Episcopal Church's House of Bishops to Meet in Maine
Diocesan Press Service. August 4, 1975 [75268]
PORTLAND, Me. -- The House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church will hold its 1975 meeting here, September 19 -26. The week-long sessions will be at the Red Coach Grille/Convention Center on Riverside Street, at exit 8 of the Maine Turnpike.
Approximately 175 bishops of the Episcopal Church, from the 93 domestic and 20 overseas dioceses, are expected to be in attendance. There are about 225 members of the House of Bishops.
It is expected that several issues will call for major discussion. Some of the issues which will come before the bishops, and their tentatively proposed schedule for report and debate, are: Prayer Book revision, Saturday morning, Sept. 20; matters relating to the ordination of women to the priesthood and the board of inquiry issue, Monday morning, Sept. 22; overview of the 1976 General Convention, and the Theology Committee, Wednesday morning, Sept. 24; Committee on Ministry, Thursday morning, Sept. 25; and Ecumenical Committee, including matters relating to "cross-ordination" in certain community situations where it seems warranted, the time for presentation to be set.
There will also be time set aside for discussion in small sections. This agenda is tentative, subject to change in recommendation by the committee prior to the meeting and by the House through amendment when presented at the opening session, at 7 p.m., Sept. 19.
The House of Bishops is one of the two houses which form the General Convention, the bicameral legislature governing the Episcopal Church. The other body, the 912- member House of Deputies, composed of an equal number of clerical and lay representatives, normally meets every three years at General Convention in conjunction with the House of Bishops to enact legislation, to approve church programs, and to adopt a budget for the next triennial period.
The House of Bishops meets oftener than the House of Deputies, usually once a year, and when meeting alone limits itself to matters of general concern affecting the state of the church and its effectiveness in meeting the needs of contemporary society. It does not have legislative power alone to initiate programs or amend programs approved by the General Convention.
The Executive Council of the Episcopal Church, which usually meets quarterly, is assigned by the canons of the church, the duty of carrying out the program and policies adopted by the Convention, and between sessions of Convention, it may initiate and develop such new work as it may deem necessary. The next meeting of the 41-member Council is September 16- 18, 1975, at Seabury House, Greenwich, Conn. The next meeting of the General Convention will be at Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn., September 11-23, 1976.
The Rt. Rev. John M. Allin, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, is president of the House of Bishops. The Bishop of Long Island, the Rt. Rev. Jonathan G. Sherman, is vice president, and the Rt. Rev. Scott Field Bailey, Suffragan Bishop of the Diocese of Texas, is secretary. Host bishop for the meeting is the Rt. Rev. Frederick B. Wolf of the Diocese of Maine.