In an unprecedented move, the executive council of the Diocese of Upper South Carolina decided to shorten the annual diocesan convention Feb. 4-5 from two days to one day to support the NAACP boycott against the South Carolina tourism industry. The intent of the boycott is to put pressure on the state legislature to remove the Confederate battle flag from flying on the top of the statehouse.

The diocese passed resolutions in 1994 and 1997 asking for the removal of the flag to a more appropriate and less offensive place.

As a result of the decision to shorten the convention, a suggestion was made to ask the Adam's Mark Hotel, Columbia, which was originally scheduled to house the convention, to use the diocese's nonrefundable $20,000 down payment to help feed the poor.

James Gibson, the Adam's Mark Hotel general manager, agreed to the suggestion and offered also to use the funds from all other groups who canceled because of the boycott to feed the needy. The Adam's Mark will provide box lunches to be distributed to the poor over several months' time.

Mr. Gibson said the agreement to use the fees to feed the poor was not related to the national church's decision to cancel plans to use the Adam's Mark in Denver as a site for some of the meetings for the General Convention in July, because of an alleged racial discrimination suit brought against the chain by the U.S. Justice Department.

Diocesan treasurer Art Bjontegaard presented a $2.4 million budget for approval of convention, in spite of cutting a number of programs and eliminating two diocesan staff positions due to an unexpected rate increase in hospitalization insurance. Convention approved the budget.

The Rt. Rev. Edward L. Salmon, Bishop of South Carolina, was a guest of the convention. Also present was the Rt. Rev. David Donges, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, who was the guest preacher at the Eucharist.