Fall Visitations of Dioceses Planned
Diocesan Press Service. June 9, 1972 [72082]
NEW YORK, N.Y. (DPS) -- In the fall of 1972 the Office of Development of the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church will send teams of fact finders into all Dioceses of the Church to ask Episcopalians what they think the Church's mission ought to be in the 1970's.
The information-sharing process is in preparation for the next General Convention at Louisville, Ky., in October, 1973, at which time the program and budget for the Episcopal Church for 1974 and 1975 will be adopted.
The proposal for this effort was developed jointly by Oscar C. Carr, Jr. Vice- President of the Council for Development, and the Rt. Rev. Roger Blanchard, Executive Vice-President of the Council.
Mr. Carr is responsible for designing and arranging the fall visitations of all jurisdictions, and reports from the Dioceses are to be sent to him. The Rev. Charles R. Supin, Coordinator, Office of Development, is working under Mr. Carr's supervision to coordinate the entire operation.
Information gathered will help the Executive Council answer three questions: What needs in Church and society do you think the General Church Program should attempt to meet? What should our priorities be? How should we fund them?
The first step in the information-sharing process was a series of seven meetings with the Diocesan Bishops of the Church in April and May. Diocesan Bishops from almost all of the domestic Dioceses attended one of the six regional meetings. The overseas Bishops' meeting, which was held separately, was well attended. The response to the proposal in all the meetings of Bishops was favorable.
Summary reports on these meetings will be distributed to the Bishops.
The data-gathering process was tested with the Executive Council at its May meeting, and in June the Council is testing the proposal with three pilot Dioceses -- Florida, Minnesota and Texas -- before it goes to the other jurisdictions.
Between September 15 and December 1, the Executive Council will conduct a series of meetings in all Dioceses to discover options concerning the three questions relating to mission, priorities and funding.
The visitation teams will be composed of those Executive Council members, linkage staff, and other Church leaders having the time, interest and skill to engage in the proposed dialogue. The teams will be trained September 9-10 by Mrs. Carman Hunter and the Rev. Alfred Rollins of the Council's Jurisdictional Relationships staff.
The Council teams will meet with persons whom the Diocesan leadership considers key decision makers. These may include, in addition to the Bishop or Bishops, the Diocesan Council, Deputies to General Convention, representatives of special interests and programs, and others from outside the Church with and for whom mission might be carried out in the Diocese.
The Executive Council has prepared a Workbook which outlines the suggested procedures to be followed in each Diocese at the time of visitation for the purpose of gathering the program/budget data. The Workbooks will be sent to the Bishop of each Diocese for distribution a month before the scheduled visitation.
The Council expects to provide special material for those who may be unfamiliar with the way the Episcopal Church operates.
Each Diocese will determine the process by which additional data will be gathered in the Diocese from such groups as deaneries and parishes before making its response to Executive Council. Each Diocese is to send its collated data to the Council within 30 days after the meeting and not later than January 1, 1973.
During the winter of 1973, when all the data from the various Diocesan meetings has been received and collated, it will be used by the Executive Council to prepare its report and recommendations on program and budget for 1974 and 1975 to the General Convention. The Council will act on the report at its May, 1973 meeting.
When the Council has prepared its recommendations to General Convention, it will distribute the proposals to Bishops and Deputies to the Convention. The report will be interpreted at regional meetings in the spring and summer of 1973.
The final decision on program and budget and method of funding for 1974 and 1975 will be made by the General Convention in October, 1973.
The design committee which worked with Mr. Carr in planning the visitations was composed of: The Rev. Mr. Supin, Chairman; Matthew Costigan, Assistant Treasurer; the Rev. Everett Francis, Public Affairs Officer; Mrs. Hunter, and the Rev. Herbert A. Donovan, Jr., rector of St. Luke's Church, Montclair, N.J.
Mr. Carr said that the visitation program comes at a time when "the mood of the Church is better than it has been. Anxiety is not quite as high. I think the Church at large is waiting for a reasonable challenge and is ready to accept it."