17th Annual Convention is February 9-11

Complete Convention information OnLine

by Pam Doty
The Diocese of East Tennessee is One Church. We are called to love in the name of Christ and to grow in people and in resources for ministry and for mission. We anticipate miracles as God works through us.”

The theme of the Seventeenth Annual Convention of the Diocese of East Tennessee comes from the diocesan vision statement written by Bishop Charles G. vonRosenberg: We anticipate miracles.

In the work of the convention, in the worship and in the fellowship, the emphasis will be anticipating miracles and celebrating the gifts of God.

The site of the convention will be the Hyatt Regency in Knoxville on February 9-11.

The Rev. Thom Rasnick, subdean of St. John's Cathedral, and Meg Lonon, also of St. John's Cathedral, are the co-chairs of Convention 2001.

The convention is an annual event at which clergy and lay delegates from 48 Episcopal Churches in East Tennessee gather to conduct the diocese's business, elect diocesan leaders to various posts, adopt a budget, as well as socialize and worship together.

The convention will open Friday evening with Evening Prayer, followed by a reception. The work of convention will begin on Saturday with business sessions in the morning and afternoon. Between sessions, workshops on various topics such as Church hospitality, stewardship, Christian formation, and the Call to Common Mission will be held. Anyone interested in the workshops is invited to attend. More information on the schedule, topics and presenters will be available in the January issue of The East Tennessee Episcopalian. (see related article, page 7.)

Saturday will end with dinner and entertainment. The convention will close with a Eucharist on Sunday morning to which all East Tennessee Episcopalians are invited.

A highlight of the convention will be performances by the St. Augustine's College Choir from Raleigh, NC.

Each congregation within the Diocese selects lay delegates and alternates for the Convention. The number of delegates is determined by the size of the congregation. Clergy are also delegates --both parochial and non-parochial. Clergy who are licensed to officiate in East Tennessee, though not entitled to vote, are cordialy invited by Resolution to seat and vioce in convention deliberations.

Ex-officio member of convention are admitted to seats on the floor of the convention and are given all privileges except the right to vote. Ex-officio members are lay members of Bishop and Council and Standing Committee, Chancellor and Vice Chancellors, Treasurer and Assistant Treasurers, Secretary and Assistant Secretary, Chair of the Constitutions and Canons Committee, the Registrar, President of the Board of the Episcopal Endowment Corporation, Dean of the School of Theology and Chancellors and Chaplain of the University of the South, and Youth Action Council representatives.

Visitors are always welcomed to the convention.

Diocesan Elections Information

Nominations to elected offices or positions may be made only by the Bishops of the diocese, clerical and lay Delegates, Vestries and Mission Councils.

At this Convention, 1 clergy member and 1 lay member will be elected to the Standing Committee for three terms expiring in 2004. They will replace the Rev. Patricia Templeton and Mr. John Mendez whose terms expire 2001. The continuing members of the Standing Committee are: the Rev. Joseph Ballard and Mr. Robert Newman whose terms expire in 2002, and the Rev. Dan Matthews, Jr. and Mrs. Mary Rayson whose terms expire in 2003.

Five positions on Bishop and Council will be filled to replace those whose terms expire 2001. For terms expiring in 2004, 1 lay member and 1 clergy member from the South East; 1 lay member and 1 clergy member from the Middle East; and one clergy member from Upper East.

Present members of the Council are:

Terms expiring 2001 -- the Rev. Hugh Jones, Mrs. Katie Piper, the Rev. Kay Reynolds, Ms. Sharon Monroe and the Rev. Gene Smitherman.

Terms expiring 2002 -- Ms. Ann Lamb, the Rev. Perry Scruggs, the Rev. Peter Keese, Ms. Wanda Morrell and Dr. Robert Strimer.

Terms expiring 2003 -- the Rev. Matilda Dunn, Mr. John Woody, the Rev. Albert Lewis, the Hon. Joe Ayers, the Rev. Lee Schaefer and Mr. Dwight Runge.

One lay member will be elected to serve a three year term as a Trustee of The University of the South. Presently serving are: Mr. David Mouron, Sr. (2001), the Rev. Hunter Huckabay (2002) and Mr. James Cate (2003).

Also to be elected at the Convention are five persons for the Ecclesiastical Trial Court. Composed of three clergy members and two lay members, the members serve five year terms which will expire in 2006.

Present members (who are all eligible for re-election) are the Rev. Peter Keese, the Rev. James Marquis, the Rev. Martha Sterme, Ms. Ethel Laws and Mr. Silas Williams, Jr., Presiding Judge.

Diocesan Resolutions Information

Any Delegate, Vestry, Mission Council, Area Commission, the Bishop and Council, the Chair of the Committee on Constitution and Canons and the Registrar of the Diocese may submit resolutions for consideration by the Annual Convention.Resolutions for consideration by the Convention are to be delivered to the Secretary of the Convention on or before the thirtieth day preceding the Convention. Resolutions may also be introduced at Annual Convention in accordance with the Rules of Order.

OnLine registration, nomination & resolution Forms

If you have questions regarding Convention preparation, contact Alice Clayton, Canon to the Ordinary, (aclayton@etdiocese.net) or Rosemary Davenport, Assistant Secretary to Convention, (rdavenport@etdiocese.net).

Pam Doty is editor of The East Tennessee Episcopalian.