In her first convention address as Bishop of Nevada, the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori adopted a theme of mission and proposed five initiatives.

"Mission is when we recognize that what we do in the grocery store is as important as what we do in church," she noted.

Meeting Oct. 19-21 in Hendersonville, clergy and lay delegates approved four of the initiatives and referred the other to diocesan council for further study.

The diocese will now have three mission districts, similar to deaneries in other dioceses. Congregations in each will be expected to meet three or four times annually for "learning together, sharing resources, strategizing and increasing communication."

The diocese was divided into three areas: Northwest, Central and Northeastern, and Southern.

The bishop invited congregations to participate, and then "come back and tell how you understand mission and share concrete examples."

The other approved mission initiatives were: A review of the diocesan asking, currently at 25 percent of each congregation's income; a proposal to make available training in "appropriate behavioral boundaries" and in the prevention of racism; and a measure of support for the financial campaign "Share the Spirit" to raise funds for the diocesan camp.

The resolution referred to council was a proposal to designate 0.7 percent of diocesan revenue for international development. Delegates said they wanted more information on how that would impact an already tight diocesan budget.

The budget of $599,000 for 2002 projects a net surplus of $3,000 and was adopted before the proposal for funding international development was presented to the convention.

Two other resolutions were considered. A proposal to create a diocesan commission on Justice, Peace and Outreach Ministries was referred to diocesan council.

A resolution expressing support both for the call of Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold to "wage reconciliation" and for military men and women in uniform was also adopted.

Guest preacher at the opening Eucharist was the Rev. Michael J. Neils, Bishop of the Grand Canyon Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Recognizing the cultural diversity of the diocese, convention hymns were sung in English, Spanish, and Swahili. One service started with a Native American smudge ceremony.

Dick Snyder