Daniels; Miguelina Espinal; Delbert Glover (resigned 7/05); Edward Godden; Anthony Guillén (resigned 10/05); Julio Cesar Holguín; Timothy Kimbrough; Sandra McPhee; Ex officio: Frank Griswold; George Werner.

Committee Goal:The International Concerns Committee (INC) helps Council highlight issues beyond the USA that call for the church's discipleship and mission. Special concerns include inter-Anglican relations; sending and receiving missionaries; the Millennium Development Goals; the church's overseas dioceses; and crises of violence, human rights, famine and other disasters.

As a result of INC work, Executive Council:

• Recognized dozens of missionaries serving through the DFMS, the South American Missionary Society, and Anglican Frontier Missions; expressed appreciation for missionaries completing their service, and recognized several new companion diocese relationships.
• Urged Episcopalians to listen and to build understanding through personal contacts and Companion Diocese Relationships in the current turmoil of the Anglican Communion; considered responses to the Anglican Consultative Council's 13^th meeting; and considered a proposed Anglican Conversations Initiative.
• Urged parishes and dioceses to devote 0.7% of their income to fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals suggested by the United Nations and commended by General Convention.
• Listened to the voices of Anglican women under-represented in the governing bodies of the Anglican Communion.
• Urged governmental and church responses to violence, poverty and/or human rights abuses in Korea, Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, Haiti, Sudan and the Middle East; and responded to particular issues of women's vulnerability.
• Funded a Translation Services Coordinator for those members whose primary language is not English (GC Resolution 2003–C029).
• Called for equitable pension provisions for clergy and laity in Episcopal dioceses overseas and commended the major progress achieved by a working group that included the Church Pension Fund.

In its deliberations, INC also:

• Studied and discussed Companions in Transformation, the vision statement for the church's world mission in the 21^st century.
• Studied and discussed the Covenant for Communion in Mission proposed by the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Mission and Evangelism and commended for study by the Anglican Consultative Council.
• Initiated discussion with A&F about implementing GC Resolution 2003–A151, which mandated that funds released from the church's international covenants be redeployed to the church's global engagement.
• Discussed extensive presentations by Episcopal Migration Ministries, the Episcopal Partnership for Global Mission, Episcopal Relief and Development, the Standing Commission on World Mission, and the United Thank Offering.
• Reviewed the Episcopal Church's covenants with the churches in the Philippines and Mexico; and the church's work in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Haiti, and El Salvador.

Membership: Kwasi Thornell, Chair; John Vanderstar, Vice-Chair; D. Rebecca Snow, Secretary; Edgar Byham; Sharon Denton; Frank Oberly; Brian Prior; Lillian Yaeger; Ex officio: Frank Griswold; George Werner.

Committee Goal: The National Concerns Committee (NAC) deals with all domestic ministry and mission issues such as ecumenical and interfaith matters; social justice issues; prison, health and military ministries; migration ministries; and government initiatives affecting the work of the church that do not relate specifically to congregations.

As a result of NAC work, Executive Council:

• Conducted annual anti-racism training for itself including an eight-hour portion of its June 2005 meeting. This action was intended to encourage anti-racism training throughout the church.
• Approved a resolution recommended by both NAC and INC calling for active corporate engagement, but not divestment, of church investments in corporations whose operations contribute to the ongoing occupation by Israel of Palestinian lands. The corporations would be addressed using shareholder resolutions.
• Approved shareholder actions with corporations in which the church invests its money on other issues of social concern.
• Approved two “A” resolutions for consideration at the 75^th General Convention on the aftermath of slavery and on reconciliation.
• Reviewed and approved various Jubilee programs that give an overview of the diverse ministry of the Church.
• Joined the ecumenical organization Christian Churches Together in the U.S.A. as a founding member.
• Reviewed and approved representatives to the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.
• Called for a church-wide conversation on marriage, including asking for time at GC 2006 and for diocesan conversations on the topic.

In its deliberations, NAC also:

• Discussed anti-racism training and materials and consulted with the Social Justice Officer regarding compliance by CCABs, dioceses, provinces, and congregations with the anti-racism training requirement.
• Met with the Vice-President of DFMS and the Human Resources Director at the Church Center regarding the resumption of anti-racism training at the Church Center and inclusion of the training in orientation for new employees.
• Received reports on the Church’s response to both the tsunami in the Indian Ocean and the effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Gulf Coast, as well as other areas facing crises or the results of natural disaster.
• Discussed ecumenical issues relating to the impact of 2003 General Convention decisions on ecumenical dialogues.

Resolved, the House of _____ concurring, That the 75^th General Convention of the Episcopal Church declare unequivocally that the institution of slavery in the United States and anywhere else in the world, based as it is on “ownership” of some persons by other persons, was and is a sin and a fundamental betrayal of the humanity of all persons who were involved; and be it further

Resolved, That the Episcopal Church acknowledge its history and the deep and lasting injury which the institution of slavery and its aftermath have inflicted on society and on the Church; and be it further

Resolved, That we express our most profound regret that (a) the Episcopal Church lent the institution of slavery its support and justification based on Scripture, and (b) after slavery was formally abolished, the Episcopal Church continued for at least a century to support de jure and de facto segregation and discrimination; and be it further

Resolved, That the Episcopal Church apologize for its complicity in and the injury done by the institution of slavery and its aftermath and ask the Presiding Bishop to call for a “Day of Repentance and Reconciliation” and to organize a Day of Repentance and Reconciliation service to be held at the National Cathedral.

EXPLANATION

Other institutions have addressed their failures in various respects with regard to slavery and its aftermath including an apology issued by the U.S. Senate for not having enacted federal anti-lynching legislation during the post-Civil-War period. The United Methodists in Alabama recently led a walk to a Birmingham church as part of a service to repent of racial injustice and to pledge to be more inclusive. In addition some dioceses have undertaken to study the concept of reparations. Among them are Chicago, Maryland, New York and Newark.

It is important to recognize that much of the U.S. economy was built on the basis of slave labor. There are plenty of data that prove beyond a doubt that African Americans are a disproportionate part of the nation's poor. No one who is paying attention can fail to recognize that race discrimination is still very much part of the fabric of life in our nation and in our Church. Sometimes it is subtle, sometimes it is inadvertent, but it is plainly there. This resolution complements anti-racism training and other activities that are promoting justice and racial reconciliation in the Episcopal Church.

Resources

Lewis, Harold T. Yet With A Steady Beat: The African American Struggle for Recognition in the Episcopal Church. (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania: Trinity Press International, 1996).

Kesselus, Kenneth, John E. Hines: Granite on Fire. (Austin, Texas: Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, 1996).

Robinson, Randall. The Debt: What America owes to Blacks. (New York: Penguin Putnam Inc., 2000).

Shattuck, Jr., Gardiner H. Episcopalians and Race: Civil War to Civil Rights (Religion in the South). (Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2000).

Winbush, Raymond. Should America Pay?: Slavery and the Raging Debate on Reparations. (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc, 2003).

Resolved, the House of ______ concurring, That the 75^th General Convention of the Episcopal Church direct the Committee on Anti-Racism to collect during the next triennium detailed information on the following subjects:

1. the complicity of the Episcopal Church in the institution of slavery in the United States and in the subsequent history of segregation and discrimination;
2. the economic benefits the Episcopal Church derived from the institution of slavery; and
3. how the Church can, as matter of justice, share those benefits with African American Episcopalians, and to report to General Convention 2009 on these efforts; and be it further

Resolved, That every diocese be encouraged to undertake its own study of the foregoing subjects as applicable within its geographic area and report to the Committee on Anti-Racism by April 1, 2008, on its efforts in this regard.

EXPLANATION

Resolution A123 and its explanation speak to the complicity of the Episcopal Church in the institution of slavery and its aftermath. However, no detailed information is available that would quantify the economic benefit the Church received, for example, the construction of church buildings by slave labor or the receipt of gifts funded in whole or in part by the fruits of slavery. Acquiring such information would assist in determining how the Church can make recompense for such morally repugnant benefits. Dioceses are asked to be part of this process because more than likely this information is more readily accessible to local institutions and history will vary widely from one place to another.

Resolved, the House of _____ concurring, That the 75^th General Convention of the Episcopal Church continue the Task Force to Study Employment Policies and Practices in the Episcopal Church during the coming Triennium with the intention of offering a resolution to the 2009 General Convention that will address the issues of employment, striving to make the Episcopal Church a fair and just workplace, and be it further

Resolved, That the Convention authorize and request the Church Pension Group to conduct a survey of lay employees concentrating on employee demographics, the exercise of authority in the employment setting, and compensation and benefits. The Bishop or other ecclesiastical authority of each diocese shall be requested to supply relevant data for each employing unit in the diocese to the Church Pension Group. The findings of the survey and any recommendations for action, if appropriate, shall be reported to the 76^th General Convention; and be it further

Resolved, That the Office of Ministry Development take the lead in determining the best way to conduct a feasibility study examining whether pension benefits for lay employees should be made compulsory and be administered by a single provider. The results of said study shall be reported, along with recommendations for action, if appropriate, to the 76^th General Convention; and be it further

Resolved, That the attached statement on Workplace Values be commended to the Church as a worthy statement reflecting our values for work and the worker in the Church; 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 $15,000 for the implementation of this resolution.

EXPLANATION

The Task Force on Employment Policies and Practices was established by GC Resolution 2003–A006. In consultation with the Church Pension Group the Task Force has begun a comprehensive examination of the employment practices of the parishes, dioceses, and church-related agencies of the Episcopal Church. This resolution proposes a continuation of that work. The Report of the Task Force on Employment Policies and Practices in the Episcopal Church to the Executive Council offers more information and is available on the website (www.episcopalchurch.org/gc2006/). In addition, The Church Pension Group’s Guide to Human Resources Practices for Lay Employees in the Episcopal Church is an invaluable document and should be a staple for every church, diocesan and church-affiliated workplace (www.churchpublishing.org).

Resolved, the House of _____ concurring, That the 75^th General Convention of the Episcopal Church recognize the call of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) at its 13^th meeting in Nottingham, England, in June 2005 for all churches of the Anglican Communion to study and apply the document A Covenant for Communion in Mission that was presented to the ACC by the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Mission and Evangelism; and be it further

Resolved, That the 75^th General Convention commend A Covenant for Communion in Mission as a vision for Anglican faithfulness to the mission of God for study by parishes, dioceses and seminaries; by networks such as the Episcopal Partnership for Global Mission, the Global Episcopal Mission Network, and the Companion Diocese Network; by the House of Bishops; and by the Standing Commission on World Mission, the Standing Commission on Anglican and International Peace with Justice Concerns, the Standing Commission on Ministry Development, and the Standing Commission on Constitution and Canons; and be it further

Resolved, That the 75^th General Convention request the Standing Commission on World Mission to gather responses to A Covenant for Communion in Mission from groups within the Episcopal Church and include reflections and recommendations concerning application of the covenant in its report to the 76^th General Convention.

EXPLANATION

The Anglican Consultative Council established the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Mission and Evangelism (IASCOME) at its 11th meeting in Dundee, Scotland, in 1999. IASCOME is the latest in a series of commissions, committees and working groups with responsibility to maintain a global overview and provide international co-ordination of mission and evangelism in the Anglican Communion. IASCOME's report to ACC-13 in Nottingham, England, in June 2005 is entitled Communion in Mission. It opens with an introduction, reproduced below, which contains A Covenant for Communion in Mission:

The Lambeth Commission in its Windsor Report "recommended and urged the primates to consider the adoption by the churches of the Communion of a common Anglican Covenant which would make explicit and forceful the loyalty and bonds of affection which govern the relationships between the Churches of the Communion."

IASCOME has discussed ways to take forward the mission imperatives in the Communion following the Partners in Mission process and the Decade of Evangelism. The idea of a Covenant for Communion in Mission has emerged as a key proposal. We believe that a Covenant enshrining the values of common mission that could be used as a basis for outward-looking relationships among the churches, mission organisations and societies, and networks of the Communion would provide a significant focus of unity in mission for the Anglican Communion.

In Scripture, covenants are central in the Old Testament to God’s relationship to Noah, Abraham, Moses, and to the people of Israel. Jeremiah and Ezekiel foretell the coming of a new covenant – in which God will give God’s people a new heart and new life and will walk with them, and they with him. In the New Testament Jesus inaugurates this New Covenant. It was marked by the breaking of his body and the shedding of his blood and celebrated in the central Christian meal of the Eucharist and effected through the Resurrection of Jesus the Christ for all people for all time.

IASCOME considered in depth the nature of covenant. We recognized that within our cultures a covenant is a serious and significant agreement. Covenants are fundamentally about relationships to which one gives oneself voluntarily, while contracts can be seen as a legally binding document under a body of governing principle. Covenants are free-will voluntary offerings from one to another while contracts are binding entities whose locus of authority is externally to oneself. Covenants are relational: relational between those who are making the covenant and relational with and before God.

As Anglican churches, we have a tradition of covenants that help to clarify our relationships with other ecumenical churches, such as the Porvoo agreement between the Church of England and the Baltic Lutheran churches, and Called to Common Mission between the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

We recommend for consideration by the ACC and testing within the Communion the following nine-point covenant. We believe it provides the basis for agreements between Anglican churches at the national level – but also may be used by local parish/congregations, mission movements and networks, companion diocese links, etc. We believe the Covenant for Communion in Mission thus provides a focus for binding the Communion together in a way rather different from that envisaged by the Windsor Report.

The covenant is deliberately general in its principles. In its understanding of mission it builds on the Five Marks of Mission of the 1984 and 1990 Anglican Consultative Councils. It provides a framework within which those entering into the covenant can identify specific tasks and learnings that relate to their particular situations.

A Covenant for Communion in Mission

This Covenant signifies our common call to share in God’s healing and reconciling mission for our blessed but broken and hurting world.

In our relationships as Anglican sisters and brothers in Christ, we live in the hope of the unity that God has brought about through Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The preamble recognises that the world is one that has been graced by God but that God’s work through Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit, is to seek to heal its hurts and reconcile its brokenness. The preamble reminds us that as Christians we are called to share our relationships in the mission of God to the wider world, bearing witness to the kingdom of love, justice and joy that Jesus inaugurated.

• Nourished by Scripture and Sacrament, we pledge ourselves to:

  The nine points of the covenant are predicated on Scripture and the Sacraments providing the nourishment, guidance and strength for the journey of the covenant partners together.

• Recognise Jesus in each other’s contexts and lives

  The nine points begin with Jesus Christ, the source and inspiration of our faith and calls for those covenanting for mission to look for, recognise, learn from and rejoice in the presence of Christ at work in the lives and the situations of the other.

• Support one another in our participation in God’s mission

  Point two acknowledges that we cannot serve God’s mission in isolation and calls for mutual support and encouragement in our efforts.

• Encourage expressions of our new life in Christ

  Point three asks those who enter into the covenant to encourage one another as we develop new understandings of our identities in Christ.

• Meet to share common purpose and explore differences and disagreements

  Point four provides for face-to-face meetings at which insights and learnings can be shared and difficulties worked through.

• Be willing to change in response to critique and challenge from others

  Point five recognises that as challenges arise so changes will be needed as discipleship of Christ is deepened resulting both from experience in mission and encountering those with whom we are in covenant.

• Celebrate our strengths and mourn over our failures

  Point six calls for honouring and celebrating our successes and acknowledging and naming our sadness and failures in the hopes of restitution and reconciliation.

• Share equitably our God-given resources

  Point seven emphasises that there are resources to share – not just money and people, but ideas, prayers, excitement, challenge, enthusiasm and calls for a move to fair sharing of such resources particularly when one participant in the Covenant has more than the other.

• Work together for the sustainability of God’s creation

  Point eight underscores that God’s concern is for the whole of life – not just people, but the whole created order – and so we are called to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.

• Live into the promise of God’s reconciliation for ourselves and for the world

  This last point speaks of the future hope towards which we are living, the hope of a reconciled universe – in which ‘God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ for which Jesus taught us to pray.

We make this covenant in the promise of our mutual responsibility and interdependence in the Body of Christ.

The conclusion provides a strong reminder that we need each other, are responsible for each other, and are mutually interdependent in the Body of Christ.

IASCOME proposes that the ACC commend the Covenant for Communion in Mission to the churches of the Anglican Communion for study and action and remits it to the next IASCOME for evaluation of its reception in the Anglican Communion. IASCOME further proposes that the ACC advance the Covenant for Communion in Mission to the bodies of the Anglican Communion tasked to continue consideration of covenants for the Anglican Communion as commended by the Windsor Report and the “Communiqué” of the February 2005 Primates Meeting. To that end, IASCOME presents the following resolution for adoption by ACC 13:

ACC RESOLUTION - This Anglican Consultative Council:

The Canons mandate that Council report on resolutions that were referred to CCABs, ECC departments, and other jurisdictions of the Church. See p. 452 for Summary of Actions.

Diocesan Compliance

For 2003, 73 percent of dioceses and for 2004, 70 percent of dioceses have submitted their canonically required diocesan reports.

74^th General Convention Resolutions Referred to Dioceses for Action or Consideration

The diocesan response—from 43 dioceses of 111 reporting jurisdictions—to resolutions referred for action or consideration after the 74^th General Convention is recorded below.

First Reading Resolutions

70 dioceses “made known” the following 74^th General Convention resolutions that propose changes to the Constitution: A039: Amend Constitution Article II.2; A143: Amend Constitution Article I.7; and B005: Amend Constitution Article I.2.