May 18, 2009
By Mary Frances Schjonberg

The 76th General Convention this July will be asked in various ways to continue the Episcopal Church's mission of living out the baptismal covenant vow to "strive for justice and peace."

Already-filed resolutions, most contained in the triennial reports of the church's commissions, committees, agencies and boards, address social justice issues and echo the baptismal promise to "respect the dignity of every human being."

Leading the list of new domestic initiatives to be considered at the convention in Anaheim, California, is one from the Executive Council's Jubilee Advisory Committee to establish a program to alleviate domestic poverty.

Arising from Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori's May 2008 summit on domestic poverty, the resolution focuses on the poorest counties in the United States that encompass federal reservations for Native Americans.

It calls on the church to develop programs with measurable goals for advocacy to federal, state and local governments to reduce poverty in these counties and to "build capacity and sustainable communities through development initiatives, working with local dioceses and tribal governments."

The resolution calls for convention to commit a minimum of $400,000 to the effort.

A related resolution would increase by 15 percent the 2007-2009 triennial budget of the four so-called "aided dioceses" of Alaska, Navajoland Area Mission, North Dakota and South Dakota for ministry with native people. It also would give the church's Office of Native Ministries a 20 percent budget increase.

The church's Standing Commission on National Concerns also suggests that new members of commissions, committees, agencies and boards (all of which are reappointed each triennium) study the relationship between the Episcopal Church and native people of the United States. "We recognize that there are painful aspects of that history – such as the Episcopal residential schools – that we are called to understand," the commission said in the conclusion of its report on its 2007-2009 work. "We imagine such research and exploration leading us to deeper knowledge of our past and our relationship together as brothers and sisters in Christ and members of God's household today."

Another National Concerns resolution calls for an "economic justice ministry for and with lower-income people." The resolution envisions ministry ranging from "the traditional acts of mercy" such as working in soup kitchens to fostering in congregations what it calls a "relational culture" with "the disenfranchised in their community – knowing people by their names and forming local partnership with agencies that work with people of little income or few financial resources." Those efforts would go hand-in-hand with increased advocacy, empowerment and community-development work.

"Our economy has not been kind to working people and lower-income people," the commission says in the resolution's explanation. "Changes in the world economy are literally changing the way we do business … We find ourselves mired in a financial crisis that includes both decreases in income and increases in prices, putting the squeeze on many Americans."

The Diocese of Los Angeles, the host of the convention, and the Diocese of Michigan have proposed similar resolutions.

Expanding church's work Many proposals that deputies and bishops will consider ask them to continue or expand work already underway in the Episcopal Church.

A prime example is a series of resolutions centering on efforts to combat racism in the church and the world.

Executive Council's Committee on Anti-Racism is proposing that convention renew the call it issued to dioceses three years ago to research where "they were complicit in or profited from the institution of Transatlantic Slavery."

Just 10 of the church's 110 dioceses have begun that work, according to the committee's report.

In a related resolution, the committee is asking the convention to extend its 2006 call for dioceses to engage in study and dialogue about "historical and present-day privilege and underprivilege as well as discernment towards restorative justice and the call to fully live into our baptismal covenant." The resolution's explanation notes that many dioceses do not have direct experience with the slave trade, but "their maltreatment and marginalization of Native Americans, Asians, Hispanics and Arabs can be documented."

The committee also is proposing that the church "recommit and declare itself to be dedicated to continuing to work against the sin of racism" until 2018 by continuing to develop and participate in anti-racism training sessions and "demonstrate internally and externally that [dioceses] have fully embraced the anti-racism learning they have acquired and incorporated them into their ongoing life." A study of how dioceses recruit and deploy people in Holy Orders also is being proposed.

A system to track all resolutions through the end of General Convention is available at http://gc2009.org/ViewLegislation/. The reports from the church's commissions, committees, agencies and boards are available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/gc2009_106480_ENG_HTM.htm.

Episcopal News Service
The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg is national correspondent for the Episcopal News Service.