80th General Convention

The 80th General Convention of The Episcopal Church took place in July 8-11, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland.

Here you’ll find all the coverage the Diocese of North Carolina had to offer.

FOLLOW GENERAL CONVENTION

Follow General Convention using the virtual binder, the same resource provided to every bishop and deputy on site in Baltimore. In the virtual binder you will find every resolution, amendment, calendar, the budget and more.

WATCH GENERAL CONVENTION

The livestreams of the General Convention were being provided by the Episcopal Church. The livestreams are available in both English and Spanish; simply select the language of your choice on the livestream link. The livestream links will also provide you a drop-down menu of livestream recordings of all the sessions (look for it in the upper left corner).
*NOTE: Worship will take place in the respective houses; there is no special link to view the worship services.

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS & RECAPS

Enjoy highlights and recaps with our deputation from each day of General Convention:

JULY 11:

With the work of the 80th General Convention done, the Rt. Rev. Anne Hodges-Copple and the Rev. Kevin Matthews join us for one more daily recap.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:

• WATCH: President Elect of the House of Deputies Julia Ayala Harris’ sermon during Morning Prayer
• House of Deputies News live blog: Morning session
• The Rt. Rev. Sam Rodman and the Rt. Rev. Marty Stebbins were appointed to the Board of Archives
• The Rev. Greg Jacobs was elected to the clergy orders of both the Court of Review and the Disciplinary Board for Bishops
• With the election of the Rev. Greg Jacobs, every Episcopalian from the Diocese of North Carolina who stood for election or appointment at the 80th General Convention was, in fact, elected and appointed!
• Deputies concur with bishops on creating new director of LGBTQI and Women’s Ministries position
• Bishops close General Convention with climate emergency statement ahead of Lambeth
  • General Convention affirms series of environment, creation care measures
• July 11 dispatches from the 80th General Convention

JULY 10:

Deputy Bryan Dougan is back again with us tonight to share thoughts on the day.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:

• WATCH: The Rt. Rev. Eugene Sutton, bishop of the Diocese of Maryland, sermon during Sunday Eucharist (text in English and Spanish included)
• House of Deputies News live blog: Morning session | Afternoon session | Evening session
• General Convention takes steps toward adding Bishop Barbara Harris to calendar of church saints
• The Rev. Rachel Taber-Hamilton, Diocese of Olympia, elected vice president of the House of Deputies. She is the first ordained woman to be elected to this position.
• Bishops pass measure broadening definition of Book of Common Prayer
• Deputies advance $100.5 million budget proposal for 2023-24 and process reforms
• House of Deputies celebrates Gay Clark Jennings for 10 years’ service as president

JULY 9:

Joining us tonight to recap a very full day at the 80th General Convention are the Rt. Rev. Sam Rodman and deputies Alice Freeman and Megan Carlson.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:

• WATCH: House of Deputies President the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings sermon during Morning Prayer
• Julia Ayala Harris, Diocese of Oklahoma, is elected the next President of the House of Deputies
  • Other election results
• House of Deputies News live blogs: Morning session | Afternoon session | Evening session
• Bishops call for end to Ukraine conflict, approve racial equity resolutions
• States’ anti-abortion laws fuel impassioned debate by deputies over future General Convention sites
• State of the Church resolutions seek tools to navigate adaptive change in Church’s future
• July 9 Dispatches from the 80th General Convention
• In a proposed Mind of the House resolution, the Episcopal Church House of Bishops addressed many threats to democracy and deep divisions in the United States, including the rise of Christian nationalism. The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis, asked Presiding Bishop Michael Curry what he wants the agenda of the Episcopal bishops to be. This is how he responded.

JULY 8:

Enjoy a recap of the day with deputies the Rev. Sara Ardrey-Graves and Bryan Dougan.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:

• WATCH: Presiding Bishop Curry’s sermon at Opening Eucharist (Read the transcript in English and Spanish)
• The House of Bishops organized and led a procession and prayer service to pray where another victim of gun violence was killed near the Baltimore Convention Center the night before the 80th General Convention convened.
• Martha Alexander and the Rev. Rhonda Lee were both elected by the House of Bishops to the General Board of Examining Chaplains (lay and clergy order, respectively). Congratulations, Martha and Rhonda!
• House of Deputies News live blogs: Afternoon legislative session | Evening session
• Resolutions related to report from Presiding Officers’ Working Group on Truth-Telling, Reckoning and Healing pass House of Deputies
• July 8 Dispatches from 80th General Convention in Baltimore

CONNECTIONS TO THE DIOCESE OF NORTH CAROLINA

Work related to many of the topics expected to see discussion at General Convention is already in progress across the Diocese of North Carolina. As we learn of the expected topics each day, check here for stories of work happening closer to home.

• Among the high-profile topics at the 80th General Convention are the resolutions stemming from the Presiding Officers’ Working Group on Truth-Telling, Reckoning and Healing report. Work happening in the Diocese of North Carolina is lifted up as an example no fewer than six times in that report! Check it out:
  • P. 17 – The Rev. Dr. Brooks Graebner, “The Truth of It All”
  • P. 17 – Short Sketches of Historically Black Churches
  • P. 20 – Beloved Community Icon Project, St. Luke’s, Salisbury
  • P. 20 – The Rev. Jemonde Taylor, “Holy Disruption: Worship, Liturgy and Race”
  • P. 20 – Roundtables on Race
  • P. 25 – St. Ambrose Creation Care Grant / The Healing Pod
• Resolution A053 has passed both the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops. This resolution ensures the “vital role of Episcopal HBCU’s,” of which Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh is one of only two remaining. Great things are happening at Saint Augustine’s:
  • Saint Augustine’s University Chapel Receives $300,000 National Park Service Grant to continue the work of restoring the chapel at Saint Augustine’s University as well as renovating it to have the capacity to do online worship.
  • Lifting as They Climb
• Resolution A086, the continuation of the Task Force for Care of Creation and Environmental Racism has passed both houses. The work this measure makes possible has already been seen, most notably through the work of St. Ambrose’s Healing Pod project, which includes a labyrinth and an upcoming podcast. The Church’s commitment to this work is mirrored in the Diocese’s own Creation Care mission priority.
• Resolutions A095 and A096 (passed by both houses) focus on the importance of both church planting and new communities as well as the vitality of existing congregations. The Diocese of North Carolina also recognizes the importance of both, reflected in the mission priorities of Congregational Vitality and Collaboration and New Communities. Not only are we grateful for every congregation in our diocese, we celebrate the recent additions these last few years, including:
  • Abundant Life Ministries | Recent: The Abundance of Community
  • Christ’s Beloved Community/Comunidad Amada de Cristo | Recent: Christ’s Beloved Community Receives Hunger Grant from ECLA
  • Galilee Ministries of East Charlotte | Recent: The Tower Garden Comes to Galilee Ministries of East Charlotte
• One of the big pieces of business done at each General Convention is the passing of the triennial (in this case, the biennial) budget. It is a long and intentional process to develop – do you know the faithful, intentional and careful process by which the annual budget of the Diocese of North Carolina is developed? If not, check this out.

WELCOME TO MARYLAND

Since it was announced the 80th General Convention would take place in Baltimore, the Diocese of Maryland, the host diocese, has been planning to welcome visitors both in person and at home. Even before COVID-19, the Diocese of Maryland began planning for virtual visitors, including the offering of virtual walking tours, exhibits and more. It’s all ready and awaiting your visit – and we do encourage you to visit, no matter where you are!

Explore the Diocese of Maryland

DEPUTATION FROM THE DIOCESE OF NORTH CAROLINA

The deputies representing the Diocese of North Carolina were elected at the 204th Annual Convention in 2019. It is notable that for the first time, every deputy from the Diocese of North Carolina is serving on a legislative committee.

Of course, the Diocese of North Carolina is represented in the House of Bishops by the Rt. Rev. Sam Rodman, bishop diocesan, and the Rt. Rev. Anne Hodges-Copple, bishop suffragan. Both bishops are serving in additional roles. Rodman is a member of the Racial Justice & Reconciliation Committee and a co-chair of the Presiding Officers’ Working Group on Truth-Telling, Reckoning and Healing. Hodges-Copple is the chair of the Governance & Structure Committee and a member of Executive Council.

DEPUTATION UPDATE: The Rev. Daniel Robayo is unable to attend General Convention, so the Rev. Sally French is attending as the fourth member of the clergy order, and the Rev. Jacob Pierce will be on site to serve as first alternate.