Diocesan Deputation preparing for GC81 in Louisville

Diocesan Deputation preparing for GC81 in Louisville

The Rev. Vicki Ix, Managing Editor, ABUNDANT Times

The General Convention of The Episcopal Church meets every three years. An exception was made during the coronavirus pandemic when the 2021 convention was postponed one year. The 2022 gathering took place under the strictest protocols for in-person participation and was restricted to deputies only. The 81st General Convention will meet in Louisville, KY, June 23 – 28, 2024 and it will welcome deputies, vendors, guests, volunteers, and the press.

Our diocesan deputation has attended orientation and will begin work on various legislative committees whose work must begin online to keep the General Convention to one week. On June 22nd, the evening before the work begins, a churchwide revival will be held in Louisville with those assembled and be streamed so that all Episcopalians may join and worship.

If you are interested in the reports that have been prepared for this meeting, the Blue Book contains them all and may be accessed at: www.generalconvention.org/bluebook2024/

If you are already into the legislative process and looking for a new path into the conversation, the President of the House of Deputies, Julia Ayala Harris, is hosting a podcast that is available on all podcast platforms.

There is much work to do in all areas of church life, but a unique aspect of GC81 will be the election of the next Presiding Bishop. Dr. Deborah Harmon Hines, formerly of Holy Spirit, Sutton, was elected to serve on the Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of a Presiding Bishop from Province I. Residing now in West Tennessee with her husband, the Rev. John Edgar Freeman, Deborah continues the work as part of Province IV. The news of election will ring out from the House of Bishops on Wednesday, June 26th. ♦