Episcopal Press and News

Summary of Actions of Executive Council

Episcopal News Service. February 22, 1979 [79039]

Greenwich, Conn. -- The 41-member Executive Council of the Episcopal Church met here for its annual meeting, February 14-15, and transacted the following business:

• Asked its secretary to express appreciation to the following resigned missionaries and their families: Bishop C. Shannon Mallory of Botswana, as he becomes an assistant bishop of the Diocese of Long Island; the Rev. George H.J. Woodard of the Dominican Republic, as he becomes rector of St. Stephen and the Incarnation Church in Washington, D. C.; and the Rev. Miguel Garcia of Panama and the Canal Zone, as he goes to a mission post in the Diocese of San Joaquin.
• Asked its secretary to convey the Council's pledge of support to two recently appointed missionaries: The Rev. Richard A. Menees to the Diocese of Bukavu, Zaire, as Diocesan Secretary and Tutor; and Mr. Kershaw Burbank to the Diocese of Mt. Kenya East, as Development Secretary.
• Approved the "Companion Diocese Handbook 1979" for official use in all such relations.
• Approved a Companion Diocese Relationship between the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon and the Anglican Diocese of Northeastern Brazil of the Igreja Episcopal do Brasil, to be in effect until February, 1982.
• Received as information a report prepared by the Rev. William A. Norgren, Assistant Ecumenical Officer, on the recent meeting of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches in Jamaica.
• Received with gratitude the report from the National Ecumenical Consultation at Detroit last fall and referred recommendations as appropriate to standing committees for study and eventual implementation by Council.
• Approved an emergency grant of $27,862.65 to the Diocese of Costa Rica for their immediate financial needs, the appropriation to be taken from the reserve for contingencies account.
• Approved an interest-free loan in the amount of $262,000 to the Diocese of Costa Rica, to be repaid by Dec. 31, 1979, from the anticipated proceeds from the sale of the Hotel Puerto in Limon, Costa Rica, with the loan to be protected from the Johnson Trust Fund, or if the sale proceeds are insufficient, the loan to be refinanced from the loan fund of the Church.
• Adopted a resolution re-instating the provision of field audits where local audits are impractical or too expensive for all aided dioceses, said audits to be conducted at least every two years with a report to the bishop and council of the diocese and to the appropriate standing committee of Council.
• Received and pledged support of the Covenant in preparation for autonomy between the Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Church of Liberia.
• Invited all dioceses seeking autonomy to participate in negotiations with the Episcopal Church "for the purpose of drafting a covenant agreement for presentation to the appropriate governing bodies for action."
• Received as information a report on the work of the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief, especially information on its refugee resettlement concerns and activities, a planned film for fund raising and education, a benefit concert by folk singer John Denver under the sponsorship of the Hunger Task Force at General Convention in Denver this fall, and the announcement of regular grants for a total of $231,616 and two grants from the Rochester Gift for a total of $155,058.
• Heard committee chairman Bishop George Masuda of North Dakota report that talks were underway to enhance relations between U.S. parishes of the Mar Thoma and Philippine Independent Churches -- two members of the Wider Episcopal Fellowship.
• Heard the committee chairman report that the National and World Mission Committee had met with the Church in Society Committee concerning the National Mission Consultation which will be held April 1-3 in Denver.

• Approved for use in the Episcopal Church the St. George Award to recognize outstanding service by adults in the Scouting program.
• Expressed appreciation to the Rev. A. Wayne Schwab, Evangelism Officer, and his colleagues for their work in Church Growth, evangelism and renewal.
• Asked the secretary to convey the Council's appreciation to the staff of the Christian education office and Jane Hargate for their contributions to the AWARE Notebook, and recommended that congregations continue to use this resource.
• Heard the Education for Ministry Committee report that it was not offering a recommendation for the funding of a World Council of Churches International Conference on Faith, Science and the Future, which is scheduled for this spring.
• Approved a resolution asking for the continuation of the relationship between the Office of Lay Ministries and the National Institute for Lay Training but with the provision that no funding for NILT be included at this time.
• Approved a resolution expressing the Council's interest in the quality of the new Church's Teaching Series; providing that the final manuscript of each of the seven volumes be reviewed and approved by the Series committee; and stipulating that no volume be published without the simultaneous release of its Use Guide for congregations.
• Approved a resolution which asks chairmen of the Council's standing committee to give "careful consideration" to restoring $102,000 in the 1980 budget proposal for the three predominantly black colleges (St. Augustine's, Voorhees, and St. Paul's) and calling for a report at the Council's April 19-21 meeting when the triennial proposal to General Convention will be approved.

• Received as information the list of appointments by the Rt. Rev. John M. Allin, Presiding Bishop, to the following committees and commissions: Episcopal Asiamerica Ministry Commission, Coalition for Human Needs, Executive Council Housing Organization, National Commission on Hispanic Ministries, National Committee on Hunger, National Committee on Indian Work, Episcopal Commission for Black Ministries, and National Commission on Social and Specialized Ministries; and elected the Presiding Bishop's nominees to the Social Responsibility in Investments Committee.
• Endorsed a resolution on "War and Violence" which was approved by the Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops last summer, and commended it to every Episcopalian.
• Endorsed a resolution on "Human Rights" which was adopted by the Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops last summer, and commended the paper to every Episcopalian.
• Received as information the annual report of the National Commission on Hispanic Ministries, which included a list of its objectives, of all grants made in 1978, the text of its testimony at the hearing of the Urban Bishops' Coalition, a progress report on the translation of the Prayer Book into Spanish, and a summary of the third national consultation on Hispanic work.
• Asked the treasurer, by a 19-9 margin, to vote the Church's stockholder shares in Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company, asking that bank not to "make or renew any loan guarantees or credit to the present Chilean government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities until the Chilean government restores full participation in the democratic process for all Chileans."
• Adopted a resolution asking the treasurer to vote the Church's shares in Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company in favor of a stockholder resolution which asks the bank to disclose its policy on mortgage and home improvement loans (redlining).
• Approved a resolution that the treasurer to be authorized to vote the Church's shares in the Columbia Broadcasting System in favor of a stockholder resolution which requests that corporation to provide certain information on its equal opportunity employment practices at its national headquarters.
• Adopted a resolution which asks that every program and policy at the Church's local, diocesan, and national levels bear in mind its effect on family life, and that each diocese be urged to establish a Family Life Commission.
• Received as information the text of a resolution prepared for General Convention, calling for legislation and regulations at the local, state, and national levels, requiring a Family Impact Analysis which would effect family life; asking Episcopalians to support such legislation; and suggesting education programs to assist Episcopalians to understand the effect of such programs on family life.
• Voted to join secular groups in observing the first week in May as Senior Citizens' Week, and that Sunday, May 6, 1979, be designated as "Episcopal Society for Ministry on Aging Sunday."
• Heard its Committee on Church in Society report that representatives of Appalachian People's Service Organization, Coalition for Human Needs, St. Augustine's College, Voorhees College, and St. Paul's College and presented to them their program and budget needs for the 1980-1982 triennium.
• Heard the Church in Society Committee report that it had decided not to endorse a National Council of Churches resolution or introduce one of its own concerning the Nestle boycott; and that it had decided to postpone the consideration of possible resolutions on South Africa and Vieques.
• Approved a resolution asking the secretary to write a letter to thank the warden, vestry and rector of St. Luke's Church, Wheeling, W. Va., for their letter in which they expressed their opposition to a resolution by the Diocese of West Virginia Council on the Equal Rights Amendment.
• Heard the committee report that its new name will be "National Mission in Church and Society Committee."
• Heard the Committee on Church in Society report that under the Coalition for Human Needs item in the program/budget, it is dropping the words "Grants and" so that that line reads simply "Program Development."
• Heard a report on the 1979 Lenten Hunger Program by the Rev. Charles Cesaretti, Staff Officer for Hunger, in which he outlined the range of resources produced collaboratively by Church Center staff, and on plans for an emphasis on hunger needs which will be presented to General Convention in September.

• Heard Treasurer Matthew Costigan report that the Church ended 1978 with a balance of $179,511.06 on its $14,410,000 budget; that 79 of 93 U.S. dioceses met or surpassed their quota in 1978; and that for 1979, 76 U.S. dioceses are expected to meet or exceed their quotas.
• Adopted a resolution requesting dioceses and congregations of the Church to commemorate Martin Luther King's January 15 birthday, as the Episcopal Church Center does, "as a witness to his life's work, philosophy, and dreams."
• Elected as assistant secretaries Nancy Marvel and Clare Fisher.
• Approved a resolution which provides that Council authorization of stockholder resolution "shall not extend beyond the next meeting of General Convention."
• Heard from a special committee, chaired by Bishop Philip Smith of New Hampshire, on a proposed presentation plan for the 1980-1982 General Church Program.
• Received the preliminary General Church Program Budget for 1980-1982 -- set at $15,145,000 for 1980 -- which will be approved in April for presentation to General Convention in September.

• Approved a resolution by which the Church forgives the contingent receivable from advances made to Seabury Press in the amount of $1,163,442, the effective date of which is to be when the publishing services of the Press and the Church Hymnal Corporation are consolidated during 1979; and which requires the Press upon such consolidation to amend its Articles of Association so that its assets shall be paid to the Church Pension Fund in the event of the Press' dissolution or liquidation.

• Heard a progress report on the Venture in Mission program and campaign; previewed a new film, "Venture"; and approved a list of Mission Opportunities for funding consideration and agreed not to approve other proposals.
• Heard a report from the Stewardship/Development Committee which announced planned workshops, the publication of a Manual for Stewardship Programming in Smaller Congregations, and an anticipated statement to General Convention on stewardship and Christian giving.
• Sent best wishes to the Rev. Henry Free, Stewardship Officer at the Episcopal Church Center, who is recovering from eye surgery.

• Heard the Rt. Rev. John M. Allin, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church and President of the Council, speak on some of his impressions and projections with regard to the Episcopal Church's mission.

• Heard the Rev. James R. Gundrum, Executive Officer of General Convention, report on preparations and plans for the triennial meeting of that legislative body in Denver, Colo., September 8-20.
• Heard the Rev. James R. Gundrum, Secretary of Executive Council, refer various communications to appropriate standing committees.
• Heard the Rev. James R. Gundrum, Secretary of Executive Council, remind the members that its fall meeting will be Saturday, September 8, in Denver, Colo., at 9:00 a.m., at a place to be announced.