by Rev. Dr. Jim Warnock
Our Diocesan Convention is being held this weekend, October 25 and 26. By the time you read this, it may be in the past, but I thought I would write a bit about conventions in any case. The history of conventions, gatherings of clergy, bishops and lay people to debate issues relevant to the life of the church, begins after the American Revolution. The Episcopal Church in the United States needed to find a way to govern itself after having its ties with the Anglican Church broken by the Revolutionary War. Efforts at organization began in Maryland in 1780 with small gatherings of people that led to the formal establishment of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Maryland.
As the news spread, the Rev. William White, chaplain to the Continental Congress, published The Case of the Episcopal Churches in the United States Considered in 1782. He argued that
Episcopalians in the various states should form conventions which would work as general vestries who could supervise the work of the states’ clergy. This led to a gathering in 1784 in New York City of representatives of various states who called for a General Convention to be held in Philadelphia in 1785.
This was the effective beginning of the General Convention which was set up initially to deal with issues that could not be resolved at the state level. The model followed closely the discussions around the government of the new United States. Accordingly, the convention would function as a unicameral legislature. Each state would elect a bishop who would be an ex officio member of the Convention. Clergy and laity would function as a second group with votes being taken by orders. In 1789, delegates created a separate House of Bishops which had a partial veto over actions taken by a separate House of Deputies (who could override a veto with a three-fifths vote). This is more or less the structure we have today, and which has been handed down to the diocesan conventions.
This is the backdrop to our convention. I am going as clergy. Your elected delegates are Charla Conner and Kresha Warnock. Friday is given over to several workshops on various topics. I’m doing one on Fire Department Chaplaincy, along with the Rev. Russ Peters, head chaplain at the Tacoma Fire Department.
This will be the first convention for our new bishop, the Rt. Rev. Phil LaBelle, who has set the focus on the diocesan website. “Rest. Engage. Pray. Over the last two years, we have been busily engaged in the work of transition, listening, discerning, and preparing to begin a new season as the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia. As we cross the threshold into a new life together with a new bishop, it’s tempting to rush forward without first taking stock of where we are and where we’re heading. Instead, let us heed Christ’s invitation: “Come to me, and I will give you rest.”
“In this 114th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, join us as we come together after a season of transition to rest in Christ, to engage deeply in the meaningful work of the Diocese, and to pray together as a community, heeding the call of our Savior and striking out in a new direction together. Learn from one another at workshops, celebrate milestones in the life of our Diocese, worship with Episcopalians across Western Washington, and hear from Bishop LaBelle as he begins his journey with us in the Diocese.
“Rest. Engage. Pray.” I encourage everyone to do just that.