In
an address given at the 2014 Commencement Exercises of Episcopal
Divinity School on May 22, the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, President of the
House of Deputies of the Episcopal Church, said, "There's no
doubt that, to be a new church in a new economy, we have to change and
we're going to have to let go of some things. Our passions about
restructuring the church are evidence that we know the church many of us
once knew is coming to its end. Some of us are grieving that loss,
while others of us are being liberated by it.
- Around the church, I hear people talking about how to support relationships and networks around the church without a large, unsustainable corporate hierarchy.
- We're talking about how to conserve our treasures-buildings, fabric and fine arts, and the remarkable work of the Archives of the Episcopal Church-without becoming overseers of museums.
- We're talking about how to restructure, reorganize and consolidate dioceses for local mission.
- We're talking about the future of lay and ordained ministry and how to educate people to answer God's call to transform the church and the world.
- We're talking about the justice issues of living wages and health care and how to compensate people for ministry in the new economy.
- We're talking about how to broaden our long, hard struggle to eliminate canonical discrimination against women, people of color, and LGBT people so that our energy and vigilance for securing and maintaining rights within the church is matched by our passion for justice in the world.
