Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This is an exciting time for the Episcopal Church!
From June 23-28, deputies from all over the Episcopal Church will gather in Louisville, KY for the 81st General Convention, the governing body of the Episcopal Church. General Convention is held every three years, at various venues around the country. It has two legislative bodies, just like the United States. They are called the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies. Each diocese, both in the United States and abroad, sends a deputation composed of equal numbers of clergy and laity. They are DEPUTIES, not delegates. Meaning that although they represent the people of their diocese, they are not bound to vote as the people of the diocese tell them to, unlike U.S. political conventions. As deputies, we trust them to listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and to vote as the Spirit leads them, not just for the welfare of their home diocese, but for the good of the entire Episcopal Church.
General Convention is always important, because it is where the Church decides on policies, canons (church laws), changes and additions to liturgical materials, including the Prayerbook and the Hymnal.
This year is EXCEPTIONALLY exciting, because General Convention will be electing a new Presiding Bishop on Wednesday, June 23. The PB serves a 9-year term, and Presiding Bishop Michael Curry will be retiring. He has been a wonderful, soulful leader and a fine representative of the Episcopal Church to the rest of the world. Can anyone forget the marvelous sermon he preached at the wedding of The Prince of Wales William and Princess Catherine in 2011?
There are five candidates for the 28th Presiding Bishop, including Bishop Sean Rowe who served as Bishop Provisional (interim bishop) for the Diocese of Bethlehem after Bishop Paul Marshall retired.
See MUCH more about General Convention, including the bios of the candidates for PB at https://generalconvention.org/gc81/.
Most important of all: please keep our deputation, and ALL the deputations and bishops, daily in your prayers. Pray that the Spirit will gift them with the gift of wisdom and insight as they make decisions for our beloved church. And pray especially for the person that God is preparing as our new Presiding Bishop.
JOY!
Mo. Laura+
Coming Up
- July 9 and July 15 @ 7:00 p.m. – Town Hall Meetings with Bishop Kevin and Bishop Audrey (Dio. Central PA) about reunification. Register at https://diobeth.org/ for the zoom link. All are invited!
- July 14 Blessing of food donated to Groceries Plus Food Pantry
- Wednesdays, noonday prayer via zoom at 12:00