General Convention
Every three years, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church meets to consider the legislative business of the church. The General Convention, which includes the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies, is the primary governing and legislative body of the church. Between conventions, the General Convention continues to work through its committees, commissions, agencies and boards. The Executive Council of the Episcopal Church carries out the programs and policies adopted by General Convention.
At each General Convention, legislative aides serve the House of Deputies by working closely with the officers of legislative committees to help legislation move through convention efficiently and smoothly. In 2018, as in 2015, legislative aides will be appointed through an open application process. Both alternate deputies and volunteers who will attend General Convention at…
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November 29, 2017 Dear Deputies: With a side of turkey over the holiday weekend, I finished one of my favorite tasks of the triennium: appointing deputies to serve as legislative committee officers for General Convention. Today I’m sending that list to all of you so you can begin to prepare for convention by learning who…
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Dear Deputies, The preliminary draft of the 2019-2021 triennium budget, prepared by Executive Council’s Finance for Mission Committee (FFM), is now available online. An overview of the budget prepared by the committee is also available. After you have reviewed the overview and draft budget, I hope that you will take the online survey about the budget. This survey will provide both FFM…
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August 16, 2017 Dear People of God in the Episcopal Church: Yesterday, the Texas legislature adjourned its special session without passing a so-called “bathroom bill,” which threatened to write discrimination against transgender people into state law. We give thanks for all of the Texan Episcopalians, elected officials, business leaders, and advocates who raised their voices…
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[En ingles y español] July 14, 2017 Dear Deputies, In preparation for the 79th General Convention in July 2018, I am beginning the process of appointing deputies to legislative committees. The Presiding Bishop and I wrote to bishops and deputies about our plans for legislative committees on July 6; you can read that letter on…
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[En ingles y español] July 6, 2017 Dear Deputies and Bishops, We’re just over a year away from the 79th General Convention, and already, planning is in high gear. Part of our role in those preparations, as set forth by the Rules of Order of the House of Deputies and House of Bishops, is to…
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I am a big fan of David Letterman’s Top Ten Lists. Here is my Top Ten List for deputies after returning home from General Convention, updated for 2015: 10. Remember you were elected by your diocese and you remain a deputy if and until your successor is elected. Your service as a deputy encompasses more…
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The House of Deputies at the 78th General Convention in Salt Lake City comprised 868 deputies, 52 percent of whom were men and 48 percent of whom were women. According to the Pew Research Center, the Episcopal Church’s membership in 2014 was 55 percent women and 45 percent men. Length of service Forty-six percent of…
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The Rev. Lester Mackenzie, deputy from the Diocese of Los Angeles, served the House of Deputies as Chaplain during the 2015 General Convention in Salt Lake City. Lester opened each session with prayer – some traditional, some unfamiliar. Often, he would have the House on its feet enabling the Spirit to flow freely amongst the…
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In the Name of our Living, Loving, and Magnificent God! Amen. Our first two readings today speak of visions. They paint frightening pictures, even for those of us who look at them from a distance of almost two thousand years, in one instance, and more in the other. Isaiah gives us six winged creatures tending…
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The Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, president of the Episcopal Church’s House of Deputies and lead signer of the amicus brief submitted to the Supreme Court in March and signed by nearly 2000 religious leaders who support marriage equality, released this statement on today’s Supreme Court ruling: “As we Christians are known to say from time…
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Good morning, and welcome to the 78th General Convention of the Episcopal Church! My name is Gay Clark Jennings, and I’m a deputy. Today is a big day. For us deputies, it’s our first chance to be together in three years, and it’s our first chance to welcome our 398 new members. First-time deputies account…
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