Call to 'Ministry & Mission' Theme of Convention

by Pam Doty
The 2002 Convention of the Diocese of East Tennessee will be February 8-10, 2002 at the Radisson Hotel in Knoxville. The theme for this year’s convention is “To grow in people and in resources for ministry and mission,” taken from Bishop vonRosenberg’s mission statement for the diocese:

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.

This year’s convention will focus on the Diocesan Camp and Retreat Center and on visions for its development and use. Kent Cooper, an architect from Washington, D.C., will unveil his plans for the diocese’s camp and retreat center near Kingston. Cooper has been working with the camp and retreat center’s board of managers for over a year. His work focuses on religious camps. He will be the featured speaker at the luncheon on Saturday. Also on Saturday, there will be time allotted for gathering the visions of the people of the diocese for the Camp and Retreat Center.

These “vision gatherings” for programming and community for the Camp and Retreat Center will focus on six areas: service, worship, education, evangelism, pastoral care and stewardship. Delegates and guests are asked to attend a session focused on an area in which they have thoughts or expertise to lend to the discussion or a session focusing on an area in which your parish could use some assistance.The sessions will be participatory. After a presentation on possible uses of the Camp and Retreat Center for the particular area of focus, everyone present will be invited to comment and add suggestions and needs for the use of the Camp and Retreat Center.

Convention registration opens Friday evening at 4:30 p.m. with the organizational gathering and election of officers to begin at 6 p.m. followed by Evensong at 6:45 p.m. At 7:30 p.m., the Bishop’s Reception will take place in the Summit I Ballroom with light hor d’oeuvres and wine.

Most of the work of Convention will be done in two general sessions on Saturday. The first session will begin at 8 a.m., following Morning Prayer at 7:30 a.m. The second session will be from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Budget and Resolution workshops will be held at 11 a.m.

Of course, no convention would be quite right without a time for celebrating, greeting friends and meeting people from around the diocese. So, there will be a Mardi Gras Celebration at Club LeConte at 7 p.m.

On Sunday, the Convention will close with a Festival Convention Eucharist in the Summit Ballroom at 10 a.m.

Child care will be provided for children of delegates, clergy and families in order to allow greater participation in Convention events. Requests for child care are due in by January 7. Child care information will be mailed prior to convention.

The Rev. Matthew Dutton-Gillett, rector of St. Elizabeth’s, Farragut, and Ms. Ann Holtz, St. James’, Knoxville are serving as co-chairs of the Convention Committee.

Prior to Convention, members of the Diocesan staff and various committee members will present convention “road shows” in the three areas of the diocese to provide information on proposed changes to the Church canons, proposed resolutions and the 2002 budget. The meetings will be:

• January 16, 6:30 p.m. at St. Stephen’s, Oak Ridge
• January 20, 5:00 p.m. at St. John’s, Johnson City
• January 23, 6:30 p.m. at St. Alban’s, Hixson

Pam Doty is the Editor of The East Tennessee Episcopalian.