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Committee Takes First Steps Towards 1997 General Convention in Philadelphia

Episcopal News Service. February 9, 1995 [95022]

(ENS) The committee charged with laying plans for the 1997 General Convention in Philadelphia, spent much of its initial meeting discussing what worked and what did not at last summer's General Convention in Indianapolis.

"Welcome to Philadelphia -- cradle of liberty, birthplace of the Episcopal Church and home of the Philly cheesesteak," said Bishop Allan Bartlett January 26 at the opening session of the two-day meeting of the Joint Standing Committee on Planning and Arrangements.

After electing Pamela Chinnis, president of the House of Deputies, to chair the committee, participants analyzed the last General Convention to see what might benefit the next one. According to a report based on 500 evaluations received by the General Convention Office in New York, pre-convention planning was widely praised, "particularly the joint meeting of cognate legislative committee chairs." With the exception of a few instances when the bishops did not cooperate, the work of the cognate committees was described as "extremely useful."

Joint sessions receive low marks

"Once again the morning Bible-sharing/Eucharist was enthusiastically received," according to the evaluations. Deputies, however, seemed evenly divided, with some seeking a return to the Phoenix model where Eucharist was shared at each table. "The extended reflection times on racism and sexuality were not judged especially helpful," the report noted.

While expressing deep praise for the chaplain in the House of Deputies, a number of respondents asked for a reexamination of the role of chaplain in light of "increased emphasis on joint daily worship."

In one of the few sour notes in the evaluations, the orientation sessions for General Convention were "generally considered very poor. People felt that they did not get what was needed or what was helpful to them."

The forums were "considered stimulating and useful" but some responses suggested that there were too many in light of the legislative load. The joint sessions received low marks, criticized as "too many and not well done." Deputies also were critical of the presentation by the bishops, the Executive Council presentation and called the program, budget and finance presentations "too long." On the other hand, the presiding bishop's address was considered "the highlight of the convention."

Legislative agenda reduced

"The most universally requested improvement was electronic voting and not using deputies as tellers," the report said. Deputies also complained about the "untimely distribution of materials from the print shop before legislative sessions."

Chinnis reported that attempts to limit the legislative agenda, which threatened gridlock at the 1991 General Convention in Phoenix, were quite successful, offering a chart prepared by Pamela Darling as an illustration of the improvement.

In the afternoon, Bartlett and Barbara Ogilby, the diocesan communications officer who will head the local arrangements committee, arranged a tour of the new Philadelphia Convention Center in the downtown area.