Episcopal Press and News

Summary of Actions of the Executive Council

Episcopal News Service. November 27, 1985 [85240]

NEW YORK, (DPS, Nov.27) -- The Executive Council of the Episcopal Church held its first meeting since the General Convention in September in Anaheim, Calif. The Council met at the Episcopal Church Center from Nov. 20 through Nov. 22.

The Council consists of the Presiding Bishop (The Most Rev. John M. Allin, until the end of the year, when he will be succeeded by the Rt. Rev. Edmond L. Browning of Hawaii), as president; the Very Rev. David Collins, dean emeritus of St Philip's, Atlanta, who succeeded Dr. Charles R. Lawrence as president of the House of Deputies of the General Convention and, ex officio, vice president of the Council; 20 members elected by General Convention (10 bishops, priests and laity elected each Convention); and 18 provincial representatives, one lay and one clerical representative from each of the nine Provinces; for a total of 40.

The meeting was dedicated to orientation and some organization. The Council did not work through the committee structures it has used for the last six years, but it did act on more than 40 resolutions. Our report, then, will be organized chronologically for this meeting.

During the meeting, the Council:

• Learned of the resignation of the Rev. Lyle Noisy Hawk as Province VI clerical representative due to the press of business;
• Extended a Companion Diocese Relationship between Iowa and Brechin (Scottish Episcopal Church) for three years;
• Received reports of missionaries and volunteers who have completed their terms of service overseas and directed the secretary to convey appreciation for their ministries;
• Ratified the appointment of missionaries to overseas posts;
• Named Council member Scott Evans of Alabama as an American partner to the Anglican Church of Canada Partner in Mission Consultation;
• Re-elected -- with a standing ovation -- Matthew Costigan as treasurer;
• Approved an allocation of $30,000 from the Constable Fund for a series of educational videotapes and study guides on Peace and Terrorism;
• Authorized changes in the Lay Employees Pension Plan of the Church Center to bring it into conformity with salary increase schedules;
• Authorized adjustment to Lay Employee and Lay Missionary Pensions to allow for a cost of living increase;
• Authorized the sale of a one-family home owned by the Church in Cos Cob, Conn.;
• Established a Cuttington University College Trust Fund of approximately $275,000;
• Established a Cuttington College Endowment Fund of $40,000, a gift from the Diocese of East Carolina Venture in Mission;
• Established the Sophie Tracy Brown Memorial Trust Fund, approximately $5,000;
• Established the Mary Bill Charitable Remainder Trust Fund, income to be used in terms of the trust;
• Formally adopted the $27,605,000 budget authorized by Convention for 1986;
• Approved a provision in the compensation schedule for appointed missionaries to allow accumulation of a "repatriation fund";
• A resolution dealing with amendments in the 1986 Parochial Report Form to conform to canonical changes made by Convention was withdrawn, at the request of the treasurer, for further work and re-presentation at the February meeting;
• Approved a grant of $35,000 for the Saunders Archdeaconry Center in the Diocese of Long Island from the Vincent Astor Trust Fund;
• Established the Mary Edith McClenahan Trust, approximately $3,700, for the use of Triennial;
• Authorized allocation of $137,905 from the income of the Latin American and the Caribbean Theological Education Trust Fund;
• Established the Carl Paul Malmsberg Memorial Scholarship Fund, $20,000, for students at St. Stephen's High School, Mohale's Hoek, Lesotho, Southern Africa;
• Approved a grant of $5,000 for a Japanese ministry at St. Luke's Church, Forest Hills, N.Y. from the Vincent Astor Fund;
• Approved a resolution that expenses of Council members attending the installation of Presiding Bishop-elect Edmond L. Browning be charged, as a usual Council meeting would be, to the 1986 budget;
• Granted $4,000 from the trust fund for Theological Education Scholarships for Hispanic-Americans to George Ortiz-Guzeman, who is attending the Church Divinity School of the Pacific;
• Granted $4,500 from the trust fund for Theological Education Scholarships for Hispanic-Americans to Daniel D. Robayo-Hidalgo, who is attending Virginia Theological Seminary;
• Granted $5,000 from the trust fund for Theological Education Scholarships for Hispanic-Americans to Roberto Maldonado, an Episcopalian who is attending Lutheran and Baptist seminaries in Philadelphia, with payments to be at the discretion of the treasurer;
• Affirmed the designation of 16 new Jubilee Centers and postponed affirmation of two others, pending more information on their advocacy programs;
• Deferred, for lack of information, a resolution authorizing a stockholder resolution calling on American Telephone and Telegraph to terminate their contract to manage the nuclear weapons divisions of the Sandia National Laboratories;
• Extended the 1983-85 triennial working issue areas of its Committee on Social Responsibility in Investments until the February 1986 meeting;
• Approved, with opposition, a stockholder resolution calling on General Motors to terminate sales of all motor vehicles and components for use by the South African military, police and any of their agencies or instrumentalities until the government of South Africa makes a commitment to terminating apartheid and takes meaningful steps toward political and legal equality for blacks;
• Approved, with opposition, stockholder resolutions requesting the Boards of Directors of IBM, Schlumberger, General Electric, United Airlines and General Signal to terminate operations in South Africa unless, by the end of 1986, the South African government accepts the Tutu corollaries;
• Approved a stockholder resolution requesting Martin-Marietta's Board not to enter into any new contracts pertaining to the MX missile nor renew existing ones until it has established a committee to review the company's involvement with the MX and received a report from that committee;
• Referred back to committee a shareholder resolution calling on Raytheon not to enter or renew contracts with South Africa or any of its agencies until South Africa has made a commitment to end apartheid and taken meaningful steps toward full political and legal rights for the black majority;
• Approved a stockholder resolution calling on the Board of Schlumberger to prepare a report on revenue from sales to the Soviet Union for the years 1980-85, including the amount derived from products believed used by the police or military, descriptions of such products;
• Approved a grant of $10,000 from Venture in Mission undesignated funds for seed money for diocesan editions of The Episcopalian, to expand circulation with the Dioceses of Milwaukee and Utah;
• Approved a grant of $8,250 from Venture in Mission undesignated funds for inner city urban congregation development to stabilize emerging American Indian urban congregations;
• Released to the Diocese of Egypt the $52,000 Venture in Mission grant from the Diocese of Central New York for the Harpur Memorial Hospital;
• Authorized changes in procedure to permit flexibility in conforming Venture grants to changing conditions;
• Authorized $40,000 from undesignated Venture funds to Cuttington University College as matching funds for a grant;
• Heard from Treasurer Matthew Costigan of financial procedures employed by Council;
• Learned from Secretary the Rev. Canon James Gundrum that the second volume of White & Dyckman has been shipped;
• Agreed to name Councilor Scott Evans as liaison to the Council for Women's Ministries for three years;
• Accepted with applause Allin's address and ordered action on ecumenical and planning matters to which it referred.