This summer, the Episcopal Church will gather in Louisville, Kentucky for its 81st General Convention. It’s a significant event, and will have lots of implications for our life as a denomination going forward, so it’s important for us to know more about it!
What is the General Convention?
The General Convention is the gathering of elected leaders in the Episcopal Church.
- It happens once every three years (triennial)
- The legislature of our church has two branches (bicameral):
- The House of Deputies (lay and ordained representatives elected from each constituent diocese/region of the Episcopal Church)
- The House of Bishops (all bishops, retired and serving, of each diocese in the Episcopal Church)
What’s especially significant about the 2024 General Convention?
There are, of course, several pieces of vital legislation under consideration by the Convention, including new liturgies and the definition of what constitutes the Book of Common Prayer (is it a bound volume, or could it also be a collection of resources both digital and analog?).
There will also be important elections, to choose new leadership for both houses of the legislature:
The Presiding Bishop:
The head of the House of Bishops is always elected for a 9-year term (three triennia). This year marks the final year of our beloved Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s nine-year term, so the House of Bishops will be electing a new presiding bishop. from the slate of candidates presented earlier this year. You can read the bios of the candidates here.
The President of the House of Deputies:
This position, currently held by Julia Ayala-Harris, is elected for a 3-year term and then must stand for reelection at each successive General Convention for up to three terms. Usually the incumbent does not face a contested election after the first term. However, this year our deputies will be in the position of voting for the President of the House of Deputies in a contested re-election year. You can read more about it here.
And, of course, there will be much much more to happen in Louisville. The convention is operating under a shorter timeline than has historically been allotted — an attempt to curb the cost of these gatherings. At the same time, there will be worship, gatherings of various Episcopal-affiliated organizations and groups, and lots more.
Why is the General Convention important to us at St. John’s?
Why, you might ask, should you, as a member of the St. John’s faith community, care about such things? Well, like our annual Diocesan Convention, these gatherings mark the deciding point for so much of our life in community. Episcopalians, by our nature, are not congregationalists. We gather and convene in dioceses around the ministry of our bishop and the work of our various elected bodies. We are connectional in all that we do, so that what happens in the life of one faith community has import and impact on what happens in another.
Certainly, this is how we’ve experienced the presence of Jesus at times. After all, didn’t Jesus work in community and connection? He was not content to manifest God’s power or be in the world as a solitary figure? We who follow in Jesus’ way of love are also called to move forward in connection and relationship. We pool our resources, organize collectively, and even make decisions democratically. We belong to each other, and General Convention is just one tangible way that we see this truth lived out, incarnationally and in community!
This year there is another reason for St. John’s to be excited. At our last Diocesan Convention in the Episcopal Church in Minnesota, we elected our delegates and alternates for the General Convention. Three of the elected delegation are members of St. John’s!
- Lay delegates: Heidi Kim and Katie Madsen
- Clergy delegate: Another of our members, the Reverend Devon Anderson (who has been away serving a faith community in Pennsylvania as their interim rector)
And two more members of the delegation also have St. John’s connections:
- Lay delegate: Esther Agbaje, daughter of the Rev. John Agbaje, who spent some of her growing up years at St. John’s while her folks were members here
- Clergy delegate: the Rev. Margaret Thor, one of our former deacons
I know you’ll join me in giving thanks to God for raising up leaders, lay and ordained, from within our community of faith, for work and ministry in the councils of the wider church.
The Rev. Margaret Thor has invited us to be in prayer for all the delegates and indeed for all the proceedings at the 81st General Convention of the Episcopal Church.
by Margaret Thor
The 81st General Convention begins in one month. The clergy delegates who will be attending are: Devon Anderson, Margaret Thor, Rick Swenson, Ramona Scarpace, and Christy Stang. The lay delegates who will be attending are: Esther Agbaje, Heidi Kim, Katie Madsen, Minnie Steele, and Sue Grove.
We send 4 clergy and 4 lay deputies and 1 clergy and 1 lay alternate to General Convention. We elected 6 clergy and 7 lay people to prepare for GC and we are grateful for those who are unable to attend yet continue to prepare with us (Judy Desharnais, Liza Anderson, and Laura Bathke.)
As the convention approaches, I invite you to use this prayer, which I edited from one used in the past by the Diocese of MO:
Loving and Gracious God, we ask that you bless our deputies (Christy, Devon, Esther, Heidi, Katie, Margaret, Minnie, Ramona, Rick, and Sue) and our Bishop Craig as they prepare for the work of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. Give them wisdom, guidance, courage and strength in their deliberations. And help them make thoughtful and wise decisions for the good of all those who have placed their trust and confidence in them for the governance of our Episcopal Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
On June 23, I invite you to use this prayer which I edited from the Diocese of CO.
Almighty and everliving God, source of all wisdom and understanding, be present with those who take counsel in the 81st General Convention of the Episcopal Church gathered in Louisville, for the renewal and mission of your Church. Teach us in all things to seek first your honor and glory. Guide us to perceive what is right, and grant us both the courage to pursue it and the grace to accomplish it; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
