From the Diocese’s General Convention Deputation
June 4, 2015

Go to the EDOLA General Convention Hub

General_Convention-e1335972761430-150x150The Deputies and Alternates elected at the Diocesan Convention in 2014 have been preparing for General Convention, to be held June 23-July 3 in Salt Lake City, Utah.  A number of important issues will be before the Convention, including the election of a new Presiding Bishop, the potential restructure of the Episcopal Church, proposed liturgical changes, a new budget for the Episcopal Church and many other issues.

The Deputies will be providing information throughout the Convention, which you can follow on this website. You can learn more about the resolutions that have been submitted to General Convention and other information at http://www.generalconvention.org/ and http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/gc/

We will also be attending Province IV Synod June 3-5 at the Kanuga Conference Center in North Carolina to learn more about the issues we will be addressing at General Convention.

Your Bishop, Deputies and Alternates attending Provincial Synod and General Convention are:

  • The Rt. Rev’d Morris K. Thompson, Jr.
  • The Rev’d Sharon Alexander (Chair), Trinity, Baton Rouge
  • The Rev’d Fred Devall, St. Martin’s, Metairie
  • The Very Rev’d AJ Heine, St. Augustine’s, Metairie
  • The Rev’d Anne Maxwell, Christ Church, Covington
  • The Rev’d Roman Roldan, Grace Church, St. Francisville (Alternate)
  • The Very Rev’d Ron Clingenpeel, Retired (Alternate)
  • Ms. Ann Ball, All Saints, River Ridge
  • Mr. Edgar Cage, St. Patrick’s, Zachary
  • Mr. John Musser, Trinity, New Orleans
  • Mr. Ed Starns, St. Luke’s, Baton Rouge
  • Dr. Caroline Carson, St. Paul’s, New Orleans (Alternate)

Also attending are Levi Thompson, St. Luke’s, New Orleans as a Province IV Youth Deputy (with voice and seat at Convention) and The Rev’d Canon Shannon Manning.  In addition, representatives from the ECW of the Diocese will be attending the 48th Triennial Meeting of the ECW, which will be occurring at the same time in Salt Lake City.

Your prayers for all preparing for and attending Provincial Synod and General Convention are requested.  The following is found on page 818 of the Book of Common Prayer (Prayer 12, For a Church Convention or Meeting):

Almighty and everliving God, source of all wisdom and understanding, be present with those who take counsel in The General Convention of The Episcopal Church for the renewal and mission of your Church.  Teach us in all things to seek first your honor and glory. Guide us to perceive what is right, and grant us both the courage to pursue it and the grace to accomplish it; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

You belong. You are children of God. No exceptions.

Bishop Duckworth’s sermon called us to remember the UpStairs Lounge fire in the French Quarter, a violent act of deadly arson that killed 32 gay men in nineteen minutes. In the aftermath, no church in the city would bury the dead. The exception was St. George’s Episcopal Church. Its rector, the Rev. Bill Richardson, did what he knew Jesus called him to do — he buried those men. He did so not without cost: he faced active condemnation from the larger community, but also from within his own congregation and from within our own diocese.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of two pivotal resolutions from the 1976 General Convention of the Episcopal Church. Resolution 1976-A069 and Resolution 1976-A071 declared that “homosexual persons are children of God who have a full and equal claim with all other persons upon the love, acceptance, and pastoral concern and care of the Church,” and that LGBTQ+ persons “are entitled to equal protection of the laws with all other citizens.” While we can celebrate many clear advancements for the full inclusion of our LGBTQ+ community in church and community life, the work is ongoing.

It has not always been a straight path. The church is human, and humans stumble. But consider how far we have traveled: from a church being rebuked for praying over the dead, to bishops wearing rainbow stoles given as gifts by LGBTQ+ Episcopalians at ordination. From closed communion tables to fully open sacramental life. From whispered exclusion to the joyful, public, Spirit-filled worship we offer tonight.

In our own Diocese of Louisiana, the transformation has been remarkable. Inclusive Louisiana, our network of LGBTQ+ Episcopalians and their allies, has been a light in this region for years — marching in Pride parades, offering pastoral care, and equipping congregations to proclaim God’s all-inclusive love. And here at St. Anna’s, you have led the way: becoming the first congregation in this diocese to celebrate same-sex marriage.

Bishop Duckworth’s conclusion made plain that actively creating a joyfully inclusive church is what we are called to do:

Not someday. Not when things are more comfortable. Not when the political climate improves. Today. The work of liberation is always a present-tense call.”

To speak that truth in this moment is not a partisan act. It is an act of Christian faithfulness. It is what prophets do. It is what the Church, at its best, has always done — even when it cost us something.

We serve a God who said: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” That includes everyone. Everyone is a child of God.

The Rt. Rev. Shannon Rogers Duckworth

Bishop Duckworth offered the Prayer for Travelers from the Book of Common Prayer for Deacon Luigi, who is relocating to Chicago. His contributions to Inclusive Louisiana, St. Anna’s, the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, and the broader community have been immeasurable. We are grateful for all he has given us, and we trust that though he leaves us physically, what he has created here will continue to grow.

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