Greetings from a very hot Indianapolis! Though I never saw an official temperature today, I was told it got to 107 degrees here. Most of my time has been spent either in meetings or in transit to them, and there are an abundance of walkways between buildings to get you where you need to go without ever going outside. Though I miss the fresh air, I don’t miss the heat or seeing all the flowerbeds around the hotels and Convention Center wilting under the blistering sun.
Your West Tennessee deputation has been here since Tuesday (today is Saturday, and it’s only the third legislative day). The in-between times have been spent in legislative committee meetings, reading mountains of material, reconnecting with old acquaintances, making new ones and in general acclimating to the work we are here to do. The time is flying by all too quickly, but there is still much work ahead of us. Though this is a shorter convention by two days, the reality is that we will have less time to deal with just as much legislation as in years past.
The House of Deputies has been off to a somewhat rocky start in its first three days. We have had to learn to work together, gain clarity about Rules of Order and how we function under them, learn how to operate the voting machines and a myriad of other issues associated with the ebb and flow of our work. It hasn’t always gone smoothly, but 45% of us are new deputies and there is a lot to learn. The legislative process itself is fascinating, but in many respects, it’s like watching sausage being made. It moves very slowly. But despite that, the House has dealt with some significant legislation in its three days of operation. In total, we have dealt with 89 (by my count) pieces of legislation. Of note in the life of the Church is that we approved a resolution calling for the sale of 815 Second Avenue, the home of the Episcopal Church Center. This issue has been under consideration for quite some time because of the costs associated with operating a large, somewhat older building in midtown Manhattan. However, this is the first time a body of the General Convention has mandated that the building be sold. The resolution, approved by the House of Deputies, will also need to be approved by the House of Bishops before it is inacted. This is true with all legislation in our bicameral process – legislation must be approved in the same form and language in both houses prior to enactment.
Other legislation before the House of Deputies has included resolutions on consents to the election of eight new bishops, reaffirmation of the five marks of mission, request for funding of the Episcopal Youth Event, development of a multimedia-based evangelism guide, the establishment of diocesan mission enterprise zones and reaffirmation of our commitment to the Millennium Development Goals – to name just a few. And there will be many more in the days ahead.
The Diocese of West Tennessee is well represented by its deputation. Several of us are assigned to the various legislative committees, and those of us who are not are spending our time covering other committees so that when we meet in caucus as a deputation each night, we are well informed about the legislation moving through each of the committees. This enables us to respond more effectively to resolutions as they reach the floor. We are working well as a group, we are committed to the work we are doing and we are honored to be here as representatives of The Diocese of West Tennessee. Thank you for allowing us to represent you.
Peace and stay cool!
Ms. Stephanie Cheney, Lay Deputy
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