DO REALISE
THIS PRIMER IS entirely unofficial, although we believe it to be reasonably
accurate. We offer this overview in the hope that it will give our readers
a basic idea of how General Convention works.
It's
large.
ECUSA's General Convention is purportedly the largest legislative
body
in the world. It's bicameral modelled on the structure of
the
Congress of the United States with two houses that meet concurrently:
the House of Clerical
and Lay Deputies and the House of Bishops. At present the House of
Deputies
has roughly 800 sitting members and the House of Bishops around 300.
In
the Episcopal Church, retired bishops of the church have voice and
vote
at Convention, a practice, as far as we know, that is followed by
no other
governing body in the Anglican Communion. The Houses meet and act
separately,
and both must concur in order to adopt legislation. In other words,
if
the House of Deputies passes a particular resolution but the House
of
Bishops does not, the resolution will not become an Act of Convention.
It's democratic.
Individual deputies may write and submit resolutions, as can
bishops,
dioceses, and entities of General Convention itself (commissions
and the
like). Once
submitted, resolutions are assigned to am appropriate legislative
committee,
and in the hands of these committees lies the fate of any given resolution.
Committees can hold hearings for public comment on resolutions, they
can
reword or amend a resolution, they can combine two resolutions, decide
not to report a resolution out of committee for consideration by
the appropriate
house
(thereby effectively killing it), or they can report it out of committee
to be put on the legislative calendar for consideration by the house
where
the resolution was initiated.
Committees are parallel for each house,
but in recent years they have met together as cognate committees;
for
example, there are two committees for World Mission, one cmposed
of lay
and clerical deputies and one of bishops, but they meet together.
It's powerful.
'The
General Convention alone has authority to amend the Book of Common
Prayer and the Episcopal Church's Constitution, to amend the Canons
of
the Church, and to determine the program and budget of the Convention
itself and whatever missionary, educational and social programs it
authorizes.
It receives reports from various church committees and agencies,
formulates
policy, and elects half the forty members of the Executive Council
which
administers policy and program between the triennial gatherings of
the
Convention'.
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The
Blue Book:
Now downloadable.
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It's got
deputies, not delegates.
Those elected to the House of Clerical and Lay Deputies by their dioceses
are indeed 'deputies', not delegates. It's a crucial difference, in that
deputies are elected to represent their dioceses, but are entrusted to
vote their consciences. They do not serve as a mere voters for the most
dominant
perspectives
in their dioceses, but are ideally people entrusted
with the support and prayers of their dioceses to act and vote as
seems
best at General Convention. Throughout convention, men and women
on the
floor of the House are addressed as 'Deputy [Surname Here]', no matter
how distinguished their titles outside General Convention.
It's a
fascinating mix of people.
There
is an official online roster of the House
of Clerical and Lay Deputies, but none of the House of
Bishops. Louie Crew has assembled fascinating information about
the people who compose
the
74th General Convention. See his profiles of the House
of Deputies and the House
of Bishops.
It already
has work to do.
The 'Blue
Book' contains all the background information
and documents that deputies and bishops need
for General Convention. The Constitution
and Canons of the Episcopal Church also loom large, as might be expected,
at the convention.
More information
The official site
for
General Convention 2003 and the Office
of the General Convention official
web site will provide you with additional information. A
general
calendar (PDF: 102K) of General Convention is also online.
Back
to Anglicans Online General Convention 2003
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page
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