Diocesan Convention Follow-Up

Resolutions Report

10/23/2011 - Overview

• We voted to affirm our common participation as the Diocese of Connecticut  in God's mission of restoration and reconciliation, and accepted the invitation to mutual responsibility and interdependence.
• We reaffirmed that the financial contribution of each parish toward the common mission and common resources is 12.5% of operating income. We identified benefits and consequences of participation at less than 10%.
• We approved a minimum salary for clergy.
• We approved changing our canons so that we can participate in the mandatory denominational health plan, although we delayed its implementation until January 2013.
• We voted to revise Canon IX, which will let us appoint a Church Attorney who is not a "Member of the Church"
• We approved a non-binding resolution asking the bishop to permit clergy to officiate at same-sex weddings. 
• We voted to "endeavor to" adopt the Genesis Covenant principles; urged all local eucharistic communities to evaluate and reduce energy use and to perform an energy audit. We authorized creating a  new task force to help local eucharistic communities implement these plans.
• We approved asking every local eucharistic community to study and discuss, "A Circle of Protection: A Statement on Why We Need to Protect Programs for the Poor."
• We endorsed the August 3, 2011 "Proclamation of the Refugee Congress"
• We approved a resolution declaring a year of dialogue on "communion of the unbaptized" [Note: no implementation info]
• We postponed a resolution to endorse the Marriage Encounter Movement
• We authorized moving Diocesan House, giving authority to the Bishop & Diocesan Executive Council to research and act
• We approved a change in the standing Rules of Order, reducing the time before Convention that nominees for Standing Committee need to be identified

You can find more detail here.

An excerpt from Bishop Ian's address:

By now you have probably figured out that this diocesan convention is somewhat different from the other 226 conventions of the Diocese of Connecticut!  One of the changes is that today we are doing all of our business within the context of the Holy Eucharist.  Our time together in convention, in this place, is indeed holy time.  And it is a right, good and joyful thing that all of our conversations and deliberations throughout the day be embraced by, framed by, the celebration of God’s word and sacrament.  Given the Eucharistic framing of the day, my remarks this morning thus will be less of an address and more of a sermon.  And you might be pleased to know that this sermon will thus be a bit shorter than a normal Convention address (although perhaps a bit longer than your average Sunday sermon.)  So let’s spend a few minutes reflecting on the scriptures we have just heard by asking ourselves:  What is God up to?  What does it mean to put God’s mission first?

You can read his whole sermon here.