64th General Convention to be in Louisville
Diocesan Press Service. September 29, 1971 [95-3]
GREENWICH, Conn. -- Acting with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, the Rt. Rev. John E. Hines, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, today changed the site of the denomination's triennial convention from Jacksonville, Fa., to Louisville, Ky.
Alternatives to the Jacksonville site became necessary, Bishop Hines told the Council, when the Convention's Agenda and Arrangements Committee reported facilities in the southern city to have "significant limitations which might obstruct General Convention at its hoped-for best. "
The question of the adequacy of the facilities became crucial when the format of the Convention changed. Originally a solely legislative meeting, the Convention has now been enlarged to maximize communicant participation in workshops and study groups by persons who are not voting delegates.
Concern today centered on two issues: 1) where could the Church meet to accomplish its purpose most effectively, and 2) what would it mean to Jacksonville, the Diocese of Florida and the Church if the convention site were changed.
Both Bishop Hines and Bishop Philip F. McNairy, Bishop of Minnesota and a member of the Executive Council, who reported for the Committee on Agenda and Arrangements, assured the Council that the decision in no way reflected on the Diocese of Florida.
Indeed, Bishop Hines said that Florida Bishop E. Hamilton West and his people had been "simply magnificent." The problem is not with Jacksonville, but that the General Convention format has changed since accepting Bishop West's invitation five years ago.
Bishop McNairy told the Council the committee had made a study of the educational facilities in and around Jacksonville, but none seemed suitable to the kind of Convention the Church is now having.
Difficulties included lack of consolidated hotel facilities, inadequate meeting places for the Convention's two legislative bodies, and inadequate transportation. The Very Rev. Robert R. Parks of Jacksonville, a member of the Council, told the Council that virtually everyone attending the Convention would have to drive his own car or rent one.
Once Jacksonville appeared ruled out, the Council turned its attention to Louisville. The issue here was not one of adequate facilities, but of financing.
Traditionally the host diocese shares Convention costs with the national Church on a 50-50 basis. The move today implies the expectation that Convention will vote to pay the entire cost since it will be a self-invited guest.
Cost estimates at present range from $50,000 to $150, 000 -- the latter amount having been set by a previous Convention as the maximum amount of the national Church's share.
Dean Parks assured the Council that even though contractual agreements had been entered into in Jacksonville, his diocese would suffer no financial obligations if the Council acted immediately.
The dates of the Louisville Convention are from September 26 to October 11, 1973.