Bishop Curry
Three of the highest-ranking individuals in the Episcopal Church made sure the 79th General Convention got off with a bang on the Fourth of July.
Speaking for approximately 40 minutes at the opening press conference from Austin, Texas, the Most Rev. Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop; the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, the House of Deputies president; and the Rev. Canon Michael Barlowe, executive officer of the General Convention, spoke to a small crowd of reporters and via live streaming in the early afternoon on Independence Day.
“Communicating good news, and more importantly, the Good News of Jesus Christ,” Bishop Curry said. “That’s why we’re here.”
This year’s General Convention will give Curry ample opportunity to talk about his revival of the “Jesus Movement,” an Evangelical Christian movement that began on the West Coast of the U.S. in the 1960s and 1970s before losing ground. According to the episcopalchurch.org: “The Jesus Movement is the ongoing community of people who center their lives on Jesus and following him into loving, liberating and life-giving relationship with God, each other and creation.”
But the General Convention also will allow bishops and deputies to discuss a myriad of social, political, and economic issues that are currently impacting the U.S., including migrant treatment, racism, same-sex marriage, and more.
“This is not an ordinary event,” Curry said. “This is not a secular event. We are followers of Jesus of Nazareth. We are true Episcopalians gathering here in the name of Jesus.”
Those Episcopalians are experiencing some outstanding hospitality, thus far, in the Lone Star State as the General Convention officially gets underway on Thursday, July 5, and runs through Friday, July 13. An expected 10,000 people are expected to attend, including 11 from the Diocese of Central Florida.
“The hospitality of Austin has been fantastic,” Jennings said. “I especially want to thank the media for what you’re doing. Your presence is critical to what we’re doing.”
One of the things that conventioneers will be doing is addressing migrants seeking asylum in the U.S., and separation of children from their families. On Sunday, July 8, a group of bishops and deputies will travel to an immigration detention facility near Austin to conduct a prayer service there and bring awareness to the issues surrounding immigration and refugees, Jennings said. A number of resolutions concerning immigration have been assigned to committees, according to the Episcopal News Service.
Another issue expected to receive a lot of attention is the Book of Common Prayer revisions. Although there were some committee meetings on July 4, legislative meetings do not begin until July 5.
“There’s a myriad of activities going on,” Barlowe said. “(Legislative work) is the heart of what we’re doing. It’s going to be a very busy and wonderful General Convention.”
Bishop Curry emphasized that this week’s work must be done with the thought process of “every human being is created in the likeness of God. Every person is a child of God.”
Jennings expounded on that: “What I love about The Episcopal Church is that everything is on the table. Let’s talk about how we pray. We will talk about how ever-widening the Church is becoming and who is watching. We will continue to have conversations about marriage equality. And we will show respect and dignity in everything we’re doing. There is nothing out of bounds in terms of what we can talk about.
“We don’t all agree,” Jennings said. “We have a wide range of views. But we have passionate, dedicated people who have (great) plans for what happens in the Church.”
Barlowe also took time to thank the many volunteers and others who came to the General Convention. “Over the course of some two weeks, about 10,000 people will be coming here in various ways. It wouldn’t be possible to provide the hospitality without the thousands who are taking vacation time (and more), doing God’s work. I’d like to say ‘thank you’ to all of them,” he said.