Alternate Process for Replacing Standing Committee and Diocesan Council Members Announced, Deadline is November 20

Annual Conventions of our Diocese usually elect persons to serve on the Standing Committee and Diocesan Council. The terms of the newly elected begin on the January 1 following each Convention in November. Because our 205th Annual Convention has been delayed into 2021, the Standing Committee and Diocesan Council will use their authority under the Constitution and Canons of the Diocese to elect replacements for their members whose terms end December 31, 2020. These new members of the Standing Committee and Diocesan Council will take office on January 1, 2021 and will serve full three-year terms.

The Standing Committee and Diocesan Council encourage any member of the clergy and any lay person who wishes to be considered for election to complete this form no later than Friday, November 20, 2020. (A paper form is also available should you prefer to print, fill out, scan, and email or mail your statement of interest instead.)

For Standing Committee, one member of the clergy and two lay persons will be elected. The Standing Committee consents to the election and consecration of bishops throughout The Episcopal Church; approves persons seeking ordination; consents to the sale or encumbrance of real property by the Trustees of the Diocese, any parish or mission, or diocesan institution; acts as a council of advice to the bishop diocesan; and acts as the ecclesiastical authority of the Diocese in extraordinary circumstances.

For Diocesan Council, two members of the clergy and three lay persons will be elected. Diocesan Council is responsible for the development and implementation of the diocesan program and budget. Between Conventions, Diocesan Council functions much like the vestry of a church by establishing policies, planning the work of the Diocese, and overseeing its administration and finances.

The statements of interest to serve that you may submit are not “nominations” in the regular sense. Rather, persons are to self-identify. Seconds are not required. Clergy must be canonically resident in this Diocese. Lay persons must be confirmed, adult communicants in good standing enrolled at a church in the Diocese, but they need not be delegates to Convention. Persons wishing to be considered for election who have recently served on the Standing Committee or Diocesan Council should heed the provisions of Article VIII, Section 1 of the Constitution of the Diocese and Canon 15, Section 1 respectively in regard to eligibility.

The Rt. Rev. Samuel Rodman, bishop diocesan, and Dick Taylor, president of the Standing Committee, join me in asking you to make your fellow communicants of the Diocese aware of this opportunity and to consider prayerfully submitting your own names for consideration. If you have questions about this process, please email me.

Yours in Christ,
Charles L. Till
Secretary of Convention