Nominations
The "Request for Proposed Nominations" was mailed on September 1, 1998 to all Bishops, Deputies and
Alternates to the 1997 GC, Members of the ECW Triennial, Diocesan Offices and Standing Committees, Interim Body
members and Agencies listed in the Church Annual. The deadline for proposed nominations is December 1, 1998.
Please share this news with any who may wish to recommend individuals for consideration by the Joint Standing Committee
on Nominations. The JSCN will then recommend nominees for the election of members of EXECUTIVE COUNCIL, GENERAL
BOARD OF EXAMINING CHAPLAINS, TRUSTEES OF GENERAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, and TRUSTEES FOR THE CHURCH PENSION FUND.
A copy of the Committee's document and Nomination Proposal Form has been posted on the Web at:
<< http://ecusa.anglican.org/governance/general-convention/2000-IBs/NomProc.html
>>
Copies are also available in the General Convention Office. You may e-mail sjones@dfms.org
and Susan Jones will send you the Nominations Form. Please call Vince Currie, Chair of the Joint Standing Committee
on Nominations, at 850-434-7337 should you have any questions about the process. Or feel free to call the General
Convention Office (at 800-334-7626 ext. 6144 or 6044).
Convention Journal
The Journal of the 72nd General Convention has been printed and 1955 copies are being shipped this month to all
Bishops, Deputies, "paid Alternates" and others who registered and paid the $150 registration fee for
legislative materials. (5 sets are also being sent to each of the eleven Episcopal Seminaries.)
Changes in the publication process delayed distribution, which usually occurs in the spring of the year following
the General Convention. However, these changes may facilitate publication of future editions of the Journal. One
change is that there are now two volumes. The "Journal" which includes the legislative history of the
General Convention (minutes of both houses, elected officers,
the Courts, rosters of both houses, etc.).
New indexing and summary sections in this volume should also make the legislative history of a resolution easier
to find, and overall make the Journal more "user friendly." Resolution "referrals" have also
been added to assist those tracking resolution implementation during the triennium.
The second volume, the "Supplement to the Journal" includes items that have traditionally delayed publication
of the Journal (Statistics, Interim Body Appointment Rosters for the coming triennium) as well as reports and other
appendices (such as the Budget for 1998-2000, Registrar and Recorder's Reports and Report of the Church Pension
Fund).
The Journal for the 73rd General Convention may be produced in a more timely fashion as a result of these and other
changes, however, as an historic document it should never be rushed into print. The time checking over the records
of both houses is time well spent to assure that our legislation has been handled properly.
The Journal (950 pages) and Supplement (442 pages) will be available for sale via Episcopal Parish Services (800-903-5544)
at $35 per set by the end of August.
Bruce Woodcock, General Convention Secretary for Legislation
Convene address: Bruce Woodcock
ECC Internet address: bwoodcock@dfms.org
Phone: 212-716-6144
Fax: 212-972-9322
Snail Mail: 815 Second Ave, NY, NY 10017
Acquiring a Listening Heart
Excerpts from the August/September 1998 issue of The Episcopal New Yorker.
By Debra Wagner
Telecommunications technology brought Trinity Institute's Conference to countless viewers. Here author Gail Godwin,
the Most Rev. Frank Griswold, Presiding Bishop, and author Frederick Buechner answer questions received that day
via FAX, e-mail, and from the studio audience.
A desperate cacophony of urgent voices surrounds our hurried lives and co-opts our ability to hear God's Word.
They overwhelm an interior space once reserved for a meaningful spiritual life. In a modern world where the head
rules the heart, Trinity Institute's 29th Conference posed a radical approach to reopening that interior space:
acquire a listening heart.
It is an interesting paradox that the Institute used every "voice" available in telecommunications to
transmit this call to reflection at the end of May. More than 180 downlink sites from restaurants to churches across
the country were connected by the Episcopal Cathedral Teleconferencing Network to the Conference that took place
in Trinity Church in lower Manhattan. In addition, countless viewers throughout the world participated via a simulcast
at Trinity's web site.
What is a listening heart?
A listening heart has the ability to hear God's Word through the clamor of daily life or beyond the preoccupations
of the mind. According to the Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold III, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the
United States, the heart is the key to how the Word lives and grows in our interior spaces. "It is in our
deep interior that the Word seeks to express itself. If we are faithful, the Word tills the soil until we express
it."
Track down the Holy Ghost
Bishop Griswold asserted that a listening heart and an open mind can "track down the Holy Ghost." A listening
heart and mind throughout Christian history have always embraced the paradox as sacred. He emphasized that Christians
are not "either/or people but both/and--two irreconcilable assertions can be true. Jesus could be both human
and divine."
Listening for the Word through words can be a difficult process. Many times we fall into the habit of foregone
conclusions. Bishop Griswold explained, "I decide what's good for me and then ask God for a sign. Many times
that approach fails." He said truth is developmental and in human terms can never be fully known.
"Don't fall prey to urgent voices," concluded Bishop Griswold. "Create structures for reflection
and discernment not simply reaction." He urged us to be more than "technicians of the sacred. God is
forming us into a community of grace and truth that becomes Word." It is a process that takes time, an open
mind, and a listening heart.
Audio and video tapes of Trinity Institute are available by calling Trinity Bookstore at 800-551-1220.
--Return to Contents
Challenge Gift for St. James Church, Florence
News Release: Florence, Italy, May 17, 1998
Sam And Mary Blount of Birmingham, Alabama, have announced a challenge gift of $375,000 towards the "Endowment
for the Ministry" capitol campaign of St. James Church, Florence, Italy. The purpose of the campaign is to
ensure the stability of the Episcopal Church's full time ministry as we enter the next millennium and the second
century of St. James' presence in Florence.
The Blount family became involved with the St. James parish community during their several months in residence
in Tuscany during 1997 and 1998. For them and many other short and long term residents "The American Church"
represents an important link among the expatriate and Italian communities of Florence, as well as a lively community
of worship for people from all over the world. The Blounts are committed to St. James Church's future. Mr. Blount
is the Chairman of Meadowcraft, Inc., of Birmingham, Alabama, the foremost manufacturer of wrought iron garden
and patio furniture in the world.
This generation of the Blount family comes by its generosity naturally and graciously. Sam is a part of one of
the most well known philanthropic families in the South. Among their many contributions, The Alabama Shakespeare
Festival was a gift to the people of Alabama by Sam's father, Winton "Red" Blount and his wife, Carolyn
Blount.
St. James Church, the Anglican Community in Florence, Italy, and the American Convocation of Churches in Europe
are thankful to the Blount family. We trust that their challenge to raise the "other half" of the total
endowment goal of $750,000 will be met with equal generosity by the
extended family of "Friends of St. James" throughout the world by Pentecost Sunday, May 23, 1999.
The Reverend Peter F. Casparian
Rector, St. James Church
"The American Church" of Florence, Italy
More information about the Endowment for the Ministry of St. James is
available from the following address:
Endowment for the Ministry
St. James Church
Via Bernardo Rucellai 9
50123 Florence, Italy
Tel & Fax: international code + (39) (55) 29 44 17
e-mail: casparian@dada.it
www.dionet.it/stjames
Nell Toensmann, Press Officer
The Convocation of American Churches in Europe
Episcopal Life Calendar on the Web
Episcopal Life, the national newspaper for Episcopalians, has recently posted a church wide calendar of
events on the World Wide Web.
The calendar, now listing over 400 events and growing weekly, covers retreats, conferences, continuing education
opportunities, youth events, training sessions, meetings of standing commissions and committees, diocesan conventions,
special celebrations and more. The complete program offerings of the Alban Institute, Kanuga Conference Center,
monasteries and retreat centers
across the country and organizations offering travel and pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to historic sites of
Anglican interest are included.
The calendar will soon be searchable by province, by date and by a dozen categories including travel, youth, retreats,
continuing education, women and more. It will also be searchable by key word: ecumenical, liturgy, Cursillo, prison
ministry etc.
Those who want to publicize their own events of regional or national interest in the new calendar will find a simple
form to fill out on the web site.
The web address is << www.ecusa.anglican.org/episcopal-life/calendar.html
>>. It can also be accessed easily from the homepage of the Episcopal Church: << www.dfms.org
>>.
Nan M. Cobbey, features editor
Episcopal Life, national newspaper for Episcopalians
800-334-7626 ext. 6103
212-716-6103 (direct to my desk),
212-949-8059 fax
e-mail: ncobbey@dfms.org (office)
or nan.cobbey@ecunet.org (office & home)
Editor's Note
From all of the newsletters that I have received already this month, it appears that the new program year is off
to a great start all over the Province. This edition of The Grapevine represents the wide range of interests and
concerns we share, as well as the many talents we share with the larger church.
One of my summer projects was working on the data base that is the mailing list for The Grapevine. I hope it is
all finally correct. Many thanks to the diocesan offices for their help with this project. Now that the file is
in my computer, updating it is not a problem, so any changes can be made as they occur. Any changes or additions
to the mailing list should be sent to me, either by snail mail or by e-mail.
The Grapevine Online has a link to our Province II calendar of events, which I update at least once a month. To
have events added to that calendar, send me the information, again, either by snail mail or e-mail. An event can
be publicized there even though you've missed the print deadline.
Finally, the deadlines for Volume 6 of The Grapevine are: January 8, 1999, March 26, 1999, and September 10,
1999.
Best wishes for an outstanding program year.
Jan Paxton
snail mail: 275 Boulevard Drive, Wayne, New Jersey 07470
phone: 973-633-9648
fax: 973-835-2124
e-mail: paxton@intac.com or jan.paxton@ecunet.org