Membership

Ms. Bonnie Anderson, Chair	Michigan,V, Planning and Arrangements
Mr. Matthew K. Chew	Arizona, VIII
Ms. Lori M. Ionnitiu	General Convention Manager, Planning and Arrangements
JoAnn B. Jones, Esq.	Pennsylvania, III, Structure of the Church
The Rev. Stuart Brooks Keith, III	Colorado, VI, Structure of the Church
The Rt. Rev. Kenneth L. Price, Jr.	Southern Ohio, V, Planning and Arrangements
The Hon. Margaret N. Tinsman	Iowa, VI, Structure of the Church

Task Force Representatives at General Convention

To accept or reject non-substantive amendments, Mr. Matthew Chew is appointed for the House of Deputies and The Rt. Rev. Kenneth Price is appointed for the House of Bishops.

Summary of Work

GC Resolution 2003–A145 created General Convention Task Force (GCTF) with its membership to be drawn from the Standing Commission on the Structure of the Church and the Joint Standing Committee on Planning and Arrangements. GCTF’s charge was to “prepare a comprehensive model for General Convention with respect to the structure of General Convention and the…agenda.” GCTF met four times during the triennium, twice in person and twice by conference call. In addition, these persons attended one or more meetings: The Very Rev. George Werner, President of the House of Deputies; the Rev. Rosemari Sullivan and the Rev. Gregory Straub, Executive Officers of the General Convention; the Rev. Canon Tony Jewiss, General Convention Office; Sally Johnson, Esq., from the Diocese of Minnesota.

After a thorough review of the existing processes and procedures of General Convention, the GCTF made the following recommendations to be implemented at the 75^th General Convention:

Recommendations for Legislative Committees

• Committee members and officers appointed four months prior to Convention;
• Committees addressing “A” resolutions will be composed of at least one bishop and one deputy from the CCAB filing the Resolution;
• Special legislative committees should be appointed four months prior to Convention;
• It is recommended not to appoint new deputies to committees, but to encourage new deputies to develop an understanding of the process by tracking legislation and attending committee hearings;
• Orientation at the April 25, 2006 committee chairs meeting should include committee organization, creating subcommittees, protocols, scheduling expert testimony, and pre-convention work;
• Committees will electronically receive assigned pre-filed legislation for review prior to Convention;
• Meeting time for Committees will be scheduled on the first day of Convention;
• Committee size should be governed by the volume and complexity of assigned legislation;
• Online collaborative spaces for committees will be set-up and assigned resolutions will be posted;
• Legislative Chairs will have lunch together on June 16, 2006 to “check-in” and to identify needs.

Recommendations for Worship at General Convention

• Daily Eucharist (but not the Festival Eucharist on Saturday) should be one hour in length;
• Homily or teaching will be limited to five to eight minutes and should connect to the day’s theme;
• Themes should be developed well in advance;
• Eucharist table groups should have trained facilitators, and if possible, they are to be selected from first-time deputies, young adults or the youth presence participants;
• Youth should be included in the leadership of every worship service;
• Daily Prayers in the House of Deputies are to be limited to ten minutes and occur near midday.

General Recommendations include

• Visiting bishops to be invited by the President of the House of Deputies to be seated in the House with their companion dioceses or a “host diocese.” Bishops would have seat, no voice or vote;
• Deputy orientation should include a special module for first-time deputies;
• Orientation DVD to be mailed with the Blue Book;
• Deputy orientation at Provincial Caucus meetings will include subjects identified by deputations.

Recommendations based on General Convention Resolution 2003–D057

The GCTF made the following recommendations for implementation at the 75^th General Convention in response to a resolution calling for the increased use of technology at Convention:

• Update systems for the taking and review of minutes;
• “Real-time” amendments shown on screen in the House of Deputies;
• Continued use of “real-time” translation;
• Accessible microphone platforms for deputies.

Resolved, the House of ______ concurring, That the Standing Commission on Structure examine, for the purpose of improving the efficiency of General Convention, the timing of the filing of resolutions, the process by which resolutions are filed and communicated to the church, and the effect on Dispatch of Business and report and make recommendations to the 76^th General Convention on its findings; and be it further

Resolved, That the Standing Commission on Structure consult with the Office of the General Convention, the Standing Commission on Constitution and Canons and the Joint Committee on Planning and Arrangements in its examination.

EXPLANATION

The GCTF discussed, in depth, the process for receiving legislation to be considered by General Convention. We considered ways in which the task force could be instrumental in reducing the number of resolutions. We considered proposing a pre-convention resolution pre-filing deadline with an exception for matters of importance arising after the deadline. We were not of one mind on the solution. We sought advice from canon lawyers. We decided that the topic needs wider input and further consideration.

Resolved, the House of _____ concurring, That the 75^th General Convention amend the number of meeting days for the meeting of the General Convention, as stated in GC Resolution 1988–A150, from ten (10) meeting days to eight (8) meeting days; and be it further

Resolved, That at the General Convention where a Presiding Bishop is elected, the meeting of General Convention would be nine (9) days.

EXPLANATION

The Joint Task Force to review the structure and agenda of the General Convention, consisting of members of the Standing Commission on Structure of the Church and the Joint Standing Committee on Planning and Arrangements was appointed by the Presiding Bishop and the President of the House of Deputies, and asked to prepare a model for General Convention with respect to the agenda for General Convention. The Joint Task Force considered the increasing support of the internet for pre-convention information and orientation, as well as increased use of electronic technology to expedite the work of General Convention, key factors in accomplishing the work of General Convention in eight days. An additional benefit would be the savings in time to individual attendees allowing for a larger, more diverse group of people available to participate. It would also be a cost savings to dioceses as well as the entire Church.

Conclusion

The General Convention Task Force work has concluded and will not continue into the next triennium.