Bishop Hollerith
and a deputation from Diocese of Southern Virginia will head to Salt
Lake City, UT, June 25 - July 3 to take part in the 78th General
Convention of the Episcopal Church. Over the next few weeks, we'll be
giving you some background on General Convention, explain how it works,
and introduce our deputation. While we are in Salt Lake City, you can
follow the action on our General Convention blog and the diocesan Facebook page.
How a resolution moves through General Convention
When our representatives gather at General Convention they take council
together through a legislative process. That process begins with
resolutions that are proposed by Deputies, Bishops, Committees,
Commissions, Provinces, and Diocese of the Episcopal Church.
Resolutions, when adopted by the House of Deputies and the House of
Bishops, become the Acts of the General Convention and govern the way we
live our understanding of the Christian faith as a community of
believers.
Resolutions have four sources:
"A" resolutions are submitted by Committees, Commissions, Agencies and Boards
"B" resolutions are submitted by Bishops
"C" Resolutions are submitted by Dioceses or Provinces
"D" Resolutions are submitted by Deputies
The
Presiding Bishop and the President of the House of Deputies assign each
resolution to one of the parallel or joint legislative committees in
the House of Bishops and in the House of Deputies. They also designate
the resolutions to start in one House or the other. Parallel committees
meet jointly to review resolutions and hold hearings, but vote
separately on their recommendations. Resolutions with funding
implications also go to the Program, Budget & Finance Committee for
review.
The
committees decide if the resolutions are accepted as is, or are amended
or combined with another resolution. The committees then decide to
whether to endorse the resolution.
Resolutions
then go to the House of Bishops and House of Deputies where they are
debated, sometimes amended, and then voted on. Once a resolution is
adopted by one House, it then goes to the other for debate, amendment
and adoption. Both Houses must concur on a resolution for it to be
adopted by General Convention.
