RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE CONVENTION

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DIOCESE OF CENTRAL FLORIDA
Fortieth Annual Convention
JANUARY 24, 2009



The following Resolutions were passed at the 40th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Central Florida:

 

 

Title of Resolution:    C-1      Amend Diocesan Constitution, Article III

Presenter:                   Mrs. Marilyn Lang
                                     Secretary of Diocesan Convention

RESOLVED:      that this 40th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Central Florida amends the first paragraph of Article III of the Constitution with the following addition (the proposed addition is underlined):

Article III
Purpose


The Diocese of Central Florida acknowledges its allegiance to be due to the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church of Christ; and recognizing the body known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America otherwise known as The Episcopal Church to be a true branch of said Church, having rightful jurisdiction in this country, hereby declares its adhesion to the same and accedes to its Constitution and Canons. The Diocese of Central Florida is a constituent member of the Anglican Communion, a Fellowship of those duly constituted Dioceses, Provinces, and regional Churches in communion with the See of Canterbury, upholding and propagating the historic Faith and Order as set forth in the Book of Common Prayer.

 


Title of Resolution:    R-8:      Diocesan Strategic Plan

Presenters:                 The Reverend Jonathan French
                                     The Reverend John Liebler
                                     Mr. Chuck Armstrong

 

RESOLVED:   that this 40th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Central Florida affirms the Bishop’s Pastoral Letter of April 15, 2008 and calls upon the Diocese to develop a long-range strategic plan to infuse this Diocese with the theological vision and values implicit in the Pastoral Letter and to carry its vision and values into the future.  The strategic plan shall include long range generational goals and short-term, one to three year measurable objectives by which this Diocese will unite around the Pastoral Letter.  Be it further

 

RESOLVED:   that this Convention requests that within sixty days of this convention the Bishop appoint a Planning Task Force that will, under the authority of the Bishop and reporting regularly to the Diocesan Board and annually to this Convention, guide the entire clergy and lay leadership of the Diocese in developing the aforementioned strategic plan through a series of large-scale planning workshops.

 


Title of Resolution:    R-5:  Contemporary Worship Leadership School

Presenters:                The Reverend Jonathan French
                                    The Reverend Jon Davis
                                    The Reverend John Liebler

 

RESOLVED:  that this 40th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Central Florida affirms the call in the Bishop’s Pastoral Letter of April 15, 2008 to develop “best practices” in various aspects of ministry in our Diocese, and be it further

 

RESOLVED:  that in furtherance of that goal, calls on the Bishop to appoint a “Contemporary Worship Committee” and to task that committee with the development of “best practices” in contemporary and blended worship, with assisting clergy and parishes to appropriately incorporate the best contemporary worship trends into our rich Anglican liturgical tradition.  Be it further

RESOLVED: that the Contemporary Worship Committee will work with the Diocesan Board to develop a plan for a Contemporary Worship Leadership School in which talented men and women will be trained and invited into congregations within the Diocese for leadership in this style of worship, and a mission plan to assist congregations in funding such leadership positions, and that the Committee will report those plans to the 41st Annual Convention.

 


Title of Resolution:    R-6:      Mission Trip Resolution

Presenters:                 The Reverends Jonathan French
                                     The Reverend John Liebler
                                     Mrs. Sonya Shannon

 

RESOLVED:  that this 40th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Central Florida affirms vision for ministry in the social context as outlined in the Bishop’s Pastoral Letter of April 15, 2008.  And be it further

RESOLVED:  that realizing that mission trips are an effective means whereby Christians encounter the Kingdom of God and change society through missions, this Convention calls upon every congregation of the diocese to take a cross-cultural mission trip with no less than five people from the parish plus the Rector/Vicar within the next three years.  Be it further

 

RESOLVED:  that the Central Florida Episcopalian will report which congregations have taken trips and solicit reports to be published as available.   And be it further

RESOLVED:  that we request the Bishop to report each year on the progress of our congregations in reaching the goal of regular mission trips.  And be it further

RESOLVED:  that the Evangelism Commission include in its work the support and guidance of parishes and missions in realizing the goal of making regular mission trips, may develop Diocesan trips in which parishes and missions may participate, and may produce a “missions manual” with checklist that individual congregations use in planning mission trips.

 


Title of Resolution:    R-7:      Parish Renewal Weekend

 

Presenters:                 The Reverend Jonathan French
                                                The Reverend John Liebler
                                                Mr. Chuck Armstrong

 

RESOLVED:   that this 40th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Central Florida affirms the Bishop’s Pastoral Letter of April 15, 2008 and calls upon the Diocese to develop a Parish Renewal Weekend to call the members of this Diocese to commit or recommit their lives to Jesus Christ, to deepen their commitment to His Kingdom through the work of the Diocese and Parish, and to teach how to live out a countercultural form of discipleship rooted in the values outlined in the Pastoral Letter.  Be it further

 

RESOLVED:  that we request the Bishop to appoint a team that will, within six months, develop the content and outline of a Parish Renewal Weekend, with the Bishop serving as final editor, and will test the program in several congregations prior to diocesan-wide implementation.  Be it further

RESOLVED:  that this Convention calls upon every congregation of the Diocese to participate in this Parish Renewal Weekend within two years.

 

 

Title of Resolution:     R-12:     Disaffiliation from the Anglican Communion Network

Presenter:                    The Standing Committee

 

RESOLVED:  that this 40th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Central Florida officially terminates its membership in the Anglican Communion Network (ACN), formerly known as the Network of Anglican Communion Parishes and Dioceses,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:  that this Diocese recognizes that those who continue with the ACN and the new Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and fellow heirs of this great Anglican tradition,

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:  that this Diocese assures those of ACN and ACNA of our continued prayers, and specifically we pray for the day when there is a unified, vibrant and Biblical Anglicanism in North America through the renewal and reformation of errant parts of the Anglican Communion and the re-unification of those who have felt called to walk apart from The Episcopal Church (TEC).


Title of Resolution:     R-3:    Communion Partners

Presenter:                   The Very Reverend Eric Turner
                                      The Reverend Phyllis Bartle
                                      The Reverend Charles Holt
                                      The Very Reverend Anthony Clark            
         

RESOLVED:   that this 40th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Central Florida commends the work of the Communion Partners as an effort to ensure the continuing witness to the historic faith of the Church within The Episcopal Church, and to sustain and build connections between parishes and dioceses and the wider Anglican Communion.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:  that this Convention commends the commitments and strategies outlined in the founding statements of the Communion Partner Bishops and the Communion Partner Rectors.

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:  that this Convention thanks and commends Bishop Howe for his leadership in this effort.

 

 

Title of Resolution:      R-10     The Anglican Communion Covenant

 

Presenters:                   The Very Reverend Timothy C. Nunez
                                      The Very Reverend Eric Turner
                                      The Reverend Rob Lord
                                      The Very Reverend Don Lyon

 

Resolved:  that this 40th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Central Florida affirms its continuing support for the development of the Anglican Communion Covenant and commends the work of the Covenant Draft Committee, and

 

Recommends the final draft include a clear provision for mutual accountability and a process for responding to crises and individual Provinces that threaten our unity in Christ and the integrity of our witness as a Communion.

 


 
Title of Resolution:     R-11:    Shared Faith

Presenters:                The Reverend Loren Fox
                                    Mrs. Anneke Bertsch

RESOLVED:  that this 40th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Central Florida affirms and encourages the leaders of both The Communion Partners and The Common Cause Partnership to recognize and seek a respectful, cooperative defense of our one shared historic, biblical, and creedal faith of the Anglican Tradition.

 

 

Title of Resolution:    R-2:  Communion of the Un-baptized

 

Presenters:                 The Rev. Danielle Morris
                                    Mrs. Susan Airth

 

RESOLVED:  that this 40th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Central Florida affirms the Canons of The Episcopal Church and its historic requirement that Holy Baptism in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit shall be a pre-requisite for reception of the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist and proposes Canon I.17.7 of The Episcopal Church be added to our Diocesan Canons.

 

 

Title of Resolution:     R-4    Amendments to Proposed Title IV Revisions of the Canons of The

       Episcopal Church

 

Presenters:                  The Very Reverend Eric Turner
                                     The Very Reverend Anthony Clark
                                     Mrs. Patricia Tew

 

RESOLVED:   that this 40th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Central Florida memorializes to the 76th General Convention of The Episcopal Church the following three amendments to the PROPOSED REVISIONS of Title IV of the Canons of The Episcopal Church.
 

"Voting by Bishops"

 

From Title IV, Canon 16, Sec. 2, edit the text as follows, deleting the text lined through and adding the text underlined: "If the House, by a majority of the whole number of Bishops entitled to vote  If the House, by affirmative vote of at least three-fourths of all the Bishops with jurisdiction whether present at the time of the vote or not, shall give its consent, the Presiding Bishop shall depose the Bishop from the Ministry, and pronounce and record in the presence of two or more Bishops that the Bishop has been so deposed.  If the number of affirmative votes required are not cast at the meeting and affirmative votes from the Bishops not present could meet the required number, the Presiding Bishop shall submit the matter, within 14 days of the vote and with all related documentation, to the Bishops with jurisdiction who were not present at the time of the vote and they shall have 14 days to submit their vote to the Presiding Bishop. If three fourths of the Bishops with jurisdiction cast votes in the affirmative either at the meeting of the house or received within the time allotted following the meeting, the deposition proceeds as outlined above. If at the end of this period the required number of affirmative votes has not been cast or received, the case against the Bishop shall be dropped and he or she shall be so informed."

 

Definition of "Abandonment of Communion"

 

Delete the lined through text as follows:

 

From Title IV, Canon 16 (B), Sec. 3: “the Standing Committee shall ascertain and consider the facts, and if it shall determine by a vote of three-fourths of all the members that the Priest or Deacon has abandoned The Episcopal Church by an open renunciation of the Doctrine, Discipline or worship of the Church, or by the formal admission into any religious body not in communion with the Church, or in any other way...

 


"Confirmation of Deposition by the Standing Committee"


From Title IV, Canon 16 (B), Sec. 4 adding the text underlined: "If, however, within the sixty day period, the Bishop Diocesan does not pronounce acceptance of the renunciation of the Priest or Deacon in accordance with Canon III.7.8-10 and III.9.8-11, as applicable, or the Priest or Deacon does not make retraction or denial as provided above, then it shall be the duty of the Bishop Diocesan to return the case to the Standing Committee, with all documentation involving the case, and ask the Standing Committee to review the matter and give a final recommendation to the Bishop. If the Standing Committee, by a three-fourths vote of all of its members, confirms and ratifies the proposed action, it shall be the duty of the Bishop either (i) to depose the Priest or Deacon, or (ii) if the Bishop is satisfied that no previous irregularity or misconduct is involved, with the advice and consent of the Standing Committee to pronounce and record in the presence of two or more priests that the Priest or Deacon is released from the obligations of Priest or Deacon and (for causes which do not affect the persons moral character) is deprived of the right to exercise the gifts and spiritual authority conferred in Ordination.  If three-fourths of the members of the Standing Committee do not vote in the affirmative, the charges are dropped and the Priest or Deacon is so informed.


Title of Resolution:    R-1:    Establish the First Sunday of Lent as Episcopal Relief & Development Sunday

Presenter:         The Reverend Canon Nelson W. Pinder
                            on behalf of the Millennium Development Goals Committee

 

RESOLVED:      that the Diocese of Central Florida dedicate the first Sunday in Lent as Episcopal Relief & Development Sunday and that congregations and individuals be encouraged to support Episcopal Relief & Development’s life-saving work through prayer and a special offering that will help heal a hurting world; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:  that the Diocese of Central Florida submit the following resolution to be considered and adopted by Province IV; and
 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:  that the Diocese of Central Florida submit the following resolution to the 76th General Convention of The Episcopal Church, meeting in Anaheim, California, July, 2009:

RESOLVED:

the House of _____ concurring, that the 76th General Convention of The Episcopal Church dedicate the first Sunday in Lent as Episcopal Relief & Development Sunday and that congregations and individuals be encouraged to support Episcopal Relief & Development’s live-saving work through prayer and a special offering that will help heal a hurting world.