[by Fr. Roman Roldan, Clerical Alternate, Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana]
Like the first three days, today began with legislative commitee meetings and hearings. There are a few hot topic issues getting a great deal of press. There are changes proposed to Canon IV (Disciplinary Canon for Clergy), generally making rules a bit harsher and reducing Diocesan Bishop’s discretion by demanding that they “Shall”, rather than “May” refer various issues for disciplinary action, rather than dealing with those issues in a pastoral way. There is, of course, a great deal of talk about the restructure of the Episcopal Church. Those committee meetings and hearings have been well attended and, it is clear, that there is no concensus on whether there will be a recommendatio to reduce size of the House of Deputies, whether the duration of National Convention should be reduced; whether the church should move from bycameral representation (Separate houses for Bishops and Delegates) to unicameral representation (just one house), etc. These issues are still being debated and they will not come up for vote for several more days. There is great interest in constitutional, canonical, and liturgical changes to revise or add language ensuring equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender populations. And there are various resolutions dealing with national and international justice issues.
There were two high points for many attendees to convention today: The first was the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage. The news was greeted by many with great enthusiasm. Many believe, rightly in my opinion, that this decision by the court will go along way in facilitating the various resolutions at Convention that deal with same-sex unions, and revision to the language in the marital rites of the prayer book to redefine marriage as between two persons, rather than between a man and a woman. The second highlight for many was the re-election of Gay Clark Jennings as President of the House of Deputies. She is a well-liked leader who is trusted and respected by most of the delegates. Her election was unanimous.
Another hot topic issue that will come before the House soon is a resolution to divest from any investements that in any way contribute to the occupation of Palestine by Israel. Simply put, divestion seeks to stop investing in any companies that are believed to contribute to the occupation. If this passes, the Episcopal Church will have to review its investment strategy and stop investing in any trust funds that include any of the companies of concern. The passions around this issue are quite inflamed, but, I wonder about the practicality of this resolution. I also believe that if we are going to propose divesting from these types of investments, we should do it throughout the world and not just in Palestine. The selection of this geographical area, when we are investing in companies that perhaps don’t have the best humanitarian track record in other parts of the world, (like Africa and Latin America), seems a bit politically-motivated and capricious. This is just my personal opinion and I am open to be educated otherwise.
I will switch my status to “Deputy” tomorrow and Sunday as I cover for one of our Delegates. What this means is that I will get to vote on a number of important resolutions, including the confirmation of the new Presiding Bishop. Stay tuned and keep praying for all of us,
Blessings, Fr. Roldan+