Sixteen resolutions came before the council of the Diocese of Southern Virginia, which met in Petersburg Oct. 12.

Among the resolutions adopted were the following: Establish "Proclaim by Word and Example" as the diocesan theme for 1997, request the Standing Liturgical Commission to recommend to General Convention that Florence Nightingale be restored to the church calendar, and amend the diocesan constitution to provide for a single meeting of the council in February.

A resolution obligating the clergy to model the teaching of the church that all members are to abstain from sexual relations outside holy matrimony was defeated.

St. Matthew's Church, Chesterfield County, was received as an organized mission in union with council, and Good Samaritan, Virginia Beach, became a parish in union with council.