Rules for Resolutions at Diocesan Convention

Tweaking some of my fellow Anglo-Catholic friends about the Blessed Virgin Mary was fun for a couple blog posts, but it’s time to get back to some holy wonkery, and the clock is ticking. While I was asleep in a post-General Convention stupor, I failed to notice just how quickly the 2012 convention of the Diocese of Indianapolis was approaching. It’s still a little over two months away, and important deadlines are rapidly approaching. I have some people to get in touch with in a hurry.

Quickly now:

1. Resolutions for consideration by the convention are due by August 26. That’s THIS Sunday. They may be submitted via e-mail. Instructions here.
2. Nominations for diocesan committees are due by September 1. You may nominate yourself. A nomination form, including a list of the responsibilities of the various committees, can be found here.

I’ll get back to these in a bit, but first: Diocesan Convention, whether in Indianapolis or elsewhere, is really important. A fundamental principle of the Episcopal Church is that the basic unit of the church is not the parish, but the diocese, of which the Bishop is the leader. Conceptually, any ministry done in a particular parish is an extension of the Bishop’s own ministry. The Bishop derives her authority from the laying on of hands going back a great many generations to the touch of Jesus himself. That’s why a Bishop carries a shepherd’s crook. This does not make the Bishop magic, but it does make her well-connected.

So, the Bishop commands a great deal of authority, through both the literal touch of our Lord and Savior and the considerably less mystical means of the constitution and canons of the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Indianapolis. Mystical or not, the constitution and canons spell out that the Bishop’s authority is shared with her flock.

Let me state it forthrightly: laypeople and clergy all have power to influence the way things are done in our dioceses. We just have to use it.

What I am not calling for is for anyone reading this to prepare a raft of resolutions. That’s basically the last thing we need.  General Convention was littered with well-intentioned but basically meaningless resolutions, and the same thing happens at diocesan convention, too.

From the 174th Convention of the EpiscopalDiocese of Indianapolis, I give you two examples:

Equitable Education for All Our ChildrenResolved, that the 174^th Convention of the Diocese of Indianapolis affirm Resolution B025, Equitable Education for All Our Children, adopted by the 76^th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, and urge the implementation of this resolution, as appropriate, within our diocese and our parishes.

Renew and Strengthen Economic Justice MinistryResolved, that the 174^th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis affirm Resolution C049, Renew and Strengthen Economic Justice Ministry, adopted by the 76^th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, and urge the implementation of this resolution, as appropriate, within our diocese and our parishes.

Note the weasel words – “urge”, “as appropriate”. Note the total lack of specificity in assigning any specific action. I can guarantee you that I voted for these things as a delegate last year. Because the last thing I was going to do was be the jerk from All Saints who voted against Equitable Education for All Our Children, especially when the resolution calls on me and everyone I know to do precisely nothing.

So a few ground rules before you go submitting resolutions:

1. Is this resolution likely to pass unanimously? If so, can it. The resolution probably hasn’t called anyone in the room to do anything meaningful.
2. Does the resolution call for someone in the church (not government officials) to do anything concrete? If so, we’re on to something.
3. Might the resolution legitimately call on you to do something concrete? Better yet. There was an interesting resolution that passed at last year’s Diocesan Convention requiring a research project on the system of Township Poor Relief in Indiana. The township poor relief funds carry large amounts of cash on their balance sheets, where they aren’t helping the poor, and given today’s low yields, aren’t even earning interest! (See Matt 25:27 for what Jesus thinks about that investment strategy). But if I recall correctly, it was suggested that the Bishop kick that project over to the Deacons. I’m not sure if this has been done or if this resolution will appear on the ever-lengthening unfinished business report (the reading of which should frankly be promptly followed by confession and rending of garments; then maybe absolution). I’m not blaming the Deacons, by the way (the Indianapolis Star hasn’t been able to crack this issue, either) – just saying it was an easy one to pass because we kicked responsibility to someone else. Full disclosure: I believe I spoke in favor of this resolution. Maturity comes slowly, y’all.
4. Does your resolution contain an escape hatch? Note that these most often take the form of non-committal verbs. If so, edit those out right this minute! If you provide an escape hatch, it will be used.
5. Does the resolution involve money? If so, just make sure you really know what you’re talking about, and you really understand the way the budgeting process works in your diocese and what the actual resources available are. Get help from someone who does know the numbers. There’s a perfectly wonderful resolution regarding support for the Episcopal Church in Haiti committing $500,000 of Diocesan resources to reconstruction efforts. It passed, but it’s pretty problematic. The draft budget for 2013 at this stage completely ignores it. Another one for the unfinished business report? Also - guilty. I voted for it.

So what subjects might deserve a resolution? I can think of two off the top of my head. First, we have a major resolution that passed at the General Convention, C095, establishing a committee to imagine a restructuring of the national church (I've put my name in for this, and maybe you should, too. You've got till August 23 to do it). But as one Bishop pointed out during the debate on this resolution in the House of Bishops, this is a call to reimagine what our dioceses look like as well. A restructuring of the national church is a good and necessary thing, but the dioceses and the parishes are where we spend most of our time (and money). A resolution adapting C095 for diocesan use would make a whole lot of sense. This is my project for the next few days.

Also, specific to the Diocese of Indianapolis here...our website is sorely in need of an upgrade. Fact is, we did one two years ago. There's no reason to lay blame, but we must acknowledge that this did not work at all. Let's allocate some funds and get something usable. We will all feel better. Keep in mind that the audience for a diocesan website is almost entirely church insiders, not outsiders. Easy accessiblity to diocesan resources for parishes is vital.

I'm sure there are other things we need to address (besides the budget, obviously, about which...more later), but not much. One of the great problems of General Convention and Diocesan Conventions is that we so rarely get our geographically dispersed groups together, it's shame we spend so much of our time in legislative snoozefests rather than sharing with each our successes and frustrations, and building networks across distance.

To that end, I'm excited to see that this year the Diocese of Indianapolis is creating room during one of the breaks for workshops. This is an excellent idea (Acts 8 gathering, anyone?). Let's see how short we can make our legislating, and spend our time together instead exchanging ideas, stories, and experiences as we work for the one who is coming into the world.

UPDATE 9/15/2012: I referenced the diocesan website being in need of an upgrade. I recently learned that one is well under way, and caught a sneak peek of it during a brief moment when the new design was accidentally made public. I'm not sure what the launch date is, but it looks very good.