What I Love About General Convention

The Episcopal Church’s giant family reunion has started! General Convention usually happens every three years, but because 2021 was a pandemic year, the last convention was in summer of 2022. We are now back on track for the full extravaganza – and what an extravaganza it is! Over 1,000 bishops and deputies will gather in Louisville, Kentucky, from June 22 through June 29 to do the work of the church.

There are many things I love about General Convention. This is my sixth Convention – I was an elected deputy from Arizona in 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2018, and attended as a bishop in 2022 and now 2024. Every convention is different, but there are some constant elements that I love.

The Work of the Church

Since The Episcopal Church’s formation after the American Revolution, General Convention has been the way we decided the most important questions before us. Convention authorizes the Book of Common Prayer and other liturgies that express the Christian theology of our church. It makes major decisions that expand the ministries of our church, like the ordination of women in 1976 and the extension of marriage to same-sex couples in 2015. It approves the budget for the church, and therefore determines how we will follow Jesus in the church’s mission for the next three years – because as Jesus said, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” It considers many resolutions for the life and ministry of the church, from clergy disciplinary canons to peace and justice resolutions.

The Presiding Bishop Election

In 2015, I was a deputy to Convention when Presiding Bishop Michael Curry was elected. It was a joyful time! The Presiding Bishop is elected by the House of Bishops and then confirmed by the House of Deputies (four lay and four clergy deputies from each diocese). The House of Deputies has never failed to confirm an election, so I certainly hope that doesn’t happen this time! This will be my first time to vote for a new Presiding Bishop as a member of the House of Bishops. All the bishops will be sequestered in Christ Church Cathedral, just down the street from the convention center, all day. We will cast as many ballots as needed to elect one of the five candidates by a majority vote. Once a candidate has been elected, a delegation will be sent to the House of Deputies to report and ask for their confirmation. The bishop will remain sequestered in the church until we’ve received notice that the PB-elect has been confirmed. The whole day will be held in the context of worship, beginning with a morning Eucharist, with hymns and reflections from the chaplains during the day.

All Orders of Ministry

At General Convention, lay people, deacons, priests, and bishops come together to make the most important decisions before the church. Our church is ruled, not by bishops or archbishops (or a pope), but by all of God’s people working together. It is a joy to see the teamwork and respect accorded one another’s gifts and perspectives at General Convention. Lawyers, nurses, teachers, priests, social workers, bishops, and all manner of people contribute to the wisdom that is shared and produces resolutions. I don’t agree with all the resolutions we produce, but I respect the process that produces them.

Worship Together

Worship at General Convention is a grand spectacle. Nearly 2,000 people, between deputies, bishops, exhibitors, guests, and delegates to the Episcopal Church Women triennial gathering that happens at the same time, gather and join in song, prayer, and sacrament. We hear terrific preaching and lift our voices together to God. The worship services are diverse, drawing from a variety of ethnic identities, languages, and musical styles. And we are one in our love of Christ. It is a magnificent experience of the Body of Christ.

An International Church

The Episcopal Church is not only located in the United States, but in seventeen countries throughout the world, from Taiwan to Honduras to Haiti to Germany. Interpretation is available in all those languages, and attendees have the opportunity to meet and form relationships with our siblings in Christ in all those countries and to learn from them about their unique contexts of ministry.

Exhibits

The exhibit hall at convention is vast and fascinating. Everyone from ministries serving the Episcopal Church, like Forward Movement and the Church Pension Group, to vestment designers and sellers, holds court in the exhibit hall – a great place to discover new things about the church and new opportunities to minister in our congregations!

Episcopalooza!

It’s a grand family reunion. I love seeing my friends from all over the church and the world – people I ministered with or went to seminary with decades ago, and people who are new and dear friends, like my women bishop colleagues from the western US states. Most days I have lunch or dinner with dear old and new friends, and it’s a grand time to catch up.

Okay, I will admit there are things I DON’T love about General Convention. It’s a very tiring event, with meetings from early morning till late at night. The legislative process, from committee work to Robert’s Rules of Order on the floor of the respective House of Bishops and House of Deputies, can be a real slog. Some of the resolutions seem, as my friend Scott Gunn put it on his blog, like “they could have been an email.” And I disagree strongly with some of the decisions Convention makes. But overall, I am grateful for Convention, for the chance to collaborate with so many people on the governance of our church, and for the church and the Savior that brings us together. Alleluia!

If you are interested in learning more about General Convention, visit edsd.org/gc2024, where you’ll find a number of ways to follow the action at General Convention.