Summary of Actions of the Executive Council
Episcopal News Service. February 25, 1982 [82048]
GREENWICH, Conn. (DPS, Feb. 15) -- The Executive Council of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church held its official annual meeting Feb. 17-19 at Seabury House here.
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 hack 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. Donald J. Parsons, Chairman
- Heard a presentation by representatives of the Board for Theological Education concerning its plan for a proposed resolution for General Convention, directing each congregation in the Church to give annually at least 1 percent of its net disposable budgeted income to one or more of the ten accredited seminaries.
- Approved the educational focus for the Church School Missionary Offering for 1983-1984 as Indians of the Americas and for 1984-1985 as Asia, with particular emphasis on Korea, and providing that the details of the offering's beneficiaries be determined later.
- Approved two new sections of the Equal Employment Policy and Affirmative Action Program as adopted at its November 1981 meeting on the topics Committees and Commissions and Other Church-Related Institutions.
- Approved a resolution requesting the General Convention to adopt an affirmative action plan similar to the Council's for the Convention's employees, committees and purchasing policy.
- Approved a resolution of appreciation for the life and work of Edward Rochie Hardy, Jr., Anglican scholar and fellow and dean of Jesus College, Cambridge University in England.
Matthew K. Chew, Chairman
- Postponed the adoption of the proposed 1983 General Church Program Budget until the April 19-21 meeting of Council so that the administrative group and chairmen of the standing committees can propose a revised budget that responds better to the needs of the poor and disadvantaged with special consideration given to items dealing with peace matters and to the government's cutback of programs, and requested the administrative group to make preliminary proposals at the April meeting of means of increasing revenue sources for the budget.
- Heard a report from Treasurer Matthew Costigan which indicated that total assets and the market value of trust funds declined in 1981; that in 1981 the excess income over expenditures amounted to almost $674,000; and that four dioceses overpaid their pledges, two met their quota after pledging a lesser amount, and that three dioceses were unable to pay their pledges; and heard that 81 of 95 dioceses have pledged $13,498,212 compared to an assigned apportionment of $13,860,000 for 1982.
- Elected eight laymen to its Committee on Trust Funds for a period of one year; amended the By-Laws, Article II, Section I, to expand the elected membership to 10; provided for the election of two additional members in April (to conform to the Council's affirmative action policy), and set up a rotation system for nine of the members, with the Executive Council member elected annually.
- Established a Tri-College Development Fund in the amount of $159,000 from Venture in Mission funds, the income from which will be used for the support of St. Augustine's, St. Paul's, and Voorhees Colleges.
- Established the Dorothy Dessau Trust Fund with approximately $102,500, with the income designated for the support of social service activities in Japan, particularly for the education of social workers in the Diocese of Kyoto and for the work of the Aoibashi Family Clinic.
- Established the Hugh E. Rosson Trust Fund in the amount of $22,000 in memory of his wife, Gladys B. Rosson, the income from which is to be used "wholly for the establishment of new foreign missions."
- Established three trust funds bearing the name John C. Braislin, the income from which is to be used for the general purposes of the Church ($12,900), for work among American Indians ($2,150), and for work among the people of Appalachia ($2,150).
Joseph L. Hargrove, Chairman
- Approved a resolution expressing its concern about the development, production and storage of chemical weapons.
- Asked Presiding Bishop John M. Allin to appoint a task group to investigate the promotional practices of domestic manufacturers of infant formula which may have an adverse effect on the health of infants, especially as it relates to Episcopal Church-supported hospitals and feeding projects.
- Urged the entire national Church structure to take appropriate actions to deal with its own institutional racism and asked its National Mission/Education for Mission and Ministry staffs to develop educational and programmatic material for parish and diocesan use on the issue of racism, and to report to the 1982 General Convention what has been done and planned to combat racism.
- Approved a grant of $15,000 per year for two years from the Vicent Astor Fund to the Diocese of Long Island for its Refugee Resettlement Program.
- Approved a grant of $35,000 per year for two years from the Vincent Astor Fund to the Diocese of Long Island for its Industrial Areas Mission Queens Project for the development of strategies and actions aimed at strengthening and revitalizing the quality of life in Queens' neighborhoods.
- Authorized the Committee on Social Responsibility in Investments to make written inquiries of corporations in which common stock is held by the Church concerning policy and practice with regard to charitable contributions.
- Authorized its Committee on Social Responsibility in Investments to make written inquiry of corporations in which the Church hold common stock concerning their policy and practice relative to the investment in and deposit of funds with minority and community-owned financial institutions.
- Endorsed a stockholder resolution asking the board of directors of Bristol Myers to endorse and implement the World Health Organization/UNICEF International Code of Marketing for Breastmilk Substitutes at all levels of the corporation's operations.
- Endorsed a stockholder resolution requesting Bristol Myers board of directors to insure that all proxies, ballots and voting tabulations that identify stockholders be kept secret until the final vote is tabulated, beginning with the 1983 annual meeting.
- Received as information a proposed resolution asking the board of directors of International Business Machines to provide employment data for 197781 including the total number of males and females and the numbers of racial minority males stated separately.
- Approved a stockholder resolution asking International Business Machines and its affiliates to terminate operations as soon as possible in South Africa unless that government commits itself to ending apartheid and takes significant steps toward achieving full rights for the majority population.
- Learned that its stockholder resolution approved in November to be filed with Dresser Industries calling for a full public disclosure of its practices and social impact on its business in South Africa missed the deadline for filing such resolutions and was therefore not considered at the annual meeting.
- Approved a resolution deploring the death of Neil Aggett following 70 days of solitary detention without charges by the South African police and extended its concern to others who are imprisoned without charges in that country.
- Learned that the position of staff officer for Native American affairs is vacant, with the resignation of Steven Charleston, and that a search is being conducted for his successor and eventually for a field officer to assist.
Mrs. Carter C. Chinnis, Chairman of Process and Funding Committee
- Received an up-to-date report on the Venture in Mission campaign which indicated that a grand total of $140,288,199, has been pledged or paid in diocesan campaigns, with $36.5 million of that amount specified for projects in the national case book; that $13.5 million has actually been received for these projects; and that $10.5 million has been disbursed for partial or full funding of 57 projects plus campaign expenses.
- Appropriated $2,863.48 which has been received from the Diocese of Guatemala for a project calling for the translation of printed materials into American Indian/Alaska Native languages.
- Appropriated $50,000 in designated funds for recruitment, education and deployment of black clergy.
- Appropriated $159,000.14 from designated funds for a Tri-College Development Fund with the income to be used in support of St. Augustine's, St. Paul's, and Voorhees Colleges.
- Approved the release of $5,000 in designated funds to the Diocese of Taiwan so that diocese may reduce its dependency on the General Church Program and Budget in 1983.
- Approved the granting of $78,671 from designated funds to the Frenchspeaking Anglican Province of Burundi, Rwanda and Zaire to establish training centers, as soon as a plan has been received.
The Rt. Rev. William H. Folwell, Chairman
- Approved a resolution which urges the United States government to press for negotiations between the parties in El Salvador, to withdraw all military support from that country, and urges Episcopalians to pray for peace in El Salvador, and to make their views known to their elected officials.
- Called for the investigation by appropriate bodies of charges that certain refugees entering this country have suffered exposure to toxic chemicals and biological substances, that U.S., United Nations and National Council of Churches officials be notified of its action, and that information about the health hazards of these toxins be make available to the public.
- Expressed its opposition to harassment and/or imprisonment of Church leaders -- including the Rev. Altinaldo Carlos, his 16-year-old-son Kenneth, Granville Garth, the Rev. Willie Allen, the Rev. and Mrs. Arthur Tripp, and five Roman Catholic missionaries -- and the continued violation of human rights in Nicaragua, and that the U.S. Department of State, the Ambassador from Nicaragua and the Diocese of Nicaragua be notified of the action.
- Expressed appreciation for the following Volunteers for Mission who have recently been appointed for one-year terms unless otherwise indicated: Miss Elizabeth C. Lee, Wyncote, Pa., Holy Trinity School, Diocese of Haiti; Miss Wendy Watson, St. Helena, Calif., to the Hogar de Amor y Esperanza, Diocese of Honduras; Miss Kathryn Williamson, Florence, S.C., to the Liceo San Pablo, Puerto Barrios, Diocese of Guatemala; Andrew Kline, Cheyenne,Wyo., seminary intern, Diocese of Central and South Mexico; the Rev. Brian Bailey, Diocese of California, to Jimi Valley Parish, Diocese of Aipo Rongo, Papua New Guinea; Miss Susan L. Broaddus, Virginia Beach, Va., secretary to the Bishop of Bukavu, Zaire; Wallace Palmer, Norwalk, Conn., extension of term as administrator of Project L.I.F.E. in Mariscos, Diocese of Guatemala; and Miss Sharon Taylor, Hempstead, N.Y., Friends Hospital, Tiriki, Kenya, for three months.
- Terminated the Companion Diocese relationship between the Diocese of South Carolina and the Diocese of Newfoundland and Labrador.
- Established a Companion Diocese relationship between the Diocese of Southwest Florida and the Diocese of Barbados.
- Accepted a report on a second Partners in Mission consultation in the Igreja Episcopal do Brasil.
- Accepted a preliminary report of the Partners in Mission consultation in the Church of the Province of Kenya, and heard an account of the meeting by Dr. Charles R. Lawrence, vice chairman of the Council.
- Accepted a report of the Partners in Mission consultation in the Episcopal Church of the Sudan, and heard an account of the meeting from the Rev. Denis O'Pray of Minneapolis.
- Sent greetings in Spanish to the Rt. Rev. Emilio Hernandez, Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Cuba.
- Voted to ask Bishop William Jones of Missouri, Assistant Bishop William Gordon of Michigan, Bishop Herbert Donovon of Arkansas, the Rev. David B. Birney of the Church Center staff, who are already scheduled to be participants, to represent the Council at the Partners in Mission consultation in Nigeria in July.
- Learned that the Rev. Samuel Van Culin, executive for World Mission in Church and Society at the Church Center, will represent the Episcopal Church at the Partners in Mission consultation in the Scottish Episcopal Church in May.
- Learned that the Rev. David Birney of the World Mission staff at the Church Center will represent the Church at the Partners in Mission consultation in the Church in the Province of the Indian Ocean in September.
- Heard that the Partners in Mission consultation in the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, scheduled for November, has been postponed indefinitely.
The Rt. Rev. Philip A. Smith, Chairman
- Approved a resolution opposing the sudden increase in second class postal rates for non-profit publications and requested Presiding Bishop John M. Allin to request the members of the Congress to restore a slower timetable of increases.
The Rt. Rev. John M. Allin
- Heard Presiding Bishop John M. Allin outline some of his hopes for "a comprehensive mission plan for immediate implementation and increasing development to respond and minister to the full range of needs/opportunities which can be accurately described as proper goals of Christian mission; and review five mission functions: Worship, Evangelism, Education, Pastoral Care, and Service.
- Heard a brief progress report on a film which is being produced under the direction of Alvin I. Cox and the Appelshop camera crew for presentation of the report of the Council to General Convention in September, and participated in filming of some of the Council sessions.
- Heard the Presiding Bishop introduce the members of the press who were present for some or all of the Council sessions.
The Rev. Canon James R. Gundrum
- Received and referred as appropriate a number of communications received by the secretary of Council, the Rev. Canon James R. Gundrum, and received from him a report on his correspondence following the November Council meeting.
- Received from the Executive Officer of General Convention, the Rev. Canon James R. Gundrum, a digest of the recent minutes of six interim bodies of the Convention.
- Heard plans for a dinner on April 20 in honor of the Council members of the class of 1982 whose terms expire at the close of General Convention in September.