The
work of the 78th General Convention begins tomorrow (Tuesday), as
registration takes place, deputies are certified, and convention legislative
committees begin their work. The
convention hits full-stride on Wednesday with the Presiding Bishop and President
of the House Deputies making presentations to a combined meeting of the two
houses – the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops. Orientation follows their addresses to
convention.
On
Wednesday afternoon, the four nominees for Presiding Bishop will be officially
presented to a joint session. Those
nominees include Thomas Breidenthal, Bishop of Southern Ohio; Michael Curry,
Bishop of North Carolina; Ian Douglas, Bishop of Connecticut; and Dabney Smith,
Bishop of Southwest Florida. The
election of the next Presiding Bishop will be on Saturday, June 27. Many observers expect Michael Curry to be
elected.
Each
day’s schedule typically begins with legislative committees meeting early in
the morning, followed by a Convention Eucharist. Once the convention gets to its regular
schedule, the Eucharist is followed by legislative sessions in the morning and
afternoon, with evenings reserved largely for additional committee meetings.
The
Mississippi deputation meets each day over lunch to discuss developments in
committees and the two houses.
The
Diocese of Mississippi is represented by the following deputies and alternates:
Clergy Deputies
The
Reverend Canon David Johnson, Diocesan Staff
The
Reverend Paul Stephens, All Saints’, TupeloThe Reverend Elizabeth Wheatley-Jones, All Saints’, Grenada
The Reverend Betsy Baumgarten, St. Patrick’s, Long Beach
Lay Deputies
Canon
Kathryn Weathersby McCormick, Diocesan Staff and St. Andrew’s, Jackson
Dr.
Anita P. George, Resurrection, StarkvilleDr. Ed Sisson, St. Peter’s, Oxford
Margaret McLarty, St. Andrew’s, Jackson
Clergy Alternates
The
Reverend Margaret Ayers, St. James’, Port Gibson
The
Reverend Ann Benton Fraser, St. Paul’s, CorinthThe Reverend Beth Palmer, Holy Trinity, Vicksburg
The Reverend David Knight, St. Paul’s, Delray Beach, Florida (canonically resident in Mississippi)
Lay Alternates
Lee
Davis Thames, Esq., Holy Trinity, Vicksburg
Bobbie
Marascalco, Holy Trinity, VicksburgAlice Perry, St. James’, Jackson
Danny Ray Meadors, St. Patrick’s, Long Beach
Bishop
Seage, of course, is a member of the House of Bishops.
Several
deputies serve on convention legislative committees. The appointments include the following:
Kathryn
McCormick, Pension Fund
David
Johnson, Governance and StructureAnita George, Social Justice & United States Policy
Ed Sisson, World Mission
Bishop
Seage serves on the Dispatch of Business Committee.
Lee Davis Thames is serving as an advisor to the Social Justice & International Policy Committee.
David
Knight served on the interim Task Force on the Study of Marriage – a group
which is making significant recommendations to General Convention.
Bishop
Duncan Gray, III, now serving in the Diocese of Louisiana, served on the Joint
Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop.
Anita
George is a member of the church’s Executive Council, the “vestry” of the
Episcopal Church.
Kathryn
McCormick serves as a Trustee of the Church Pension Fund.
Several
members of the deputation are posting blogs or to their Twitter feeds. They include the following:
Bishop Seage Twitter @rtrevdeadhead
Blog http://rtrevdeadhead.com/
Betsy
Baumgarten Blog http://everydayconsecration.blogspot.com/
David Knight Twitter @itinerantpriestBlog http://itinerantpriest.org
Ann is a lay person from St. Andrew’s Cathedral who will be attending General Convention, but is not a deputy or alternate.
I
hope to post to this blog each evening. Please keep the convention in your prayers.
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