Convention Emphasis on Education Continues, Scope Widens
Episcopal News Service. July 19, 2000 [GC2000-094]
Joe Thoma, Director of Communications for the Diocese of Central Florida
(ENS) The Episcopal Church continued its tradition of placing a premium on education as the 73rd General Convention adopted nearly 20 resolutions that promote learning. Much of the instruction called for should help address the church's social-justice concerns.
Adopting legislation that calls for anti-racism training on the diocesan level will increase church workers' sensitivity to one of America's most persistent ills, said bishops and deputies who pushed the resolution (B049). Although many dioceses and church groups already understand the need to address racism, educational programs are irregular and sometimes fail to reach those who most need the training, said Bishop Chet Talton (Los Angeles). That diocese's anti-racism efforts have tended to attract people who are already committed to a "culture of diversity," but other members of the diocese might not share that commitment, Talton said.
The new rule sets September 1 as the starting date for the training; authorizes the Executive Council and the church's provinces and dioceses to select "appropriate programs" for the training; and directs the provinces, dioceses, and each national committee, commission, agency and board to maintain a register of trainers and people who have undergone the antiracism training.
Bishop Calvin Schofield of Southeast Florida said he favors the training as well as the requirement that it be documented. In South Florida, anti-racism training has been productive, and record keeping has helped his churches and other dioceses find resources, including qualified trainers, he said.
The convention also expressed support for theological education for Native Americans throughout North America by funding the Indigenous Theological Training Institute (ITTI). The $375,000 funding will help bring ITTI programs to more dioceses that have Native American populations.
Theological education for indigenous people has been less than successful, Bishop Mark MacDonald (Alaska) said in presenting the resolution. General Convention in the 1960s declared the lack of ordained Native American ministers "a crisis," and the number of native people ordained has declined steadily since then, Macdonald told the bishops.
Local training programs often lack the funding and support they need, and most national programs are inaccessible, he said. Aspirants and seekers can spend decades pursuing a patchwork of courses and barely related programs, he said.
A traditional brick-and-mortar school isn't the answer, he said. An indigenous training institute must be sustainable, and needs to draw on far-flung strategic partnerships with other dioceses. "We wanted something that could be operated out of a laptop," MacDonald said.
The Episcopal Council of Indian Ministries started the ITTI in 1996 to provide culturally sensitive leadership training for laity and clergy. Its first board of trustees included Bishop Steven Charleston, now dean of Episcopal Divinity School, in Massachusetts who proposed the increased funding. "ITTI's effect on Native American communities is enormous," Charleston said. Bishop Charles Duvall (Central Gulf Coast) also spoke in favor of the funding, saying that his diocese has started some of the ITTI's programs.
The ITTI also hopes to provide greater advocacy for raising up indigenous people from places where they have a small presence and might suffer from "cultural misunderstanding," MacDonald said.
Resolution C038 called for an increase in church funding for St. Augustine's College in Raleigh, N.C., St. Paul's College in Lawrenceville, Virginia., and Voorhees College in Denmark, South Carolina. The funding would increase to $1.2 million from $950,000 for each year of the 2001-2003 triennium.
Bishop Frank Turner (Pennsylvania) said he was "delighted" with the funding for the three black colleges. Another resolution (D002) would have funded a program at St. Paul's and Voorhees that helps single mothers pursue bachelor's degrees full time. Resolution D002 had asked for $450,000 for the program, called Project SMARTS, for Single Mothers Achieving Re-education & Training for Self-sufficiency. That specific funding wasn't approved, but the convention instead increased the funding for Resolution C038 by $450,000, to $4.05 million from the $3.6 million requested.
The Committee on Education's end-of-life task force and its publication, Faithful Living, Faithful Dying: Anglican Perspectives on Care at the End-of-Life, garnered praise with the convention's adoption of Resolution A077. That legislation calls on the church to urge every diocese, congregation, seminary and clergy to study the theological and ethical issues that arise near the end of life, and recommends that study programs consider using Faithful Living, Faithful Dying for that purpose.
Church groups and individuals also should make themselves aware of issues surrounding the death penalty, according to Resolution A083. That resolution continues the Episcopal Church's opposition to the death penalty, and urges parishes and dioceses to study capital punishment as well as the reasoning for the church's stance.
The resolution says the death penalty is unequally applied to minorities, the poor and those who can't afford adequate legal representation. It also condemns the death penalty for contributing to continued violence and for violating Christians' baptismal covenant.
Although many dioceses include private Episcopal schools, the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies voted to oppose private school vouchers in Resolution B036. Vouchers allow parents who wish to send their children to private schools to get full or partial refunds on money they have already paid in public school taxes.
Proponents of the vouchers said they help lower-income families acquire quality education for their children while giving under-performing public schools an incentive to improve. Opponents argued, however, that vouchers waste public money and drain the brightest students from hurting schools.
Vouchers contribute to "white flight from inner cities," said Bishop Herbert Thompson Jr. (Southern Ohio). Instead, he said, the church should "call our people back to the cities." Bishop Frederick Putnam (retired, Minnesota) said school vouchers harm public education by contributing to lower teacher salaries, "instead of getting teachers into where they're needed."
Bishop Edward Salmon (South Carolina) also supported the resolution, but pointed out an irony in its spirit: "Many of our churches have private schools." Bishop William Wantland (retired, Eau Claire) supported the resolution, but said vouchers "could be a wake-up call" for public education.
Sex and money also became educational issues at the 73rd General Convention.
Resolution A050 calls for continued AIDS prevention education in the Episcopal Church. It will provide further provincial training in the use of materials developed collaboratively by the appropriate bodies of this church for the prevention of AIDS among teens. It also states that the ministry of prevention should be expanded to young adults through development or adaptation of existing resources, to include emphasis on abstinence as well as on proven harm and risk reduction strategies.
Resolution A001 urges that "all dioceses accept the challenge affirmed in the 1998 Lambeth Resolution to fund international development programs, recognized by Provinces [Anglican], at a level of at least 0.7% of annual total diocesan income." The resolution directs dioceses to cooperate with other people of faith in programs of education and advocacy to help raise public awareness of vital economic issues impacting the poor.
- calls on dioceses to continue work on standards for continuing education for all clergy and lay professionals, and to submit plans to the Standing Commission on Ministry Development (A074);
- requests the Young People's Ministry Cluster to develop and disseminate a curriculum for all age groups that will provide congregations with content consonant with the vision and goals found in the document "called to Teach and Learn" (B015);
- urges every congregation to offer programs of Bible Study for adults and youth (D057);
- adopts the "National Council of Churches Policy Statement on Disabilities, the Body of Christ, and the Wholeness of Society" and urges every diocese to study this document and to implement it (C030);
- authorizes the Executive Council's Working Group on Science, Technology and Faith to develop study materials that examine "critical issues in the dialogue about science and technology within the framework of Christian theology and ethics" (D011a);
- affirms the tradition of funding seminaries by the one-percent support formula. (D014).