The 167th annual convention of the Diocese of Tennessee met Jan. 29-30 at St. George's Church, Nashville, one week after a tornado destroyed Trinity Church, Clarksville [TLC, Feb. 14], the third church in the diocese destroyed by a tornado in the last 10 months.

The convention approved resolutions to affirm companion parish relationships with the companion Diocese of Litoral (Ecuador) and in support of the University of the South, Sewanee. Preaching at the opening service, the Rt. Rev. Alfredo Morante, Bishop of Litoral, challenged delegates to make disciples and to witness to the "mysterious miracle of the saving grace of Jesus Christ."

In his convention address, the Rt. Rev. Bertram Nelson Herlong challenged the diocese to follow the example of the Diocese of Texas in becoming a "community of miraculous expectation," one church with 47 missionary outposts. Noting that current capital projects in the diocese total more than $23 million, Bishop Herlong offered the diocese a number of major goals, including growth from 14,000 members to 40,000 members, the planting of seven new churches, and connecting a professionally trained youth worker to each of the congregations by 2006.

He went on to challenge Tennessee Episcopalians to "discover that we are not consumers in our church, but the owners," not in business for comfort and security, but for the unchurched - those who do not know the love of Jesus Christ.

The convention approved a "10 percent solution" for diocesan funding in which each congregation will pledge 10 percent of its annual income to the work of the diocese, and the convention approved a 1999 program budget of $1.27 million.

(The Rev. Canon) Robert Dedmon