Disciple: The 204th Annual Convention

The 204^th Annual Convention officially convened on Friday, November 22, 2019, at the Benton Convention Center in Winston-Salem. The diocesan commitment to Becoming Beloved Community remained a constant thread throughout, providing a foundation for this year’s theme of “Holy Partners in a Heavenly Calling,” an examination of collaborations happening in and around our communities, as well as a challenge to expand our willingness and vision when it comes to creating new collaborations and partnerships.

Other highlights included an emotional screening of Emanuel—The Untold Story of the Victims and Survivors of the Charleston Church Shooting, the Rt. Rev. Sam Rodman’s opening Eucharist sermon and Convention address, the Rt. Rev. Anne Hodges-Copple’s Saturday address, a keynote presentation by the author of Canoeing the Mountains, changes in status for two congregations and more.

BISHOPS’ ADDRESSES

As always, worship was the foundation of Convention. Both Bishop Rodman and Bishop Hodges-Copple gave inspiring addresses, offering insights on work happening throughout the Diocese, guidance on the triumphs and challenges of Becoming Beloved Community, and reminders of the need for holy partners in our heavenly calling.

Bishop Rodman delivered his address during his sermon at the Opening Eucharist on Friday. He began by speaking of St. Cecelia, the 5th-century saint whose feast day was celebrated on the first day of Convention. He told the story of her faith, strong in the face of persecution as she led pagan followers, including her husband and family, to God. She was described as an early builder of beloved community, one who understood “the constant in an ever-changing and often confusing and dangerous age is the love of God incarnated in Jesus.” As Bishop Rodman explained, “Holy partners are those who are part of God’s mission to redeem and reconcile the world. Saints are our holy partners. Those who have gone before stand as witnesses [and] models of faithfulness. But other holy partners join with us, here and now, to accomplish the work God has called us to bring about: the work of Becoming Beloved Community.”

He went on to explain how “Becoming Beloved Community is all about accepting that we are all beloved children of God. God’s love for us isn’t based upon performance. It’s based upon belonging. We belong to God. We are beloved children of God. And we are meant to mirror the loving image of God in our lives, and in our relationships. This is beloved community.” He encouraged all to trust in that relationship to deepen bonds with our neighbors, and he challenged listeners to think of things in new ways and reach beyond comfort zones. He extolled the work happening already in diocesan congregations, noting “our congregations tell the story of who we are as a church, of what our mission looks like, of how we become holy partners in the heavenly calling of Becoming Beloved Community.” He added, “collaboration is not optional in the Body of Christ.”

Bishop Hodges-Copple delivered her address Saturday morning, building on the collaboration, adaptive change and work happening in churches throughout the Diocese of North Carolina.

“[O]ur worship communities are learning and relearning how to meet people where they are, build partnerships and create the space for real conversation [and] real vulnerability with the real presence of Jesus Christ,” she said, noting it was Jesus who “helped his friends move beyond ‘that’s how we’ve always done it’ to ‘what does the Lord require of us for these times [and] these places?’” Through anecdotes, stories and examples of ministries she sees in action every day, she shared “what Jesus calls abundant life: seeing life, feeling love and seeing possibilities where the world sees scarcity.”

She extolled the power of partnerships, especially those formed when bread was broken together. “People who break bread together over time and across differences are also people who know how to pull together when crisis hits,” she said. She likened the sharing of meals to stories of feeding God’s beloved, noting “stories of feeding God’s beloved abound across our diocese, told in probably 120 different ways from the Sandhills to Rocky Mount, from Winston-Salem to Waxhaw.”

Working together, “I know that by the grace of God all things are possible,” she said. “I don’t have to understand how miracles happen, I just know they do because as I move around this diocese I see how you are moved to say ‘yes’ when Jesus says, ‘Come follow me.’”

EMANUEL: THE UNTOLD STORY

As has become tradition, Thursday night featured a program to inspire thought and conversation. This year, attendees screened the film Emanuel—The Untold Story of the Victims and Survivors of the Charleston Church Shooting. Produced by Stephen Curry and Viola Davis, the emotional, heartbreaking and inspiring documentary wove the history of Charleston race relations with the events and impact of the fateful shooting at Mother Emanuel Church. A panel discussion on race relations moderated by the Rev. Ginny Inman and featuring the Rev. Dixon Kinser, Dr. Joseph Graves, Bishop Anne Hodges-Copple and the Rev. Daran Mitchell followed the screening. Among the topics discussed were the themes of hope and forgiveness related in the film as well as the state of race relations today and concrete steps needed to move them forward in an honest direction. More than 200 people attended the event, and discussion continued long after the gathering officially ended.

CANOEING THE MOUNTAINS

The keynote addresses were delivered by the Rev. Tod Bolsinger, author of Canoeing the Mountains, a guide to affecting change set against the backdrop of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Over the course of two presentations, he shared the trials of the expedition and how the unexpected—like finding mountains where they expected rivers—required them to adapt and approach problems in unprecedented ways. He used the tale to illustrate the similarities in adapting church to the “uncharted waters” of the 21^st-century, not only detailing the ways in which to approach it but the obstacles we assuredly will encounter. He provided tools for what he called “adaptive leadership,” a concept that is crucial to all aspects of Becoming Beloved Community because the way church has always “been done” and for which most leaders were trained is changing quickly and unlikely to return any time soon. But rather than lament times past, attendees were infused with energy and ideas, taking from the keynote presentations a desire to put the theories into practice, approaching ministry in new ways and ready to forge new relationships through collaborations with holy partners.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS

Among the business and presentations of Convention, there were several memorable moments:

• The first order of business as Bishop Rodman called the Convention to order was to acknowledge the ancestors of the Catawba and Carolina Siouan nations who once called the land on which Convention took place home.
• The Rev. James Franklin recorded the first episode of the first-ever diocesan podcast, “And Also With Y’all,” debuting in february 2020!
• During the Opening Eucharist, the Rev. Jan Lamb was commissioned as the new diocesan archdeacon, and Maria Gillespie was commissioned as the new diocesan director of administration and finance.
• Also commissioned at the Opening Eucharist were the 11 Johnson Service Corp interns serving in the coming year and the eight new members of the Vergers Guild of North Carolina.
• The offering for the Eucharist was dedicated to our companion diocese in Costa Rica. Relationships within our dioceses were strengthened in 2019 with a pilgrimage to Costa Rica; pilgrims from North Carolina will travel there again in 2020. The Rt. Rev. Orlando Gomez, bishop of the Diocese of Costa Rica, was in attendance at Convention and, among other activities, led Morning Prayer on Saturday.
• Two mission congregations were granted changes in status to parishes in two unique and moving celebrations. Read about the journeys of St. Titus’, Durham and Trinity, Fuquay-Varina.
• Bishop Rodman presented the first of the Bishops’ Awards to Marlene Weigert, former diocesan canon to the ordinary for administration. Weigert retired from the Diocese in 2019 after 14 years of service.
• Bishop Hodges-Copple bestowed the second Bishops’ Award to Shelley Kappauf, former executive assistant to the bishop suffragan. Kappauf retired at the end of 2019 after 15 years of service, the last five of which were as Hodges-Copple executive assistant, making the presentation of the award especially emotional and poignant.

THE BUSINESS OF CONVENTION

In the business of Convention, the 2020 budget passed as submitted.

Voting on resolutions went as follows. Certified copies of all resolutions are now available.

• Resolution 204.1 On Amending the Constitution to Comply with the Canons of General Convention Pertaining to Voting Privileges for Clergy Without Canonical Residence—passed on second reading
  Note: This second reading and passing constitutes a Constitutional Amendment.
• Resolution 204.2 On Churches that Fail to File Timely Reports or Audits—passed as amended
• Resolution 204.3 On Amending the Constitution to Clarify the Qualifications for Standing Committee—passed (first reading)
• Substitute Resolution 204.4 On Spousal and Partner Activities at Convention—passed
• Substitute Resolution 204.5 On Affordable Housing—passed as amended
• Resolution 204.6 On the Commemoration of Cecelia Foster Lawrence—passed
• Substitute Resolution 204.7 On Resources and Advocacy for Mental Health—passed as amended
• Substitute Resolution 204.8 On the Historic Properties Commission—passed
• Substitute Resolution 204.9 On Education about Reform of Pre-trial Release and Money Bond—passed

Voting on elected positions went as follows:

• Standing Committee – Clergy Order (2)
  The Rev. Cathy Deats – non-parochial
  There was no second person nominated; the open position will be filled by Standing Committee per canon.
• Standing Committee – Lay Order (1)
  Carolyn Beranek – St. David’s, Laurinburg
• Diocesan Council – Clergy Order (2)
  The Rev. Ginny Wilder – St. Anne’s, Winston-Salem
  The Rev. Rebecca Yarbrough – Chapel of Christ the King, Charlotte
• Diocesan Council – Lay Order (3)
  Sue Guptill – St. Philip’s, Durham
  Al Ragland – St. Ambrose, Raleigh
  Sherry Owens – St. Stephen’s, Oxford
• Deputies to General Convention – Clergy Order (4)
  The Rev. Kevin Matthews – St. Mary’s House, Greensboro
  The Rev. Jamie Edwards – St. Clement’s, Clemmons
  The Rev. Daniel Robayo – Diocese of North Carolina
  The Rev. Sara Ardrey-Graves – St. Paul’s, Winston-Salem
• Deputies to General Convention – Lay Order (4)
  Martha Alexander – Christ Church, Charlotte
  Alice Freeman – St. Mark’s, Wilson
  Delois Ward – Christ Church, Raleigh
  Megan Carlson – St. Stephen’s, Durham
• Board of Trustees, University of the South – Lay Order (1)
  Liz Dalrymple – Emmanuel, Southern Pines