 At the 75th General Convention of the Episcopal Church meeting in Columbus, Ohio, June 13-21, 2006 |
East Tennessee
perspectives: Bishop vonRosenberg, members of the East Tennessee deputation and East Tennessee visitors to the General Convention used these pages throughout the convention to share with the "folks back home" their impressions, activities and insights: Settling in •
Day One • Day Two • Day
Three • Day Four
• East Tennessee photo gallery at the convention |
 Other pages related to the convention:
• Episcopal News Service convention coverage |
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The Rt. Rev. Charles vonRosenberg, bishop Received Sun 5:47 p.m. Today the House of Bishops elected Katharine Jefferts Schori as 26th presiding bishop, and the House of Deputies concurred with that decision. Thus, Bishop Jefferts Schori becomes our presiding bishop-elect. It is interesting that this General Convention has celebrated the 30th anniversary of the ordination of women. Of course, the other matter attracting most of the attention at this General Convention is the Episcopal Church's response to the Windsor Report. We need to remember that the Windsor Report complimented the Episcopal Church in the way that we considered with care the matter of women's ordination and the attention we gave to consulting the rest of the Anglican Communion in those deliberations. That process has led directly to the possibility of today's action. I was surprised by the choice today; however, I certainly can support Bishop Jefferts Schori in her new calling, as I have supported women deacons, priests and bishops in the past. I ask Episcopalians across East Tennessee to join me in continuing to pray for our Episcopal Church and, in particular, for Katharine, our presiding bishop-elect.
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The Rev. Maggie Zeller, alternate Received Sun 6:40 p.m. Dear ones, We began the day with Eucharist, of course, and our music was jazzier than usual - some of us would argue it was jazz lite, but it was certainly toe-tapping. I suppose I should say, if I haven't already, that there are several dioceses who do not participate in the worship of the General Convention body. Instead, they have their own Eucharist at the same time in a nearby hotel. A sad commentary on our church. I could tell you about the legislation we adopted or concurred with today - I was an alternate again - but I know that by the time you read this, you will have heard that the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, currently Bishop of Nevada [was elected presiding bishop]. She was the only woman nominated and only one of two candidates from outside our Province IV. I suspect there are very few people who can say they predicted she would win, but win she did. The surprise and shock that raced through the House of Deputies was electric. Many shed tears of joy - yeah, I was one of them - and I saw no one demonstrate deep distress or dislike. We still need to hear the response of the rest of the Anglican Communion. It is quite possible that the resolutions on regret and moratoria on gay/lesbian bishops and same-sex blessings will be moot as far as our brothers in the global South are concerned. I pray that won't be the case. We are all thoroughly exhausted. I will tell you that we adopted a resolution on Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight this morning that will now go to the House of Bishops. Since this policy has been in place unofficially for some time, I expect it will pass easily. More tomorrow as we really have a great deal of legislation to consider in the next three days. Peace. |
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Ms. Ellen Hartsfield, ECW delegate Received Sun 7:05 p.m. Having 18 or fewer parishes out of 50 in the Diocese of East Tennessee that participate in the United Thank Offering, I attended the two-day "Face-to-Face" workshop at the ECW Triennial meeting for ideas on how to increase this number. UTO reps from the U.S. and several other countries attended. Arranged as mini-workshops, we began with "UTO 101" and concluded with "UTO and U to Go," covering all aspects of UTO from the Blue Boxes to grant applications. We are were informed about more than $20,000 in additional grants that the convention festival eucharist and UTO Ingathering will provide. I have always loved the UTO concept: to instill the habit of daily thankful prayer, then drop a coin in a box and give someone else something to be thankful for. The grants from these offerings total just under $3 million each year. I emerged from the workshops re-enthused in my conviction that the worldwide mission of the United Thank Offering should continue in our diocese. For more information, please visit episcopalchurch.org/UTO, or contact me, the UTO coordinator for Episcopal Church Women in the Diocese of East Tennessee (fatelmo@bellsouth.net).
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Ms. Lynn Schmissrauter, deputation chair Received Mon 12:43 a.m. Today was a truly remarkable day in the history of The Episcopal Church. The air that was sucked into our mouths when the name of the new PB was announced nearly yanked the flags off the podium! Our new PB is THE reconciling candidate. She is calm, firm, non-anxious, and most of all a follower of the peaceful Jesus. We are so very blessed. I believe that the stone has been rolled away from the tomb! We have been very stuck for these past few days, with committees trying to draft legislation that will please everyone - not an easy task. And I believe that somehow - today we realize that we have to look forward and live into our real mission - to be reconcilied with one another and Christ by following Jesus and not by trying to twist ourselves into pretzels. Okay, end of sermon. Intense work continues on the floor of the House of Deputies. We pray safe travel for our dear deputy Suzanne Smitherman who returns home today to attend the memorial service for our friend Jerry Martin. We thank all the visitors who came for the PB election and gathered around us in caucus. Tomorrow will be an early morning for me in committee hearing, and we will hear more from the Special Commission [on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion]. Keep us in your prayers, please, and know that this faithful group of East Tennesseeans is prayerfully going about the business of the church with Christ in the lead. Tonight I shall fall on my knees and give thanks for the energy that we discovered today as a body ... Peace be with you. |
