Report on the 37th Annual Convention
of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast
February 21-23, 2008
• The Convention convened on Thursday, February 21, 2008 at St. Paul’s Church in Mobile.
• Delegates from around the diocese registered throughout Thursday afternoon. Various exhibits – such as UTO, Beckwith, diocesan archives, and Episcopal bookstores – were on display for delegates to view as they registered.
• An open hearing on the budget was held Thursday afternoon. The hearing was lengthy and spirited as delegates discussed the financial challenges facing the diocese. The proposed budget was a deficit budget even though many cuts in programs and personnel had been made, such as:
– the youth director position was eliminated
– the diocesan administrator’s job and pay were reduced by 40%
– the communications director’s position was significantly cut back
– bishop visitations to the congregations were reduced because we could no longer fund visiting bishops.
• Pledges from the congregations to the diocese are down. The delegates attending the hearing felt that something must be done to fund these critical areas of youth, communications, and pastoral care. David Quittmeyer, president of the standing committee, issued a challenge to each parish’s delegation. He called on each parish to consult with its leadership and decide whether or not the parish would increase its pledge to the diocese by $1,500. After some discussion, it was recommended by Harwell Coale of Christ Church Cathedral that the challenge should be to increase each pledge by 5% instead of a specific dollar amount. Several delegates from other parishes accepted the challenge immediately.
• After the budget hearing, the delegates participated in a festive opening Eucharist with The Rt. Rev. Charles E. Jenkins (Diocese of Louisiana) as guest preacher. The clergy of the diocese marched in procession followed by the banners of the parishes. Visiting bishops Herbert Donovan (Arkansas, retired) and Bob Jones (Wyoming, retired) assisted our bishop, The Rt. Rev. Philip Duncan, in the celebration of the service.
• In his sermon, Bishop Jenkins spoke about his despair at seeing his diocese and its people battered and displaced by Hurricane Katrina. But it was in his encounters with those ravaged people in the aftermath of Katrina that he came to understand the truism that “God is good; all the time.” He also reminded the Convention that the ongoing recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast are largely the work of religious organizations such as the Episcopal Church and Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD).
• After the service, Trinity’s delegation enjoyed good fellowship over dinner with each other and spouses. Discussion of the pledge challenge took place and continued on Friday.
• Morning prayer began Friday’s session. Afterwards, Bishop Duncan addressed the Convention. Bishop Duncan reiterated the financial constraints faced by the diocese. He noted the hurricane rebuilding efforts and the development of three new parishes in the diocese. He stated that he would be attending the upcoming House of Bishops meeting in Texas this spring and the Lambeth Conference in Great Britain this summer. He called on David Quittmeyer to read the statement of our common vision as a diocese. The Bishop reminded the Convention to continue our shared ministry and to “rejoice in the power of the Spirit.”
• The first business session began after Bishop Duncan’s address. Bishop Duncan presided as the president of the Convention. The Rev. Albert Kennington served as secretary; Vince Curry and David Quittmeyer served as assistant secretaries. The chancellors of Alabama and Florida served as parliamentarians. There were 156 lay delegates registered and in attendance; there were 51 clerical delegates registered and in attendance. The following business was conducted:
• Three new parishes were accepted into the diocese: St. Mary’s, Andalusia; St. Augustine of Canterbury, Navarre; and St. Paul’s Chapel, Magnolia Springs.
• Bishop Duncan bestowed the Diocese’s Distinguished Service Award on longtime diocesan administrator, Vince Currie. Vince received letters of recognition from the current and former presidents of the House of Deputies, the current and former chairmen of the Church Pension Fund, former Presiding Bishops Edmund Browning and Frank Griswold, and our current Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefforts Schori. Bishop Charles Duval joined the Convention “live” via telephone to personally commend Vince on his award and long years of service to the diocese. The Convention gave Vince a warm, standing ovation – much deserved.
• Bishop Duncan recognized and introduced the new clergy in the diocese as well as the new interim rectors, including Fr. Powers at TEC.
• It was announced that the 38th Convention of the Diocese would be held February 5-7, 2009 at All Saints Church in Mobile. The churches of the Emerald Coast (Panama City, Florida area) offered to host the 40th Convention February 4-6, 2010.
• Bishop Duncan’s nominations to various offices and committees were distributed to the Convention for review.
• Nominations from the floor were made for clergy representatives to the standing committee and for both clergy and lay deputies to the 2009 General Convention.
• There were no pre-filed resolutions. The reports of the various officers, committees, boards, and commissions of the diocese were accepted by the Convention.
• The Finance Committee chairman moved and the Convention approved that the offerings from the Convention would be divided equally and given to the Dioceses of Mississippi and Louisiana.
• The Finance Committee chairman reported on the budget. He noted that the proposed budget had a deficit of approximately $34,000 and included the cuts mentioned earlier. If the reductions regarding the youth and communications positions were added into the budget then there would be a deficit of $62,932. He stated that if every parish in the diocese increased its pledge by 3.8% then the budget would be balanced. If every parish gave an additional 5% then it could be balanced and some of the funding reductions eliminated. David Quittmeyer moved that each parish in the diocese accept the challenge of increasing their pledge to meet this budget shortfall.
• There was some general discussion about the diocese’s continued practice of accepting redirected (i.e., restricted) pledges. Bishop Duncan expressed his concern that by redirecting one’s pledge one was actually putting an issue before ministry to justify one’s behavior.
• A motion was made to adopt the budget with the following amendments: an additional $8,000 added to the communications position; $35,000 added to the youth position; and a challenge issued to each parish to increase its 2008 pledge by 5%. The motion was approved.
• A motion was made and approved to accept the Bishop’s nominees for various offices and committees.
• A motion was made and approved to endorse the formation of a Companion Relationship between this diocese and the Diocese of the Dominican Republic beginning February 23, 2008 until terminated by either diocese. The resolution also called for the creation of a Companion Relations Committee to implement this relationship, subject to the approval of the Standing Committee and the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church.
• The first ballots were taken for the election of lay and clerical members of the Standing Committee and for lay and clerical deputies to General Convention.
• Presentations were made to the Convention on Murray House, Wilmer Hall, and Beckwith – the latter complete with a live turtle and a baby alligator. Delegates were also given a tour of Wilmer Hall.
• Friday evening, delegates and spouses enjoyed a reception at the Mobile Museum of Art.
• On Saturday morning, after morning prayer, delegates received the reports from the previous day’s elections. Successive balloting was required for the standing committee positions and General Convention deputies. The following individuals were elected:
Standing Committee (Laity)
Rebecca Byrne, St. James’, Fairhope
Lee Martin, St. Anna’s, Atmore
Standing Committee (Clergy)
The Rev. Dr. Betsy Powell, St. Augustine of Canterbury, Navarre
Deputies to 2009 General Convention (Laity)
Vince Currie, Christ Church, Pensacola
David Quittmeyer, Trinity, Mobile
Sally Greene, St. Paul’s, Mobile
Hugh Wheelless, Nativity, Dothan
Deputies to 2009 General Convention (Clergy)
The Rev. Thack Dyson, St. Paul’s, Daphne
The Rev. Jim Flowers, All Saints’, Mobile
The Rev. Canon Beverly Gibson, Christ Church Cathedral, Mobile
The. Rev. Martha Kreamer, Advent, Lillian
• While the ballots were being tallied, the Convention welcomed the three new parishes of the diocese. Members of each new parish marched in procession with banners to the standing ovation of the Convention. The respective new rectors extended their greetings to and thanks for the diocese. The Convention approved a resolution accepting the offer of the churches of the Emerald Coast in Florida to host the 2010 diocesan convention. The Convention received greetings from Jim Owens on behalf of the University of the South at Sewanee. This year marks Sewanee’s 150th anniversary. The Convention heard from representatives from Camp Coast Care in the Diocese of Mississippi regarding its volunteer support program for Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. Delegate Hugh Wheelless reported on the start of the capital campaign for Christ Church Cathedral Foundation. The Rev. Martha Harris reported on the upcoming Tour of Homes in Apalachicola in May.
• David Quittmeyer reported from the Finance Committee as to the amount of additional funds each parish would have to contribute to the diocese if it accepted the 5% challenge. A handout was circulated to the Convention with this information listed (Trinity’s expected increase would be $2,340; this figure was based on our pledge for 2007). A large poster board with each parish’s name was presented to the Convention. David Quittmeyer asked a representative from each parish to come forward and note on the chart whether the parish would accept the 5% challenge. The response was overwhelming; all but a handful of churches (and some of these were not still present at the convention) signed on to the challenge. Trinity’s lay delegates asked Fr. Powers to sign the challenge on behalf of Trinity.
• The parliamentarian certified that the business of the Convention was complete.
• The Convention closed with a celebration of the Eucharist with The Rt. Rev. Bob Jones (Arkansas, retired) as guest preacher. He called us to follow the teachings of Micah and to “be an icon of God; because you are.”
Michel Nicrosi
Delegate & Junior Warden
Trinity Episcopal Church
Mobile, Alabama
2/23/2008