Special to the online edition

Youth report from Convention

As many of you already know, the 74th General Convention was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, this year.

Convention takes places every three years, and thousands of Episcopalians swarm to a poor unsuspecting city and discuss the inner workings of the church.

This year two big issues were 2020 and the Bishop-elect Gene Robinson.

There also is rising conflict about the role the youth play in the church.

The decision-making body of the Episcopal church works similarly to Congress. There are two Houses, The House of Bishops and the House of Deputies. The House of Bishops is made up of all the Bishops in the Episcopal Church USA. The House of Deputies, however, consists of clergy members and lay persons. They are carefully chosen and trusted to make proficient choices for the well-being of the Church.

2020! Most of you are probably saying, "Huh?!?" That's okay! I said the same thing when I first heard about it.

2020 is a mission the Church is on to double the population of Episcopalians by the year 2020. This concept was accepted at the last General Convention in Denver, Colorado in 2000. The Church plans to accomplish this goal by evangelizing to single adults from ages 18 to 35, and by having seminaries amend their curriculums to better equip clergy to minister to singles. Hopefully, we will be able to attain this aspiration by 2020, but it will only happen if the Church as a whole can come together and work as one.

By far, the largest debate was about the now Bishop Gene Robinson. As many may think, the debate was not that he is homosexual, but that he is not celibate. Some argued that any sexual activity outside of marriage is looked upon as sinful, and since homosexuals are not allowed to be married, by law, it was not legitimate for a non-celibate homosexual to be consecrated as Bishop.

There was much debate on the subject, and on August 4, 2003, the two Houses voted "YES!" It was a very prayerful and powerful day for the Episcopal Church.

There was talk before the decision that people were planning on breaking away from our Church if Gene Robinson was consecrated. In an informal survey, I found that all of the youth and most of the young adults did not see what all the fuss was about.

In conclusion, many would agree that the youth should have more of a part in decisions made at convention. After all, it will affect us for longer than it will anyone else.

There was a youth delegation on the floor of the House of Deputies (a male and female from each province), and they were allowed to say their bit, but not allowed to vote.

The youth of the Church are the future, so if we are not taught and given chances to prove ourselves, how are we supposed to be competent enough to run the church when it is our turn?

Maybe at the next convention in 2006, we will make it to the "Blue Book!"

Related story:

• Church listens to voices of young people