Summary of Actions of the Executive Council
Episcopal News Service. November 20, 1980 [80412]
Greenwich, Conn. -- The Executive Council of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church held its regular meeting November 12-14 at Seabury House here, with two vacancies and one member absent.
The Council -- which sets policy and develops programs for the Church between the triennial meetings of the General Convention -- consists of 44 members: 24 elected by the Convention; 18 elected by the Church's nine internal provinces, and the Presiding Bishop, the Rt. Rev. John M. Allin, and the President of the House of Deputies, Dr. Charles R. Lawrence. The Rev. Canon James R. Gundrum is secretary.
Changes in the Church's laws in the fall of 1979 have doubled the number of provincial representatives -- provinces previously elected one each -- and pared back the representation elected directly by each Convention from 14 to 10.
Most resolutions for Council action come through six standing committees and occasionally a special committee or sub-committee.
The Council took the following actions:
The Rt. Rev. William H. Folwell of Central Florida, chairman
- Received an audio-visual presentation on missionaries and volunteers for mission and other aspects of the work of the World Mission office.
- Received a report on the Partners in Mission Consultation with the Church of the Province of South Africa and reaffirmed the Episcopal Church's commitment to that Church.
- Received a report on the Partners in Mission Consultation with the Church of the Province of West Africa and reaffirmed the Episcopal Church's commitment to that Church.
- Received a report on the Partners in Mission Consultation with the Church in the Province of the West Indies.
- Received a report on the August 14-22 meeting of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches in Geneva.
- Expressed appreciation to five new missionary appointees: The Rev. Richard Larom, Jr., and Margaret Smith Larom, both of Long Island, to the Church of the Province of Uganda; the Rev. Asa V. Butterfield of Oregon, to the Diocese of Panama; the Rev. James A. Creasy of Alabama, to the Church in Micronesia; and the Rev. Canon Maurice Martin Garrison of Long Island to the Diocese of Kumasi, Ghana, West Africa.
- Expressed appreciation to the Rev. John M. Cruse who has completed two years of service in the Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East as chaplain to the bishop; to the Rev. Jess J. Petty, Jr., who has completed a three-year assignment as dean of the Cathedral of St. Luke, Ancon, Diocese of Panama; and to Dr. Robert Hodgson and the Rev. Robert B. Hibbs who have finished a three-year tour of service at St. Andrew's Theological Seminary, Manila, the Philippines.
- Received "with enthusiasm" the reports of increasing numbers of Volunteers for Mission and commended that program to the attention of the Church.
- Learned of recent appointments to the Volunteers for Mission program: Wallace Palmer of Norwalk, Conn., to the Diocese of Guatemala; Elizabeth Louise Hake of Hartland, Wis., to the Diocese of Honduras; Jeffrey Hazel of New Orleans, to the Diocese of Honduras; William Ryan of Monroe, La., to the Diocese of Honduras; David C. Shanks of Buckville, Ark., to the Diocese of Liberia; the Rev. and Mrs. Gerald Schnackenberg of Denver, to the Diocese of Southern Malawi; and the Rev. and Mrs. John Wengrovius of Lakewood, Colo., to the Diocese of Southern Malawi.
- Learned that in the Volunteers for Mission program Gray Plunkett of Dunwoody, Ga., has extended his tour of duty for a period of one year in Haiti; and that the following have completed their overseas service: Elena Claudine Bennett of Rome, N. Y., in the Diocese of Taiwan; Bernard Jacobson of Fairbanks, Alaska, in Central Tanganyika; Mary Cantey Turner of New York, in Haiti; Scott Benhase of Loveland, Ohio, and John Hixon of Indianapolis, in Honduras; Edna Evans of Sewanee, Tenn., in the Diocese of Nakuru, Kenya; Martin Stull of Knob Nexter, Mo., in the Convocation of American Churches in Europe; and Anne Callan of Little Silver, N.J., in the Diocese of Gambia and the Rio Pongas.
- Renewed the companion diocese relationship between the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York and the Diocese of Belize of the Province of the Church of the West Indies.
- Renewed for three years the companion diocese relationship between the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas and the Diocese of Ibadan of the Church of the Province of Nigeria.
- Received a report on ecumenical commitment and the National Council of Churches purpose and the Episcopal Church's response.
- Adopted the proposed 1981 budget for the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief in the amount of an estimated income of $3,080,000 with an additional $955,000 from the U.S. government for refugee resettlement work.
- Commended the U.S. Congress for approving migration and refugee legislation, urged continued careful administration of the program, and the continuation of the State Department's administration of the reception and placement grants of voluntary resettlement agencies, such as the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief.
- Reaffirmed its support of a National Consultation on Ecumenism in the Local Church, Nov. 8-11, 1981, and requested Presiding Bishop John M. Allin, in consultation with the Council's World Mission committee chairman, to appoint five Council members to participate.
- Voted to ask the government of the U.S. S. R., through its embassy in Washington, for information about the conviction and internal exile imposed on Father Gleb Yakunin in the Soviet Union.
- Urged immediate acceptance by the United States of Cambodians who are being held in refugee camps and holding centers in Thailand, under the same terms and quotas which have been established for other Indochinese refugees.
- Joseph L. Hargrove of Shreveport, La., chairman
- Designated income from the Julia A. Gallaher trust fund for operational support of the Washington Office.
- Instructed the National Hunger Committee and the Social Responsibility in Investments panel to investigate marketing practices of infant formula manufacturers, such as Nestles, S.A., which deal in the Third World.
- Reaffirmed the use of Church resources to address housing inadequacies.
- Reaffirmed its commitment to the observance of the Year of the Disabled Person and urged education and removal of physical and discriminatory barriers in Church institutions.
- Directed staff and the National Missions Committee to assist the Diocese of North Dakota in acquiring funds for a Native American Alcoholism program.
- Gave thanks for the House of Bishops 1980 Pastoral Letter addressing "the emergence of aggressive religious partisanship in the political arena."
- Urged that export controls be extended and clarified to eliminate trade that may contribute to terrorism, nuclear proliferation or negation of human rights.
- Declined to join the Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights while directing staff to prepare resources to help dioceses implement the General Convention resolution on abortion.
- Authorized support for a resolution asking Standard Oil of Indiana to disclose its actions with regard to Equal Employment Opportunity codes.
- Declared the Sullivan principles inadequate goals for "corporate participation in efforts to induce change in South Africa. "
- Authorized participation in actions with a dozen firms engaged in trade with the Soviet Union, asking the corporations not to sell or lease any material that might be used by that government to further the violation of human rights.
- Re-authorized resolutions with Dresser Industries, International Business Machines Corp., and U. S. Steel, dealing with trade and policy in their South African affiliates.
- Supported a resolution asking Mobil Oil Corp. to monitor and limit its South African operations to those which do not benefit police or military action.
- Matthew K. Chew of Scottsdale, Ariz., chairman
- Gave tentative approval to the 1981 General Church Program in the amount of $17,126,000.
- Authorized establishment of the following trust funds:
- Brinkley S. Snowden Memorial Fund (Collierville, Tenn.), income for overseas work, especially India.
- Donald H. Bell Memorial, gift of Mrs. Margaret L. Willard, Eustis, Fla., for Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief.
- Donald H. Bell Memorial for use of the United Thank Offering.
- Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief Endowment Fund to receive legacies for the work of the Fund.
- Diocese of El Salvador Endowment for the Episcopate, income for use in the diocese from Venture in Mission.
- Grace L. Phillips Fund, Olympia, Wash., for the use of the Presiding Bishop's Fund.
- Kathryn Vere Flores World Relief Fund, gift of Charles Flores, Daytona Beach, for world relief.
- Revised the Lay Employees Retirement Plan to take advantage of benefits suggested by U.S. Employees Retirement Income Security Act.
- Received the report of the Council's treasurer showing a "greatly improved" income level.
- Heard that a new telephone system will be operational at the Episcopal Church Center in New York City on April 20, 1981, and that there is no progress to report on the proposed sale of Seabury House.
Mrs. Pamela Chinnis, chairman
- Heard a report by Robert F. Gaines of Sacramento, Calif., for the Venture in Mission Process and Funding Committee, in which he reported that Venture pledges now total $108 million, with $38 million identified for national projects, $49 million for diocesan opportunities and $20 million for local work. (See DPS #80415.)
- Voted to release the following funds which have been designated for specific projects and to approve the continued release of additional amounts earmarked for those projects when such funds are received:
- $77,374 from the Diocese of West Texas, designated for education in Hispanic ministries, to the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Tex.
- $18,729.35 from the Diocese of Florida, designated for a family enrichment project of the Episcopal Church Home in the Diocese of South Carolina.
- $35,000 from New York's Trinity Parish, designated for the South Mt. Vernon Team Ministry in the Diocese of New York.
- $27,872 from the Diocese of Newark for the Newark Episcopal Cooperative for Ministry and Mission.
- $15,000 from the Diocese of San Joaquin for the expansion of the Council's General Loan Fund.
- $10,000 from various sources for the Age in Action Program of the Episcopal Society for the Aging.
- $18,482.36 from the Diocese of Virginia for the Diocese of Southern Philippines Development Fund.
- $20,033.33 from the Diocese of Virginia to provide lectures through the Bishop Williams Memorial Fund of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai (Japan).
- $3,136.16 from the Diocese of South Carolina for the translation of the New Testament into Choroti in Argentina.
- $95,570.75 for the Cuttington University College Development Fund, to be held in a contingency account until a decision is made by the Bishop of Liberia, the executive for World Mission in Church and Society, and the treasurer of the Council to release the money for development work at the institution.
- $5,520.75 from the Diocese of Lexington for the El Salvador self-support fund, to be released as conditions in that country permit.
- $20,000 from the diocese of Southwest Florida for emergency relief and resettlement in Somalia, East Africa.
- $100,000 from the Diocese of Southwest Florida for the reserve fund of the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief, designated for hunger relief projects of overseas dioceses, including Tanzania, Haiti, Ecuador and the Philippines.
- The Rt. Rev. John M. Allin
- Heard Bishop Allin introduce the Rev. Edward Geyer whom he has appointed Executive Assistant to the Presiding Bishop, effective Dec. 1, and designate him a canon.
- Authorized Bishop Allin to appoint an ad hoc committee on affirmative action, to implement a resolution of General Convention in 1979, with Harry Griffith of Winter Park, Fla., chairman. (See DPS #80417 for a release on the subject.)
Heard Bishop Allin give an update report on the long-range planning process which was called for by General Convention in 1979. (See DPS #80416.)
- Joseph L. Hargrove, Shreveport, La., chairman
- Elected the Rev. Canon Edward W. Rodman, Boston, and the Rev. Barbara 1. Schlachter, White Plains, N. Y., to serve as presbyter-members of the Council until the 1982 General Convention, replacing Bishops Maurice M. Benitez of Texas and Herbert A. Donovan, Jr., Coadjutor of Arkansas, following their resignations after their election to the episcopate.
- The Rt. Rev. Philip A. Smith of New Hampshire, chairman
- Re-elected the following Seabury Press trustees to the class of 1983: the Rev. George W. Brandt, Jr., John P. R. Budlong, the Rev. Canon Charles M. Guilbert, the Rev. Henry B. Mitchell, and Manning M. Patillo, Jr.; and elected the following as trustees to fill vacancies: Avery Brooke (1983), Allan Caldwell (1982), Jane Darrah Evans Claflin (1982), James Dorr Dunning (1982), Paul V. Grambsch (1981) and the Rt. Rev. B. Sidney Sanders (1981).
- Robert M. Ayres, Jr., Sewanee, Tenn., chairman
- Heard a report on the continuing work of the stewardship office at the Episcopal Church Center and learned that six sermons on stewardship will soon be available as resource material.
- The Rev. Canon James R. Gundrum, Secretary of Executive Council/Executive Officer of General Convention
- Adopted a resolution of appreciation for the work and ministry of the Rev. William Boyce Gray, communication director of Trinity Parish in New York City, who died on Nov. 4.
- Approved a resolution of appreciation for the life and ministry of Mrs. Harper Sibley, former member of the Council and a leader in ecumenical activities, who died on June 10.
- Received as information the minutes of a number of interim bodies of the General Convention.
- The Rt. Rev. Donald J. Parsons of Quincy, chairman
- Designated the church and the city as the focus of the Advent 1981 to Advent 1982 Church School Missionary Offering, asked the Christian education office at the Episcopal Church Center to oversee the development of an educational program on the theme, and designated the contributed funds for church-sponsored projects which address the needs of the family in urban areas.
- Approved a grant of $10,000 from the Constable Fund to the Board for Theological Education to assist in the implementation of a General Convention resolution calling for a study of the financial needs and educational resources in theological education and the Church's seminaries.
- Approved a Council policy to continue to provide non-alcoholic beverages when alcoholic beverages are made available for Council members or Council-related committees, in keeping with a 1979 resolution by General Convention.
- Approved a grant of $1,500 from the Constable Fund to the Council for the Development of Ministry for the preparation of a manuscript entitled "The Servant Church."
- Received for information a report entitled "Committee Tackles Problems of Youth Alienation."
- Sent congratulations and gratitude to Mrs. Betty Thomas Baker of Lake Quivera, Kans., and Mrs. Martha Abbot Comstock of Northwood, N.H., who have been chosen presiding officer and assistant presiding officer, respectively, of the Triennial Meeting of the Women of the Episcopal Church.