News

Good morning. Before I begin, I want to introduce you to my husband, Albert Jennings, who has never been to an Executive Council meeting before. Albert and I have been married for 46 years, and for 34 of those years, he has been the rector of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Macedonia, Ohio. He is…
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This sermon was delivered by President Jennings during the meeting of Executive Council in San Juan, Puerto Rico on April 20, 2022: In the name of the Risen Lord. Amen. Perhaps of all the stories in the Gospel, the Road to Emmaus is the one I have the easiest time imagining myself in. Two disciples—Cleopas…
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Dear Deputies and Alternate Deputies, As you may have heard by now, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a letter Tuesday to state health agencies saying that medical treatments provided to transgender adolescents—widely considered the standard of care in medical circles—should be classified as “child abuse” under existing state law and reported as such. While it…
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Dear Deputies and Alternate Deputies: In November 2020, when the Presiding Bishop and I announced that General Convention would be postponed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we wrote: “To make best use of the adaptive moment now facing us, we will appoint both deputy and bishop legislative committees in 2021, charging them…
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Welcome to this virtual meeting of Executive Council, which was originally supposed to be an in-person meeting in Cleveland, near where I live. I was looking forward to having you all here, but now I confess to some relief that you are all home and, I hope, safe on Zoom. In addition to the omicron…
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House of Deputies President Gay Clark Jennings released a statement today upon learning of the death of Dr. Charles V. Willie, former vice president of the House of Deputies: “I was deeply saddened to learn today of the death of Dr. Charles V. Willie, a giant in the Episcopal Church’s long and incomplete journey toward…
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Dear Deputies and Alternate Deputies: At the 80th General Convention, the House of Deputies will elect a new president and vice president. The canons specify that no person shall serve more than three consecutive terms as president or vice president, and since Vice President Byron Rushing and I are both now serving our third terms…
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The COVID-19 pandemic has raised challenges across our church and beyond. In the House of Deputies, these have included the postponement of the General Convention and a shorter timeframe for legislative sessions at the 80th General Convention. In light of these challenges, the President of the House of Deputies and the Presiding Bishop have announced…
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Good morning. It is wonderful to see you again. I pray that our time together this week will be energetic and productive and holy and safe. Please take good care while we are here and observe all of the risk mitigation measures that were outlined so well by our GCO colleagues in our meeting materials….
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President Jennings gave these opening remarks to an online training of legislative officers on September 28: Good afternoon—or good morning, or good evening, depending on your time zone. Thank you all for devoting this time to preparing for General Convention. We’ll get down to details in just a few minutes, but before then, I want…
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Congratulations to Deputies Thomas Alexander of Arkansas, Lydia Kelsey Bucklin of Northern Michigan and Rose H. Sconiers of Western New York; alternate deputies Thomas Diaz and Antonio Gallardo of Los Angeles; and also to Maureen-Elizabeth Hagen of Oregon, Deborah Harmon Hines of Western Massachusetts, Deborah M. Jackson of Florida, Steven Nishibayashi of Los Angeles, Mary…
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More than 483 deputies will serve on House of Deputies legislative committees at the 80th General Convention, House of Deputies President Gay Clark Jennings has announced. The triennial meeting, originally planned for 2021, is now scheduled to take place in Baltimore from July 7-14, 2022. For the first time, legislative committees will convene online beginning in November…
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